Con Dao is Vietnam's best kept secret........

[Centrals]

..... If you don't like the operator's costs, you are free to dive elsewhere.

US$84.00 per dive, $168 for two etc etc!!! When I run out of places to dive, I might consider this place.

 

[ScubaMoMo]

drbill: I don't expect anything from them and i didn't ask them to change prices. I just were surprised of the price level as i said before due to different price experiences in many other places in south east asia. Personally at that price level i would probably rather dive at Palau for example.

 

[AlexinWanderland]

When I visited Nha Trang last year I checked out many of the numerous dive shops around time. The vast majority looked like "cowboy operations" and I wouldn't trust them to provide me with, well, anything. There were 3 shops though that really stood out as being reputable (Sailing Club Divers, Rainbow Divers, and I can't recall the third but it was next to RD). The weird thing was that Rainbow Divers was about double the price of the other two... and when I asked why, as in give me a reason should I spend double to dive with you, what justifies the cost, the divemaster on duty just kind of smiled and shrugged. They seem to have a great reputation and good reviews so I don't know, maybe some people don't comparison shop?! If I'm going to spend more I want to have a reason and know why! We ended up diving with Sailing Club... while we weren't blown away by the reefs we were by the service and value (I think we paid $40 for two divers, which was an industry rate).

Anyway, kind of a tangent, but my point is, if you are going to charge more than competitors or more than what is expected, I think you just need to make it clear WHY! Looks like Dive! Dive! Dive! is trying, and I get their reasoning, though I still think on my current income I wouldn't be able to swing it. The most I've ever paid for a dive was in Ibiza, and that was cheaper than $84.

 

[ti325v]

Hi folks, I just popped in here, and saw these new posts....
Please go back and read what I wrote before.....500 divers or so in the first year of business, throw in a few hundred snorkelers....gross income with extras i.e. rentals.... about 100K.
That is less then my annual salary back in the U.S.
Lost four percent of customers based on price.
Investment, well over 100K, and 3 years of lost income in my profession at home.
I am doing everything I felt to be best practice from my experience in the industry.
Just today I took possession of a positive pressure ventilator/ demand valve oxygen delivery system for all of $800 USD.
I think the only such system in Vietnam, much less on a dive boat. I had a customer hand carry it from Australia as they are not available in this country.
No doubt it is expensive to dive here and when the tourist numbers increase, the prices will go down.
Costs are costs, as before, my "competitor" is charging 30% more and delivering a whole lot less.

I paid my money and I took my chance, and gambled on an unknown destination, with a very bright future.
Con Dao was just named #7 of the 20 top places to go in Vietnam by the most popular travel guide book in the world. In the last edition it hardly merited a mention.
Somebody has to stick their neck out and give it a shot, I did.
There is no way I was going to open in the pig pen that is Nha Trang, I have worked in nearly every dive shop in this country and what is going on here is appalling.
(If you would like proof of this, P.M. me and I will copy you a very interesting letter.)
Thanks to those of you who understand, as it seems do my customers. My reviews on trip advisor say a whole lot about us and what we are doing.
Not just for our business, but for the environment and the people on the island, ( My wife is one of the best dentists in the country and she does free preventive dentistry for the local kids, we just had a spot on National television about our efforts to clean and preserve the reefs, spotlighting the mountain of trash we have removed, and continue to remove everyday.
We have amazing support from the local government, as a result of being a perfect example of what they want in development of the islands, take people out of fishing and put them in tourism. We have done it with my boat staff of four great local guys, all VERY well paid, properly taxed, insured, pensioned, ( Nobody in this country follows the labor laws, we exceed all of the requirements) I have even tried to get their families health insurance but it is not available in this area. This is all money out of my pocket, and part of the high costs. I am trying to do it right by every definition of the word.
This is a lifetime investment.
Most people only come here for three days, so they are only diving for one day. Less then 5% of my divers dive on multiple days, simply because they had no idea the diving was so good and the islands so beautiful and interesting they plan a short stay. Many do extend their stays and change their whole trip.
For comparison, a speedboat for four costs about $150 for three hours. You can rent a boat in Nha Trang to carry 20 people for the day for about $120.
The cheapest hotel/guesthouse on the island is about $22 a night. I can get a nice clean comfortable room in the heart of Saigon for $8 a night.
It is not just the diving that is expensive, it is everything on the islands.
Come on over in a few years, you will miss a lot of the charm, as this place is very much as I remember the whole country 20 years ago, but it will be cheaper to dive then.
Best regards to you all.

