Cu Lao Cham island became one of the favorite destination for those who looking for natural landscape and stunning beach. With its pristine landscapes, rich flora, diverse coral reefs, and pleasant year-round climate, Cu Lao Cham Island offers many exciting activities for a true eco-tourism package. You and your family, friends can have many time to immerse yourself in the charming sea and island scenery of Central Vietnam thanks to its many beautiful beaches. Moreover, Cu Lao Cham’s wild beauty was recognized by UNESCO as a World Biosphere Reserve in 2009, promised to provide you the once-in-lifetime experience.
Today, Vietnamtour Travel will share with you some useful information to help you have a wonderful travel experience on this island.
1. All about Cham Islands Vietnam
1.1 Location
Cu Lao Cham Island, located about 20 km from Hoi An, 45 km from Da Nang, and about 15 km from the mainland. It is an ideal location for visitors who want to start the journey from Hoi An or Da Nang. This island also known by another name Chiem Bat Lao, about 15 km from the Cua Dai estuary. With an area of about 15 km2, the island includes 1 main island and 8 other sub-islands, offers many kinds of activities for visitors.
1.2 Weather in Cham Island
Choose the right time to visit Cu Lao Cham island is rather important to have a beautiful experience here. Just like Hoi An and Danang, Cu Lao Cham Island has two distinct seasons: the dry season and the rainy season. The best time to enjoy it is from March to August, that time is the dry season. The weather in these months is usually sunny and warm, rarely rainy and rough seas. It is an ideal time to enjoy island activities. The rainy season lasts from October to February, bringing increased rainfall and many storms. While the weather may not be as continuously sunny as during the dry season, frequent showers often appear, making the atmosphere here quite gloomy. However, this is also the time when many flowers bloom to welcome spring.
1.3 Cham Islands entrance fee
Refer to ticket prices in Cu Lao Cham Island to prepare your budget for the journey:
Entrance fee: 70,000 VND/Person
Ecological fee: 20,000 VND/Person
The above costs do not include transportation and food fees and other incurred costs.
2. Ideal tourist activities on Cham Islands Vietnam
2.1 Cham Islands snorkeling
Cham Islands is ideal place for watching colorful fish swimming and beautiful coral reefs under the beautiful beaches. With the perfect location, warm beach, you ensure to get unforgettable experience snorkeling here. This mean, with a minimalist form of diving, but still ensuring your safety and helping you dive to see corals or aquatic life at close range. Even people who don’t know how to swim can still dive.
Immersing yourself in the cool water under the hot summer sun and watching the lively movements of sea creatures will be a wonderful and unforgettable experience in your journey to explore Cu Lao Cham Island. If you want to dive deeper and increase the challenge, you can try Cham Island diving.
2.2 Visit Hai Tang Temple
On the way to explore the Cham island, you can go over to Hai Tang Temple. It is located at the foot of the mountain of Hon Lao island in Quang Nam province, Vietnam. This temple was determined to be built in 1758 with bold Buddhist architecture. It was built for Buddhists or simply tourists from all over the country or even foreigners to come to worship or pray for luck and good things to come in life or their job. Being an extremely sacred place, it also attracts a large number of tourists every year, especially on holidays or spring. Although it has undergone many destructions due to natural disasters and wars, the temple still stands tall to this day and still has an ancient and solemn beauty. There is no charge to visit this place. Reception time starts at 8am and closes at 5pm.
2.3 Walking Under the Sea of Cham Island
As a famous place with many beautiful beaches, walking under the sea of Cham Island Vietnam is also an activity loved by many tourists. For this activity, you will have the opportunity to walk around in the deep blue sea to freely see and even directly touch sea creatures along with beautiful coral reefs. There will be a device to help you breathe underwater, a helmet to provide oxygen. Besides, there will be a tour guide to assist you throughout the tour .Even people who don’t know how to swim can try this activity.
The cost for this experience is about 950 thousand vnd/1 person within 20 minutes. You should choose to go in the summer to experience this interesting activity
2.4 Visit ancient wells of Champa people
Cu Lao Cham Island is a place that preserves many cultural values and traces of the Cham people. One of the symbols that must be mentioned is the ancient wells of Champa people. This is the oldest historical relic on Cu Lao Cham island , built about 200 years ago and located in the Cam village residential area. This well has been providing fresh water to people for a long time and is known to never run out even during the hottest and driest season of the year.
One of the reasons why this ancient well is known and visited by many people is because of spiritual legends about the well water being able to help cure seasickness, escape from loneliness, give birth or even do anything that you desire. If you want to determine whether these things are true or not you can come to experience its accuracy
2.5 Enjoy fresh seafood
Cu Lao Cham Island is home to many large and beautiful beaches. These beaches not only bring tourism value but also bring a lot of economic value thanks to fresh seafood. Coming to this location, in addition to enjoying the cool breezes and majestic natural landscapes, you will have the opportunity to enjoy fresh seafood from popular species such as shrimp, crabs, snails to rare species such as lobsters, “Vu nang” snail and stone crabs at reasonable prices. Fresh seafood combined with the beautiful scenery of the beaches will stimulate your taste buds like never before.
Imagine yourself sitting in front of the majestic sea with the people you love, enjoying fresh seafood and sipping some wine after hard days of work will be precious moments and relax your spirit.
2.6 Fishing with local people
If you are patient and like to immerse yourself in fresh air, fishing with local people on the Cu Lao Cham Island is the suitable activity for you. This activity helps you immerse yourself in daily life with the fishermen, sit on the boat with them to catch fish, talk together, and quietly watch the rolling waves. If you’re lucky, you can enjoy fresh seafood you caught yourself, but if you’re unlucky and don’t catch any fish, don’t worry, the fishermen will support you or even share their fish that they caught for you thanks to their hospitality and kindness
2.7 Take a walk on the beaches
Two times when you should take a walk on the beaches on Cu Lao Cham Island are sunrise and sunset. Because at these times you will be able to admire the sun most clearly and see the activities of the fishermen here. This is also a great time to create beautiful photos to preserve beautiful memories with your friends or relatives. Moreover, you can pick up unique seashells and snail shells when walking on the beach.
Walking on the beach will be an extremely romantic activity for couples. Even many tourists have chosen to take wedding photos at these beaches.
2.8 Camping in Cham Island Hoi An
When staying overnight in the hotels or homestays is very similar, camping will be an interesting experience for you. Camping in Cham Island Hoi An is a quite popular activity. You can bring your own tent but this is quite inconvenient during travel, so I recommend renting a tent from the people living here for convenience. Tent rental prices will depend on the season. When camping, you can enjoy the fresh air, watch the starry sky, sit around with relatives and friends beside the campfire to eat ,talk and sing. In addition, this is also an opportunity for you to exchange and expand relationships
2.9 Visit Yen Village
Yen Village is located in Bai Huong, Tan Hiep commune, Hoi An city, built around the 19th century. True to its name, the Yen village is a place to raise and produce bird’s nests – a food with high nutritional value and good for human health. Coming here, you will know some information about bird’s nests and visit caves where bird nests nest.
You should visit on the 10th of the 3rd lunar month to participate in the unique Bird’s Nest Ceremony and the rich identity of the people here.
2.10 Tan Hiep Market
Tan Hiep Market also known as Cham Seafood market is located next to Bai Lang fishing wharf, a place specializing in selling products from both the forest and the sea. In addition, they also sell souvenirs typical of Cu Lao Cham Island. Therefore, if you want to know or buy the specialties of this place, you cannot miss this market
