With beautiful white sand beaches, majestic and poetic rocky beaches, and rows of cool green coconut trees, Son Island appears like a sparkling gem in the middle of the vast ocean, with no trace of exploitation. With a quiet space and the most attractive wild beauty, Son Island in An Giang is an ideal Mekong tourist destination for vacations and picnics.
General information about Son Island
Son Island is also known as Son Rai Island, located in Dac Khu Kien Hai, An Giang province. Located on Ha Tien Bay, between the Nam Du archipelago and Tre island, 65 km west of Rach Gia Ward.
Son Island has a natural area of 11.5 km², with 7 undulating mountain peaks, and is surrounded by 6 beautiful beaches. The good land has been attracting birds, from a deserted island in the early 18th century. Son Island has more than 2,400 households, with 8,200 people living there. People mainly live by farming, fishing, shipbuilding, processing shrimp and fish, drying squid, and making fish sauce.
What’s the best time to visit Son Island?
The weather in Son Island is always pleasant all year round, so you can travel to Hon Son at any time of the year. However, the ideal time to travel to Son Island is from May to December, as the sea is calm with few waves. There is plenty of fresh seafood: squid, shrimp, crabs… when coming to visit during this season.
On the island, there is the Nghinh Festival held on the 15th of the 10th lunar month every year. You can come to the island on this occasion to immerse yourself in the exciting atmosphere of the festival. During the festival, the local people will gather, especially those who live by fishing at sea.
Before leaving, you should update the weather situation in the Ca Mau – An Giang sea area and avoid rough seas and storms to ensure safety.
How to get to Son Island?
Travel to Rach Gia
To get to Son Island, you must first go to Rach Gia Ward, An Giang Province. From Hanoi, you can buy a plane ticket to Can Tho, then take a bus from Can Tho to Rach Gia. Another option is to fly from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, then take a bus to Rach Gia.
From Ho Chi Minh City, you can take a private car to Rach Gia or a tourist bus such as Thien Thanh Limousine, Phuong Trang Bus, Tuan Nga, Kumho Samco, Tuyet Hon, Tu Tien…which takes about 5-6 hours. The boats to Rach Gia – Son Island depart in the morning. You should go a day in advance and stay overnight in Rach Gia City to arrive at the pier on time.
If you take a bus, you should leave the night before and arrive at Rach Gia bus station at around 6 am the next day. When arriving in Rach Gia, the shuttle bus will take you to the pier in 30 minutes.
From Rach Gia, there are 2 main means of transport to Son Island: high-speed boat and passenger boat. You can choose the most suitable means of transport based on your travel time and preferences.
- High-speed boat: Travel time is 1 hour and 30 minutes. With this mode of transport, you will save the most travel time. High-speed boats usually dock at ports 2 and 3 at Rach Gia wharf.
- Standard boat: if you’re bringing a motorbike to visit the island and carrying a lot of luggage and goods, the Standard boat is a suitable choice. The travel time is quite long, about 3 hours and 30 minutes, but the ticket price is lower than the high-speed boat’s. Standard boats usually dock at port number 2 at the wharf. The two main shipping companies are Thanh Tu and Duc Trung, both departing from Rach Gia – Son Wharf at 8:30 am and returning at 10:00 am.
Departure times may change on weekends or busy days. Remember to call the shipping companies to book tickets in advance, and ask carefully when booking to avoid missing the boat.
Getting around the island
If you want to walk around the island, you should rent a motorbike for prices ranging from 200,000 to 250,000 VND. You can rent directly at the motels, at the same time as checking in. If you are traveling in a large group, another option is to rent a pickup truck or a 12-seat passenger van.
In addition, you can also rent a fisherman’s boat to go around the island or go fishing, squid fishing, which is very interesting.
Accommodation on Son Island
As it is still wild and has not been much exploited for tourism, the variety of hotels, motels, and homestays serving tourists is still limited. Tourists often stay at the homestay located right at Bac beach, about 7 km from the pier. Here you can swim and watch the beautiful sunset. Room rates range from 300,000 to 800,000 VND/night.
In addition, camping overnight on the beaches is also an interesting choice. Son Island has a national grid, so it is fully equipped with amenities; you don’t have to worry. However, if you go on holidays or weekends, please contact us to book a room early!
Things to do in Son Island
Son Island has many attractive and interesting places for tourists to freely explore, such as majestic high mountains, beautiful blue beaches, and historic temples.And let’s see things to do in Son Island as below:
Explore the beaches
With a coastline of more than 1km curving in a crescent shape, Son Island has many beaches, such as Gieng beach, Bang beach, Bac beach, and Da Chai beach. Bang Beach is considered beautiful.
With blue sea, white sand, and yellow sunshine all year round, gentle waves lapping the shore, clean sea water, and many large and small rocky beaches suitable for swimming and taking pictures. Upon arriving here, you will be immersed in the clear blue water, watching coconut trees sway in the wind along the coast, and breathing the fresh, cool sea air.
Thien Tue Beach is located in the West, with strangely shaped rocks that surprise us with their wild, unique beauty. Here, boats are also anchored busily, and rows of houses are built close together on the beach. Da Chai Beach and Gieng Beach are located close to Thien Tue Beach, leaning against a mountain range with primeval forests. Here, flat, monolithic rocks run to the water’s edge. The open space here is very suitable for organizing entertainment and camping.
Xep Beach, with an interesting fallen coconut tree, is called “thousand-year-old coconut tree” by the locals.
