Hon Son is an island about 65km west of Rach Gia in An Giang Province in Vietnam. The island has an area of 11.5 square km, and there are no private cars on the island.
Hon Son is one of several islands of the Nam Du archipelago in the Gulf of Thailand. The islands are in the same province as Phu Quoc and the An Thoi Archipelago, but there are no ferries between the two island groups. This relative isolation has helped keep a lid on Hon Son tourism numbers.
[View map of Hon Son.]
I got a ferry from Phu Quoc to Rach Gia on the mainland, and then a ferry from Rach Gia to Hon Son. After experiencing the tourism circus that Phu Quoc has become, Hon Son was an ideal palate-cleanser. These are my notes from my visit in January 2026.
[View of Hon Son from the passenger ferry.]
Ferry to Hon Son
Ferries to Hon Son leave at the crack of dawn, so I had to overnight in Rach Gia (I will post a separate review of Rach Gia).
[Passengers for Hon Son at Rach Gia.]
I booked my ferry tickets in advance as I didn’t know what the demand would be like. The ferry is also listed as Lai Son, which is the main port. Some places also refer to the island as Lai Son.
Before Hon Son, I took the ferry from Ha Tien to Phu Quoc. The ferry was about 1/4 full, even though Phu Quoc tourism is booming. Most tourists to Phu Quoc are arriving by air.
On the ferry from Rach Gia to Hon Son, there wasn’t a spare seat on the boat. I timed my trip to visit at the best time of year (the milder half of the dry season and before the Tet holiday). There was a group on the boat on a company trip (they were wearing the same shirts), and the rest were domestic tourists. The only other foreigners I saw were at the pier when I arrived and when I departed, and at one of the beach hotels.
There are motorbikes for rent at the pier, but I was surprised that there wasn’t a gaggle of motorbike taxi riders offering their services. There is no Grab taxi service here either, so the motorbike rentals were snapped up by arriving passengers.
Lai Son
Lai Son is where the ferry pier is and where most of the shops and government offices are.
There are cafes along the seafront, and lots of seafood restaurants.
[Bun Quay is a seafood noodle soup from Phu Quoc.]
Fishing is the main industry here, and there are some fish sauce factories hiding among the houses in Lai Son.
[Fish sauce factory.]
This pillbox is near the police station, though there is no indication of how old it is.
There isn’t a historic old town like on Con Dao, but there are some cute old houses on the first street behind the seafront road.
Ap Thien Tue
Ap Thien Tue is a fishing village to the west of Lai Son.
The main street is a covered laneway lined with shops, and there are a few guesthouses here.
This is a working fishing village, and you can see some boats being repaired on the beach.
Vietnamese fishing villages tend to be messy, but if you walk around, you can find a scenic view of the bay.
There is a great view from the tomb of Ong Nam Hai.
Tour boats for water activities depart from here.
Some houses have been upgraded to provide homestay experiences.
[Trinh Huynh Homestay.]
Island circuit
Hon Son is a small island, but you still need a bike to get around.
There is hardly any traffic here, and the road that goes around the island is paved.
The road that rings the island is about 17 km, and it would take about 40 minutes to complete the island circuit without stops. I had some places marked on the map where I wanted to visit, and then I stopped anywhere that looked interesting.
One of the main beaches is Bai Bang, and the number of bikes parked here suggested it was the most popular spot on the entire island circuit.
There are some hotels on the beach, and it is a scenic place to hang out.
Khu Du Lich Bai Bang and Sohora Beach and Bungalow have bungalows on the beach.
[Khu Du Lich Bai Bang.]
I used Google Maps to find interesting spots, and I noticed that the map showed a cafe as a tourism attraction (shown here with a camera icon).
It is one thing to get your business listed on Google Maps, but getting it designated as a tourist attraction must juice the visitor numbers. Alu Koru Cafe has a TikTok-friendly gateway, and videos for #alukoruhonson show the view from the cafe.
It’s a nice cafe to have a break, though it was a bit cloudy when I visited, so I didn’t get the eye-popping blues as depicted in the TikTok clips.
Another check-in spot is Ong Rua Hon Son, which is a rock by the side of the road that resembles a turtle. There were people parked here getting photos, so I waited until they moved on.
Most of the way around the island is undeveloped, and it is a real joy to drive among the coconut trees.
The road also makes for a good place to dry fish.
There is also a north-south road that goes through the rugged interior of the island.
Development and infrastructure
Hon Son is a small island, so it’s unlikely to follow the overdevelopment fate of Phu Quoc (though there have been less logical places that have had inappropriate developments in Vietnam). The beaches aren’t as dazzling as other islands in the Gulf of Thailand, so that has probably kept developers from trying.
There was a noticeable amount of construction around the island, including some new hotels and houses overlooking the sea. I’m curious to know if these houses are being built by locals or by wealthy Mekong Deltaites.
[The Hill Paradise construction.]
Usually, small islands rely on diesel generators for power, but I noticed there were power poles from EVN (the state-owned national power company).
Hon Son was connected to the national power grid in 2017 via a 24.5 km oversea power line. The power line can be seen on the east side of the island.
There is one petrol station on the island, and it’s near a pier that has a pipeline to import fuel.
These rubbish trucks were among the few 4-wheeled vehicles I saw on the island.
Unfortunately, the main rubbish dump is on the side of the road next to a sea cliff. There was a smouldering pile of rubbish when I went by, with rubbish falling into the sea.
This made me wonder if small islands and remote villages could set up a mini waste-to-energy plant. Some companies build plants the size of shipping containers, so that would be good to see in the future.
Where to stay on Hon Son
Accommodation is limited, so book as far in advance as you can manage. I also noticed that many places aren’t listed on booking sites, so that limits your options for search comparisons.
There weren’t many budget options available during the peak travel period when I visited, so I ended up at Huy Hoang Homestay near the Ap Thien Tue fishing village. This was a 30-minute walk from the pier, and the homestay arranged a scooter rental for my bike day.
Lai Son is where most of the guesthouses are, and there are more shops and food options. There is no beach though, so you have to ride to the beach.
The most popular beaches are the aforementioned Bai Bang and Bai Xep.
In Bai Xep, Rai Ca Homestay is contactable via their Facebook page.
The main “luxury” accommodation here is Fly Up Resort.
[Fly Up Resort.]
Booking sites list Lai Son as the main booking location. Search for accommodation on Hon Son on Agoda or Booking.
If you are not planning to rent a motorbike, enquire with your accommodation about transport from the ferry pier.
Booking ferry tickets
Ferries from Rach Gia are operated by Superdong and Hoa Binh Shipping, though HBS wasn’t showing tickets when I checked. I went with Superdong, and I checked for all available tickets via Baolau.
[Advertising for Hoa Binh Shipping at Rach Gia.]
The ferry stops at Hon Tre on the way to and from Hon Son.
[View of Hon Tre from the ferry.]
The HBS ferry also goes to the island of Nam Du from Hon Son, while Superdong goes to Nam Du directly from Rach Gia. Those are other island options if you want to island-hop the Nam Du archipelago.
[Ferry from Hon Son to Hon Tre.]
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