Cham Island lies under 20 km off the Hoi An coast, and a day trip from town takes about 7.5 to 8 hours from hotel to hotel. You drive 5 to 7 km to Cua Dai pier, cross by speedboat in about 30 minutes and leave the island by about 14:30. That gives you roughly five hours for a village walk, a snorkel stop and a seafood lunch on a beach.
It is not an empty island or a coral showpiece. Most day boats use the same beaches in the same hours, and from October to February boats are often cancelled. So two choices shape your day: the month you come and the boat you cross on.
Two ways to spend the day, both from your hotel door
Both days come with your own car, a licensed guide and your own lunch table. One crosses on a shared speedboat. On the other, the speedboat is yours.
★Cham Island Day Tour: Private Car and Guide, Shared SpeedboatYour own car, guide and lunch table, with seats on a shared speedboat. · About 7.5 hoursSee the tour →Cham Island Private Speedboat TourYour own speedboat for the whole day, planned to leave about 08:00. · About 8 hoursSee the tour →How far is Cham Island from Hoi An, and what exactly is it?
Cham Island is under 20 km from Hoi An. Published figures run from 15 to 19 km because they measure from different points on the coast. The name is the English shorthand for Cu Lao Cham, an arc of eight granite islands with about 15 square kilometres of land between them. The one you visit is Hon Lao, the largest, and the only island with permanent residents, about 3,000 of them.
Older pages can mislead on two points. Since 2025 the islands have been Tan Hiep Commune in Da Nang City, so articles that place them in Quang Nam describe the old map. And the area has been a UNESCO biosphere reserve, jointly with Hoi An, since 26 May 2009. Reserve rules are why boats tie to buoys instead of dropping anchor on the coral, and why plastic bags are not allowed on the island.
What does a Cham Island day from Hoi An look like, hour by hour?
A Cham Island day from Hoi An runs inside a fixed window. Regular tour boats leave Cua Dai between about 08:30 and 09:30 and head back by about 14:30, so most operators plan around those hours, and so do we. This is how our two days use that window.
| Stage | Shared boat day | Your own boat |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel pickup in Hoi An | 07:45 | 07:30 |
| Leave Cua Dai pier | About 08:30, on a shared speedboat | Planned for about 08:00 |
| Morning on the island | Bai Lang village, about 09:00 to 10:15 | Reefs at Hon Dai and one more, about 08:30 to 09:45 |
| Late morning | Snorkel stop from the boat, about 10:30 to 11:15 | Bai Huong fishing village, then Bai Lang, until about 12:00 |
| Lunch and a swim | About 11:30 to 14:00, Bai Chong or Bai Ong | From about 12:15, Bai Chong |
| Leave the island | Between 14:00 and 14:30 | About 14:30 |
| Back at your hotel | About 15:15 | About 15:30 |
The crossing is the part that varies most. Reports range from 15 to 40 minutes, and about 30 minutes is a fair figure, longer when the sea is up. A small speedboat feels the swell directly, so if bumpy boats are a real problem for you, weigh that before anything else and aim for the calmer months between May and August.
What is there to do on the island in one day?
A day on Hon Lao comes down to three things: walking the village at Bai Lang, snorkelling from a boat, and eating and swimming at a beach. Between them they fill the five hours or so that the boat times leave you.
Bai Lang village
Bai Lang is the main settlement, on the west side of Hon Lao, and the main pier is here. Hai Tang Pagoda, built in 1758 and moved to its present site in 1848 after storms, stands about 300 m from the centre with the island’s only rice field at its feet. Close to the pier you also pass the old well at Xom Cam, built in the Cham manner, and Tan Hiep market, which sells seafood, dried goods and souvenirs.
The reef
Snorkelling here means swimming from a boat tied to a buoy, usually over reef 2 to 5 m deep. Boats do not land at Bai Xep, so a stop there happens offshore. Hon Tai appears on some itineraries, but sources disagree on whether visitors are allowed there, so treat it as a stop only when the sea and the reserve’s rules allow. Expect boulder corals in brown, yellow and olive with small shoals of fish, not a wall of colour. Some days the water is too cloudy to see much, and nobody can promise coral or fish on a given morning.
The beaches
Bai Ong has about 500 m of sand, restaurants and public fresh-water showers. Bai Chong has fine sand, coconut palms and a stack of granite boulders at one end. Other tour boats use both, so in the busy months expect company at lunch.
Which way of going suits you?