This is a pristine beach, with large rocks lying naturally, as if arranged. In particular, at Xep Beach, a fallen coconut tree lies close to the rock face, yet its leaves are still green, rustling in the sea breeze.
Mountain Climbing
In addition to the usual activities such as swimming, diving to see corals, fishing, catching sea urchins, etc., mountain climbing or trekking through the forest is also an interesting experience.
Conquering Ma Thien Lanh Peak
Son Island also has 7 mountains, the most prominent of which is Ma Thien Lanh Peak, with an altitude of 450m. Climb the stairs and walk through the gravel path to reach the top of the mountain. Standing on the large rocks in the middle of Ma Thien Lanh Peak, you can gaze out at the vast, deep blue space of the sea and sky. At the top of the mountain, there is a very large rock called “Fairy Courtyard” associated with the legend that fairies often come down here to dance and play. This wild, mysterious beauty also attracts many Taoists and hermits to meditate in abandoned caves and temples. These folk stories make Ma Thien Lanh even more challenging for explorers and conquerors.
To conquer Ma Thien Lanh mountain, from Bai Nha pier, you go about 1km towards Bang beach. Then walk a little further, you will see the road on the left with steps leading up the mountain. From here, you can follow the steps, starting the journey to conquer the mountain top. When climbing on Son Island, you can hire a local to guide you. When climbing, you should wear clothes made of cool, sweat-absorbent fabric; the simpler the clothes you bring, the better. Climbing shoes must be light, hug your feet, and have a good grip.
Sitting on the top of the mountain, taking photos, listening to the locals recount the legend of Ma Thien Lanh peak, the story of fairies descending to earth at “Fairy Courtyard”, and the mysterious lives of Taoists who came here to practice… it is definitely worth it!
Discover Rong Mountain
Another equally attractive mountain is Rong Mountain. The mountain is only 250m above sea level, the path is also much shorter than Ma Thien Lanh mountain, but the road is more difficult, you have to go through the forest, and cross the stream. The route to climb Rong Mountain is only 1/3 compared to Ma Thien Lanh, but requires you to be resilient, because the higher you go, the steeper the road.
There are slopes up to a meter high, slippery or almost vertical slopes, and you have to cling to vines or forest trees to go. The forest road is always dense with trees and has many winding turns. You have to stick close to the person in front of you, or it is very easy to get lost, even if you are only 1-2m apart.
After a while of weaving and dodging through giant rocks and dense trails, you will reach Rong Peak. Here, the most impressive sight is the ancient cycad tree growing on the cliff, its trunk long, winding, and curling like a dragon’s body, its head facing the sea; the name Rong (Dragon) Mountain also originates from here. According to researchers, this tree is over 300 years old if calculated using leaf buds (which change leaves once a year).
Explore historical sites
In addition to beautiful landscapes, Son Island also has relics with the spirituality of the sea, associated with the legends of the indigenous people. On the island, there are communal houses and pagodas such as the Nam Hai General Temple, Lai Son Temple, The Lady Co Chu Temple, Cao Dai Holy See, and Hai Son Pagoda.
According to the islanders, the Lady Co Chu Temple is the place to worship the first woman to explore the island and is considered the deity governing the Lai Son sea. To commemorate her great contributions, the local people built a temple and held a worship ceremony on the 9th day of the 9th lunar month every year.
When visiting Son Island, remember to visit the Nam Hai Temple relic at Thien Tue Beach. This is also the place where many whale skeletons are preserved. The Nghinh Ong Festival, held on the 15th and 16th of the 10th lunar month every year, is a unique cultural beauty of the islanders.
Nighttime activities
Standing on the Son pier at Nha beach at night, looking out to sea is very beautiful, in the distance, the sea is the undulating light of fishermen’s boats, and looking at the beach along the road, the green and yellow lights, the city lights reflect on the curved road, looking very poetic. Next to Nha Beach is a bustling night market with plenty of fresh seafood from the An Giang Sea. From the pier to the night market is about 200m. If you stay at a motel near the port, you can easily walk to the market. It only takes about 10 to 15 minutes.
The most attractive thing that you cannot miss when having fun at night on the island is renting a boat to go squid fishing together. The feeling of sitting on a boat, listening to the sound of the waves, and catching a “trophy” to bring back will make you indescribably happy.
Specialties in Son Island
When coming here, don’t miss the fresh seafood dishes such as crab, snail, shrimp, mantis shrimp, and other equally delicious dishes such as raw herring with lemon, oysters with lemon milk or mixed with mango, sour soup with sea fish, hot pot with squid porridge, oyster porridge, grilled sea urchin… with the very typical cooking method of the islanders.
In addition to seafood, on Son Island, people raise chickens alongside coconuts, and the chickens are free-range during the day. They go to the forest to find food, and at night, they come back to sleep. The chicken here is very delicious and sweet, especially steamed chicken with fish sauce and grilled chicken, Ma Thien Lanh. When traveling to Son Island, don’t forget this dish.
The night market in Son Island is quite large, about 1000 square meters. Located in the central area, about 200 meters from Nha beach pier. Full of dishes from food to drinks.
You can also go to Bai Gieng market or fishing boat anchorages to buy fresh seafood, and ask the motel owner or people living by Bang beach to process it and provide drinks, dishes, etc.
Things to buy as gifts
Son island specialties are dried seafood, fish sauce, salt, tamarind … wines soaked from trees and fruits available on the island, such as Forest Grape Wine, Forest Apricot Blossom Wine, Coconut Wine … Especially Son island fish sauce. It can be said that the island’s barrel fish sauce is the best specialty here; don’t forget to buy some as gifts.
Source: collected by An
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