The leading fashion and lifestyle magazine has included Con Dao in a list of nine best paradise islands in the world to escape to this year. Located in the southern province of Ba Ria - Vung Tau, around 230 kilometers (143 miles) southeast of HCMC, the archipelago was once dubbed ‘Hell on Earth,’ home to a brutal prison where French colonialists and American imperialists jailed and inhumanely tortured many Vietnamese freedom fighters during the 19th and 20th centuries. Decades after those wars, a peaceful Con Dao is a Vietnamese island heaven, Vogue says. It says Con Dao has pristine beauty, mostly unspoiled beaches, forests and turquoise waters, and a strictly-protected national park, home to intact ecosystem. Con Dao offers pristine beauty. Photo by Shutterstock/annguyen The island can be reached from Ho Chi Minh City by air. Tourists can also book a helicopter from the nearby beach town of Vung Tau. Between March and September is the best time to visit the island as … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s Con Dao islands in Vogue this year