A full group tour suits solo travellers and tight budgets, our shared-boat day suits people who want the guide and car to themselves, and a speedboat of your own makes most sense for three or four guests. Going alone on the public boat suits people who plan to stay the night.
| Way of going | Who is with you | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Full group tour (we do not sell this) | Often 15 or more guests on the listings we read in November 2026, one guide | Fixed pace, and one listing gives about 40 minutes in the water |
| Our shared-boat day | Other guests on the boat. Only your group in the car, with the guide and at lunch | The boat keeps its own times, and those two legs cannot move |
| Your own speedboat | Only your group and guide, on the boat and in the car | The boat costs nearly the same however few you are, and beaches stay public |
| Public boat, on your own | Whoever else is aboard | Sources disagree on boat type and times, and sailings are few |
Our prices sit well above a group tour, and the cheaper option is the right one for plenty of people. What the private price pays for is set out on each tour page: your own car, a guide who stays with your group all day, and no stops added for anyone else’s sake.
Which months work, and what happens if the sea says no?
March to September is the settled stretch for Cham Island, with May to August usually calmest and clearest. From October to February boats are often cancelled, sometimes for several days in a row, although no month is officially closed. December to March also tends to bring cloudy water and fewer fish.
The port authority can stop boats at short notice, and the sea is not its only reason. On 14 and 15 March 2022 a dispute over who could license boats at the island pier halted departures and left residents and visitors stuck on Hon Lao, according to Bao Van Hoa. That is one more reason a flight on the same afternoon is a poor idea in any month. On our tours the rule is this: Light rain does not stop the day. If the port authority bans boats, you choose a new date free of charge or a 100% refund. If boats still run but the swell is big, the captain drops or swaps a snorkel stop, and that change is not partly refunded. We confirm the sea with you 2 days before. The full terms are in our cancellation and refund policy.
What should you know before you reach the pier?
| Item | What to know |
|---|---|
| Visitor fee | 70,000 VND (~$3) per person since 10 June 2026, under Da Nang Resolution 16/2026. Older pages quote other figures. Both our tours include it. |
| Plastic bags | Not allowed on the island, under a ban dating from 2009. Bring a reusable bag. |
| Cash | Several guides report no ATM on the island, so carry dong for drinks and the market. |
| Passport | A couple of travel guides advise carrying it or a photo of it because of a military post. We found no official rule. A photo on your phone costs nothing. |
| Pagoda | Bring a layer that covers shoulders and knees. |
Compare the two days stop by stop
Each tour page gives the full timetable, what the price pays for and who should skip that day.
Cham Island Day Tour: Private Car and Guide, Shared SpeedboatAbout 7.5 hoursSee the tour →Cham Island Private Speedboat TourAbout 8 hoursSee the tour →Questions people ask before going
Can you visit Cham Island from Hoi An as a day trip?
Yes, and most visitors do. Speedboats leave Cua Dai pier, 5 to 7 km from the Ancient Town, in the morning and head back by about 14:30. Our two days take about 7.5 and 8 hours from hotel to hotel.
How long is the boat from Hoi An to Cham Island?
The speedboat takes about 30 minutes, and sources range from 15 to 40 minutes depending on the sea. Wooden boats are much slower, at 60 to 90 minutes.
Is the speedboat private on your Cham Island tours?
On one of them. On the shared-boat day you sit with other guests on a shared speedboat, while the car, guide and lunch table are for your group alone. On the private speedboat tour the boat carries only your group and your guide.
Do you have to pay to enter Cham Island?
Yes. The visitor fee is 70,000 VND (~$3) per person, in force since 10 June 2026. Under-16s and students are among those exempt, and nobody pays at Tet or on 29 March, 26 May and 2 September. Both our tours include the fee.
Can non-swimmers go to Cham Island?
Yes. A life jacket is always provided, and non-swimmers can stay on board or float next to the guide at the snorkel stop. The village and the lunch are the same for everyone.
Is Cham Island open all year?
There is no fixed closed month and we run all year, but boats are often cancelled from October to February. Book those months only if your date can move. Vietnamtourism says many island businesses close from November to January, so ask us what is open before you book those months.
Choose your boat. We will watch the sea.
Hotel pickup, your own car and licensed guide, your boat seats or a boat of your own, island fees and lunch, all in one price for your group. We confirm the sea with you 2 days before.
★Cham Island Day Tour: Private Car and Guide, Shared SpeedboatYour own car, guide and lunch table, with seats on a shared speedboat. · About 7.5 hoursfrom$101/ person›
Choose your group size · price is the group totalSolo traveller$225BOOK →2 guests$285BOOK →3 guests$345BOOK →4 guests$405BOOK →See the full tour page →Cham Island Private Speedboat TourYour own speedboat for the whole day, planned to leave about 08:00. · About 8 hoursfrom$176/ person›
Choose your group size · price is the group totalSolo traveller$610BOOK →2 guests$640BOOK →3 guests$675BOOK →4 guests$705BOOK →See the full tour page →Boat times, fees and seasonal patterns here were checked in November 2026. The port and the reserve can change them at short notice.