The tour begins with a visit to the Exhibition Hall, formerly known as the Governor’s House, where 53 generations of island wardens lived and worked during the 113 years of French colonial and American rule (1862–1975). This building served as the administrative center of the notorious Côn Đảo prison system.
From there, visitors proceed to Pier 914, located directly in front of the Governor’s House and extending out into the scenic Côn Sơn Bay. Here, guests learn the tragic meaning behind the number 914—a reference to the estimated number of prisoners who died during the pier’s construction.
Just a two-minute drive away is Phú Hải Prison and Phú Sơn Prison, two of the oldest and most brutal incarceration facilities on the island.
The tour continues to the Côn Đảo Museum, where guests explore historical artifacts, documents, and photographs that tell the story of the island from its early days through the colonial period and the resistance wars.
Next, visitors enter two of the most infamous areas of the Côn Đảo prison complex: the French Tiger Cages and the American Tiger Cages. These cramped, sun-exposed, and heavily surveilled cells were designed to break the will of political prisoners through extreme physical and psychological torture.
These sites bear witness to the atrocities committed by French and American forces and stand as symbols of the unyielding courage, resilience, and indomitable spirit of the Vietnamese revolutionaries imprisoned here.
