Snorkeling in Cham Island: Complete Guide

Hoian has many beautiful beaches and islands, which offer you a great chance to join a lot of water activities like swimming, boat riding, diving, and especially snorkeling. The best place to go snorkeling in Hoian is Cham Island or Cu Lao Cham. Cham Islands has just been recognized as a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. The Cham islands are also a Marine Protected Area (MPA) because of their many important marine habitants, especially beaches and coral reefs, and rich biodiversity.

The island consists of eight small islands off the coast of Hoian, which are the Hòn Lao (Pearl), Hòn Dài (long), Hòn Mồ (tomb), Hòn Khô mẹ, Hòn Khô con (dry), Hòn Lá (leaf), Hòn Tai (ear) and Hòn Ông (east wind). The main island is Hon Lao, which is the largest. It boasts beautiful beaches, diving & snorkeling, and delicious seafood. However, each year there is a large number of tourists coming here to visit, exploiting the coral reefs, causing bad impacts on the sea here. It is necessary to be careful when snorkeling here, do not break the coral or bring it back to the mainland.

Snorkeling in Cham Island

To get to Cham Island we have several options below:

By public ferry: You can go to An Hoi or Cua Dai Pier to catch a ferry to Cham island. This kind of transportation is slow but reasonable. It is 150.000VND/person/way.

By speedboat: It is the fastest way to get to Cham island, only 30 minutes. It departs around 8:30-9:00 in the morning and 13:30 in the afternoon. The price of the ticket is 300.000VND/person/way.

Booking a package tour: It is the most convenient way to get to Cham island. Picking up is from your hotel in Hoian a tour offers other interesting activities besides snorkeling like visiting two villages, beaches, pagoda, and seafood lunch. A day tour for snorkeling in Cham island is about 45USD, including a seafood lunch.

Cham island is the most outstanding place for snorkeling near Hoi An. The climate is cool all the time during the year. The flora and fauna are plentiful and maritime life offers spectacular views for snorkelers. This island is the perfect place where you can see countless species of fish, beautiful coral, and sea life.

The Cham Island snorkeling and diving season does not last year-round. The best time for snorkeling trips is between March and September, with the best weather between June-August. This is the time when the weather is warm, sunny, the water is clear and the sea is calm. Snorkeling during this time of the year, you will be able to see a variety of colorful corals and marine life.

You should avoid traveling to Cham island during the monsoon period between October and February. During these months, the weather can be rough with seasonal storms thrashing the coast and causing unsuitable diving and snorkeling conditions. When the weather closes in, boats can not make the crossing to the Cham Islands and your chances for snorkeling are extremely limited.

Amazing snorkeling

There are a lot of activities on Cham Island such as camping, sea trekking, swimming, and snorkeling. Snorkeling is quite reasonable, only about 10 USD. you will buy a snorkeling ticker with a tour guide and full equipment to see the flawless, colorful life under the blue water. That’s such an adorable price for this exotic activity on this charming island of Central Vietnam. Cham island is full of snorkelers from June to August as it is the best season for snorkeling. 10 USD is too cheap for such an amazing thing as doing snorkeling, so just give it a try and you will never regret it.

Snorkeling is a sport that can be enjoyed by everyone; it is not necessary to know how to swim. The three main ingredients: floating, breathing, and looking. If you can do that, then you can snorkel!

Snorkeling requires very little actual swimming; instead, you float face-down on the sea's surface with your snorkel and mask strapped on, taking in the spectacular underwater sights below. If you want to snorkel but aren't confident in the water, we'll provide you a life jacket to keep you floating and safe. On all of our snorkeling excursions, we also provide swimsuits, which help with buoyancy and allow you to simply relax and lie at the surface! Snorkeling does not require a swim stroke or the use of your arms to drive yourself through the water, though you will need to kick your legs if you want to move around. 

This is not expensive to do Snorkeling in Cham Island

• Bring sunscreen or reef-safe sunscreen and a wide-brimmed hat.
• Bring your own mask and snorkel to ensure it fits properly even if you sign up for a snorkeling tour
• Bring an underwater camera to get footage while you snorkel and swim.
• Buy travel insurance before you go snorkeling
• Besides, a day trip for snorkeling in Cham Island, you can choose 2 days 1-night snorkeling trip, so prepare for overnight if you prefer

Hope that the above information is helpful for your Hoi An trips. Do not miss this beautiful place when you are in Hoian from June to August. The corals and sea life here are really impressive and worth seeing. If you need any help to arrange a snorkeling tour on Cham island, do not hesitate to contact us.

Hue Pham

Image source: Internet