About the route from Con Dao to Hanoi
Con Dao is a small archipelago off the far south coast, while Hanoi lies at the opposite end of the country in the north. The two are linked only by air, since Con Dao is an island with a small airport and no road connection. The catch is that Con Dao’s airport flies to just a couple of places, mainly Ho Chi Minh City, so reaching Hanoi usually means a connection rather than one flight. There are three ways to make the trip from Con Dao to Hanoi: a direct flight when one is running, a connection through Ho Chi Minh City, or a ferry to the mainland followed by a flight. Con Dao, where the journey begins, is a quiet, beautiful island of empty beaches, jungle, and a heavy wartime history, covered in our Con Dao travel guide if you are still deciding how long to stay.
Hanoi is the national capital, up in the north, and about as different from sleepy Con Dao as anywhere in the country. It is an old, dense, atmospheric city built around a lake and the narrow streets of the Old Quarter, with some of the best street food in Vietnam and a slower, more traditional feel than Saigon. It is also the gateway to the north’s big trips, from a Halong Bay cruise to the mountains of Sapa and Ha Giang. Our Hanoi travel guide covers what is worth your time.
Option 1: Direct flights from Con Dao to Hanoi
A direct flight is the best way to make this trip, when one is available. VietJet Air has run non-stop flights between Con Dao and Hanoi, taking around 2 hours 15 minutes, at times up to twice a day.
The important word is seasonal: these flights come and go, published for certain periods and then not bookable at all in others, so a direct flight may or may not be running for your dates. It is well worth checking VietJet directly before you assume you have to connect, because when the direct flight is operating it saves hours over any other option. If nothing comes up for your dates, the two routes below will get you there.
Option 2: Connecting through Ho Chi Minh City
When there is no direct flight, the reliable way to reach Hanoi is to connect through Ho Chi Minh City. It is the everyday route, with plenty of flights on both legs, and it works whatever your dates. The main thing to understand is how you book it, because that decides how smooth the transfer is.
How the flights work
The first leg is the short hop from Con Dao to Tan Son Nhat Airport in Saigon, about an hour in the air, flown many times a day by Vietnam Airlines and VietJet. From Saigon, one of the busiest air routes in the country carries on north to Noi Bai Airport in Hanoi, roughly another two hours, with departures almost every hour. Counting the connection, the whole trip usually takes around four to six hours, though a poor connection can stretch it much longer, so aim for one with a sensible gap in Saigon.
Through-ticket or two separate tickets
There are two ways to book this. A single through-ticket with one airline is the easiest: your bags are checked all the way to Hanoi and you simply walk to the next gate. Two separate tickets, often with different airlines, are common and usually cheaper, but then it is a self-transfer: you collect your bags in Saigon, check in again for the Hanoi flight, and take on the risk yourself if the first flight is late. For a self-transfer, leave a comfortable few hours between flights rather than a tight connection. One practical note: Tan Son Nhat now has a new domestic terminal, Terminal 3, and your two flights may not use the same terminal, so allow time to move across if needed.
What it costs
Fares vary a lot with the airline, the date, and how far ahead you book. As a rough guide, the Con Dao to Saigon leg tends to run from around 900,000 to 1,500,000 VND (roughly $36 to $60), and the Saigon to Hanoi leg from around 900,000 to 1,400,000 VND (roughly $36 to $56) when booked ahead, so a connecting trip often lands somewhere around 1,800,000 to 3,000,000 VND (roughly $70 to $120) in total. Booking early helps on both legs, and a single through-ticket sometimes prices out better than two separate ones once you factor in a checked bag.
Option 3: By ferry and then flight
For a slower, more scenic alternative, or if you want to add a stop on the mainland, you can leave Con Dao by ferry and fly onward from there. Two routes make sense, and one of them fits neatly into a Mekong Delta trip.
Via the Mekong Delta and Can Tho
A high-speed ferry runs from Con Dao to the Mekong Delta, landing at Tran De near Soc Trang, from where Can Tho and its airport are a short drive. This is the option to choose if you want to see the delta on the way, rather than fly straight over it. Around Can Tho you can visit the Cai Rang floating market at dawn, cycle the quiet lanes between the rice fields, drift through the narrow canals by boat, and stop at the fruit orchards and small workshops along the water.
A couple of days here makes a relaxed break before the flight north from Can Tho Airport. Our guide on the Con Dao to Soc Trang ferry covers the crossing.
Via Vung Tau
The other option is the ferry to Vung Tau, closer to Ho Chi Minh City. From there you carry on to Saigon by road, about two hours, and fly north from Tan Son Nhat. It is the more direct of the two ferry routes back toward a Hanoi flight, but without the delta stop there is little reason to take it over simply flying out of Con Dao. Our guide to the Con Dao and Vung Tau ferry explains that route.
Which one to pick
Neither ferry route is fast, so both only make sense if the journey itself, or the delta, is part of the plan. The Can Tho option is the rewarding one: it turns a long transfer into a proper trip through the south. The Vung Tau route is really only worth it if you happen to want a night on that coast along the way.
Conclusion: what is the best option for Con Dao to Hanoi
Getting from Con Dao to Hanoi always comes down to flying, but the best route depends on your dates and plans.
Check for a direct flight first. VietJet runs seasonal non-stop flights between Con Dao and Hanoi, and when one is available it is by far the quickest way, at around 2 hours 15 minutes.
If there is none, connect through Ho Chi Minh City. This is the reliable everyday route, a short hop to Saigon and then a frequent flight north, usually four to six hours in all once you allow time for the transfer.
Consider the ferry if you want to add a stop. Leaving by boat to the Mekong Delta and flying north from Can Tho works well if you plan to see the delta on the way, though it is much slower than flying the whole way.
For most travelers the answer is simple: look for a direct flight, and connect through Saigon if there isn’t one.