Oh, and just to put some more perspective, to my knowledge, I am the only "registered" westerner living full time on the island.
There may possibly be two or three more, but I have not spoken to them recently about their status.
There are a few transients, like some of the staff at the $600 to $1,000 a night resort (Incidentally where it costs $270 for two dives).
This place is still far off the map.

P.S. Thanks Bill and Alex, if either of you ever get over this way, you dive for free !

 

[nguyenw]

Hi folks, I just popped in here, and saw these new posts....
Please go back and read what I wrote before.....500 divers or so in the first year of business, throw in a few hundred snorkelers....gross income with extras i.e. rentals.... about 100K.
That is less then my annual salary back in the U.S.
Lost four percent of customers based on price.
Investment, well over 100K, and 3 years of lost income in my profession at home.
I am doing everything I felt to be best practice from my experience in the industry.
Just today I took possession of a positive pressure ventilator/ demand valve oxygen delivery system for all of $800 USD.
I think the only such system in Vietnam, much less on a dive boat. I had a customer hand carry it from Australia as they are not available in this country.
No doubt it is expensive to dive here and when the tourist numbers increase, the prices will go down.
Costs are costs, as before, my "competitor" is charging 30% more and delivering a whole lot less.

I paid my money and I took my chance, and gambled on an unknown destination, with a very bright future.
Con Dao was just named #7 of the 20 top places to go in Vietnam by the most popular travel guide book in the world. In the last edition it hardly merited a mention.
Somebody has to stick their neck out and give it a shot, I did.
There is no way I was going to open in the pig pen that is Nha Trang, I have worked in nearly every dive shop in this country and what is going on here is appalling.
(If you would like proof of this, P.M. me and I will copy you a very interesting letter.)
Thanks to those of you who understand, as it seems do my customers. My reviews on trip advisor say a whole lot about us and what we are doing.
Not just for our business, but for the environment and the people on the island, ( My wife is one of the best dentists in the country and she does free preventive dentistry for the local kids, we just had a spot on National television about our efforts to clean and preserve the reefs, spotlighting the mountain of trash we have removed, and continue to remove everyday.
We have amazing support from the local government, as a result of being a perfect example of what they want in development of the islands, take people out of fishing and put them in tourism. We have done it with my boat staff of four great local guys, all VERY well paid, properly taxed, insured, pensioned, ( Nobody in this country follows the labor laws, we exceed all of the requirements) I have even tried to get their families health insurance but it is not available in this area. This is all money out of my pocket, and part of the high costs. I am trying to do it right by every definition of the word.
This is a lifetime investment.
Most people only come here for three days, so they are only diving for one day. Less then 5% of my divers dive on multiple days, simply because they had no idea the diving was so good and the islands so beautiful and interesting they plan a short stay. Many do extend their stays and change their whole trip.
For comparison, a speedboat for four costs about $150 for three hours. You can rent a boat in Nha Trang to carry 20 people for the day for about $120.
The cheapest hotel/guesthouse on the island is about $22 a night. I can get a nice clean comfortable room in the heart of Saigon for $8 a night.
It is not just the diving that is expensive, it is everything on the islands.
Come on over in a few years, you will miss a lot of the charm, as this place is very much as I remember the whole country 20 years ago, but it will be cheaper to dive then.
Best regards to you all.

Oh, and just to put some more perspective, to my knowledge, I am the only "registered" westerner living full time on the island.
There may possibly be two or three more, but I have not spoken to them recently about their status.
There are a few transients, like some of the staff at the $600 to $1,000 a night resort (Incidentally where it costs $270 for two dives).
This place is still far off the map.

P.S. Thanks Bill and Alex, if either of you ever get over this way, you dive for free !

Hey I wanted to come by to say hi to you on Nguyen Hue's street but it looked like the shop has moved? I've just recently got my first PADI certification. Didn't find out about your shop until the last days on Con Dao otherwise I would have signed up for a dive.

To the others who complain about the price. I don't think they're the customers you would want anyway. Sort of like you gotta turn away the wrong customers to serve the right ones. There are those who dive because they love diving and there are those who want to do it so they can cross it off their bucket list, tell their friends they're divers now (and be all cool about it.) I started in the second group but realized I gotta be in the first.

