Six Senses Con Dao

Picture a fishing village with rather better timberwork than usual, scattered beside the sea on Con Son Island. That is the idea here: contemporary design shaped around the character of a traditional Vietnamese coastal settlement, with the jungle and protected marine park doing most of the scenery work.

You come here for a stay that puts the coast first, whether your priorities are time in the water, wildlife encounters or simply a villa where the outside world can be kept at arm's length. The resort's website is available in English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Arabic, Hebrew, Japanese, Russian, Turkish, Vietnamese and Chinese.

Families are included in the picture, with activities designed for different ages and energy levels. The sea turtle programme gives the place more substance than a polished beach address: guests can take part in ethical hatchling releases and may witness green turtles laying eggs on the resort grounds.

The address is Dat Doc Beach, in the Con Dao Special Zone of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on Con Son Island. The resort sits directly beside a white-sand beach, with the sea only a few steps from the accommodation. No shuttle, road crossing or heroic navigation is needed to reach the shoreline.

Behind the coast, Con Dao National Park covers much of the island with dense jungle. The resort is also set within a protected national and marine park, and Con Son is Vietnam's only marine Ramsar Convention environmental site. In practical terms, this is an island base where beach, forest and protected water sit in the same daily frame.

Getting there involves a 45-minute flight from Ho Chi Minh City. The short flight is the trade-off for reaching an archipelago setting that feels properly removed from the mainland.

The accommodation comes as villas and residences with private pools. The three- and four-bedroom residences place the sleeping areas in separate pavilions around large living spaces. They suit group stays, giving everyone somewhere to retreat to without turning the lounge into a dormitory.

For a couple, a private villa gives you everything you need for a full day without leaving your own space: a swim in the pool, open views towards the ocean and neighbouring islands, then a quieter spell beneath recycled teak. There are 50 villas and residences in all, each within a few steps of the beach.

The timber and pavilion-style layout give the bedrooms more character than a standard hotel room. The feel is closer to a fishing village, with the modern comforts you expect from a beach resort. A private pool is particularly useful when you want to settle in without heading out again; the beach remains close by whenever you fancy the sea.

Each villa and residence has its own private pool, so your non-diving timetable can remain pleasingly uncomplicated: swim, dry off, repeat, and let the jungle deal with the rest. Direct access to the beach adds a second setting for slow hours, with golden sand and blue sea just outside.

Snorkelling is available for the days when a full dive feels like overcommitting, or when you want to stay close to shore and still have a look below the surface. The protected marine setting brings coral reefs and marine life into the picture without turning the whole stay into a timetable of organised activities.

On land, you can explore Con Dao National Park, discover everyday life on Con Dao, join an island exploration outing or take part in sea turtle hatchling releases. The conservation programme also offers the rare possibility of seeing green turtles lay eggs on the resort premises; wildlife, as ever, declines to follow a published schedule.

Plan on flying from Ho Chi Minh City: the journey to Con Son Island takes 45 minutes by air. The resort's address is Dat Doc Beach, Con Dao Special Zone, Ho Chi Minh City, 790000, Vietnam.

The sea is only a few steps away, so beach access is part of the setting rather than a separate outing. For arrival arrangements and the practical details of the transfer from the airport, contact the resort directly before travelling.

Sea turtle conservation is built into the resort's work through an incubation and research programme run in cooperation with Con Dao National Park authorities. A protected incubation enclosure helps guard eggs against poaching, while beach restoration is designed to improve nesting conditions for green turtles and reduce hatchling mortality.

The resort encourages guests to join ethical hatchling releases, turning conservation from something you read about into something you can witness at first hand. The buildings use reclaimed teakwood and sustainable materials, fitting the fishing-village design without treating sustainability as a decorative afterthought.