Once in Ly Son Island, another small Vietnam island in the distance is noticeable, and that is Dao Be Island. The island is very small indeed and 1h is enough to walk across its whole length.
I thought this Vietnam island was worth a visit and I actually regret not staying there for a night, because when I visited it was very cloudy so I didn’t see its true colors, which is a shame.
How to get to Dao Be Island
To get to Dao Be Island I had to ask for help at the homestay because I had no idea how to do it and where. They were very helpful and took me to the boat departing place in time to catch the boat and waited with me until it was possible to buy a ticket. How nice! Without their help, it would have been much harder.
There is only one boat departing daily to this small Vietnam island. It leaves Ly Son Island at 8 am and it comes back at 11 am. If you don’t sleep on the island, 3 hours is all you have to explore it, which felt short because I would have liked to have enjoyed the quiet beaches.
So the price is 70K dong per trip, or 140K round trip and the boat takes less than 15 minutes to cross the sea. The boat is small and departs from Ben Tau Ly Son- Sa Ky port. Once on Dao Be Island, my plan was to walk along the path that follows the sea all around the Vietnam island. There wasn’t anything else to do honestly. I also saw a few accommodation options. Some very cute wooden bungalows in front of the beach and other ones with fancy bedrooms facing the street. Both looked pretty good for a night over there. I thought that staying a night would be a good plan because the island is in absolute peace.
Few motorbikes, some buggies that take visitors across the island and just peace and quiet were all I found. It would have been lovely to spend a day in such a paradisic ambiance honestly. I recommend it, even though I haven’t done it.
So I started my journey to see all the beaches on the island. The beach where the boat stops is beautiful! I could see it once the sun shone a few minutes before we left the island, what a pity. We left exactly when the sun decided to show up and reveal beautiful shades of blue. The island has some beautiful beaches!!
Mat Phuong
My first stop was this beach by Mat Phuong. Wow, so pretty, with beautiful rock formations around it and coconut trees. What a charm! I was so disappointed with the weather. I’m sure the beach is a stunner under the sun, what a shame. The rocks around it give it a special touch and a specific beauty. It would have been a good place to enjoy a while longer, but the beach itself isn’t that big, nor has many seashells to collect haha. I found it very dirty honestly. There was way too much trash on the sand, bottles, and more plastic bottles, so sad.
But I couldn’t stay longer cause I don’t have that much time. So I kept walking until Bai Ngan which seems to be the most popular beach on Dao Be island.
Bai Ngan
On my walk from Mat Phuong to Bai Ngan I came across more beaches, empty ones, but they weren’t that amazing.
Bai Ngan itself is very beautiful! Even under the moody weather. Feels like all the people on the boat headed there haha. This was the place with most people on the island. There are some of those characteristic Vietnamese round boats that people can rent. I saw a group of Vietnamese hopping in and leaving for a boat trip. Not sure where it goes but surely it isn’t very far haha.
The beach is protected by cliffs, it is tucked among them. The blue shade of the water is gorgeous but the sea seems to be very traitorous. The beach is small too and there is a small stall selling some things.
Bai Tay
From this popular beach, I headed to Bai Tay, which would be the last beach of the day and the closest to the pier. 5 minutes is enough to get from this beach to the boat back to Ly Son Island. The beach is actually pleasant, with lots of dead corals on the sand and shaded trees. The water seemed clear too and some people were snorkeling. I could have enjoyed it for much longer! So peaceful!! But it was finally time to leave, unfortunately.
At 11 am the boat departed back to Ly Son island. And that was a very well-spent morning! After that, I wandered around Ly Son Island for a bit before meeting this French guy who showed me the “secret beach” haha.
Walking around the port area to the Cao Dai temple seemed to be worth it cause the shades of blue of the ocean were stunning. I decided to eat at this spot called Nha Be Cafe Seaview which offered a nice net above the water to relax and enjoy the view. Nice found!
And that was all about Ly Son and Dao Be Island. For me, they were totally worth my time! Beautiful natural landscapes! Loved it!
You can read about more Vietnam Island HERE!
