Notes on Hon Son – A car-free island in Vietnam

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…