A return flight ticket to Con Dao from HCM alone is $200 - about 20% more than from HCM to Hanoi (at about 1/3 of the distance.) The price of seafood in Con Dao, which one may think should be cheaper than elsewhere on mainland because Con Dao in the middle of the ocean with daily fishing boats coming in and out, actually costs twice as much as Vung Tau's. Yeah I would love to (and I will) go to the Philippines to dive there but Vietnam is Vietnam and Con Dao is Con Dao. I took dive lessons in Vancouver Canada and the boat ride alone cost $100 each for 8 people.

Oh and by the way, I'm a local Vietnamese studying abroad. The whole location arbitrage thing is cool (for a lot of Westerners. I'm not gonna lie, I'm currently enjoying it as well,) but one of the reasons why diving in the Philippines (or Nha Trang) costs so little is because the people are getting paid dirt cheap.

ti325v I respect what you and your wife are doing for the locals in Con Dao. The last thing I want (or anybody with a care for the environment and equality) is to have Con Dao turn into yet another cheap vacation getaway. My uncle's entire month salary is about $500 and he wanted to pay for my flight to Con Dao (which was already $200.) Talk about people who make real $$$ and here we are. Geesh, please let it be this expensive. I'd gladly pay for the experience!

 

[ti325v]

Hey I wanted to come by to say hi to you on Nguyen Hue's street but it looked like the shop has moved? I've just recently got my first PADI certification. Didn't find out about your shop until the last days on Con Dao otherwise I would have signed up for a dive.

To the others who complain about the price. I don't think they're the customers you would want anyway. Sort of like you gotta turn away the wrong customers to serve the right ones. There are those who dive because they love diving and there are those who want to do it so they can cross it off their bucket list, tell their friends they're divers now (and be all cool about it.) I started in the second group but realized I gotta be in the first.

A return flight ticket to Con Dao from HCM alone is $200 - about 20% more than from HCM to Hanoi (at about 1/3 of the distance.) The price of seafood in Con Dao, which one may think should be cheaper than elsewhere on mainland because Con Dao in the middle of the ocean with daily fishing boats coming in and out, actually costs twice as much as Vung Tau's. Yeah I would love to (and I will) go to the Philippines to dive there but Vietnam is Vietnam and Con Dao is Con Dao. I took dive lessons in Vancouver Canada and the boat ride alone cost $100 each for 8 people.

Oh and by the way, I'm a local Vietnamese studying abroad. The whole location arbitrage thing is cool (for a lot of Westerners. I'm not gonna lie, I'm currently enjoying it as well,) but one of the reasons why diving in the Philippines (or Nha Trang) costs so little is because the people are getting paid dirt cheap.

ti325v I respect what you and your wife are doing for the locals in Con Dao. The last thing I want (or anybody with a care for the environment and equality) is to have Con Dao turn into yet another cheap vacation getaway. My uncle's entire month salary is about $500 and he wanted to pay for my flight to Con Dao (which was already $200.) Talk about people who make real $$$ and here we are. Geesh, please let it be this expensive. I'd gladly pay for the experience!

Hello Nguyenw:
Thanks very much for your words of understanding and explaining ( Your on site feedback is price less) I am sorry we missed you.
We are directly behind our old building and there is a big sign on the front of the old building.
Next time you make it to Con Dao, you dive on the house. You are spot on in your assessment of wanting to serve a particular crowd, we are making an effort to reduce prices.. We have not raised them this year, despite operating cost increases and we are even considering reducing them a bit. The crash of the economies of western Europe has hit us hard.
We are reinvesting every cent we make back into equipment upgrades, just took delivery of 40 sets of jetfins with spring straps, new mares fins and wetsuits, LED lights, (Night dives are pretty good here). A bauer k-14 is on the way, to put on the boat. (Makes the overnight exploratory trips much easier!)
Thanks and best regards
Larry

 

[franckxlegion]

mmmmhhhh, underwater visibility and beauty of the island still look very average to me. I think Vietnam will remain on my 'no dive location' list, and even though I live in Vietnam, I would prefer buy myself a flight to Indonesia, Philippines or Borneo to dive there anytime!

 

[Vindobona]

This thread was really interesting to read through.
I'm going to Con Dao in January. Looking forward to some amazing dives!

Not sure what type of accomodation to choose on Con Dao though. Any tips or recommendations from anyone?
Six Senses is too expensive.