Cham Island from Hoi An: the boat, the fee, and whether the sea will let you

Cù Lao Chàm — Cham Island in English, though it is really a cluster of eight islands with one inhabited — sits about 15 km off the mouth of the Thu Bồn, and it is the single most requested trip we get after the airport run. It is also the one most likely to be cancelled on the morning, by people who are not us.

So this guide is about the mechanics rather than the scenery: which boat, what it costs in 2026, what the sea does to the plan between September and February, and how the day actually goes if you are carrying a three-year-old and a bag of towels.

The short answer

Distance-wise: Cửa Đại harbour is about 18 km from the middle of Hội An, so ten to fifteen minutes in the car before you even see the water. From Đà Nẵng it is roughly 45 km to the same harbour.

What does it cost to visit Cham Island in 2026?

The fee people ask about is the nature-reserve fee: 70,000 VND per person per visit. Tuổi Trẻ reported in June 2026 that the Đà Nẵng People's Council had reviewed it and held it at that level, and it is collected by the reserve's own management board rather than by the boat operator. Note that it is a separate fee from the cultural-heritage schedule that governs Hội An Old Town and Mỹ Sơn — those were re-set on 10 August 2026 and the island was not part of that change.

That last detail matters more than it sounds. Since Quảng Nam province was merged into Đà Nẵng city in 2025, decisions about Hội An and Cù Lao Chàm — including this fee — are made by Đà Nẵng. Most English-language pages still describe the island as being in Quảng Nam and quote fees from an authority that no longer exists.

• Exempt from the fee: children under 16, students, visitors aged 60 and over, people with a disability certificate, residents of Tân Hiệp commune, and households classed as poor or near-poor.
• Free for everyone on four days a year: the four days of Tết, 29 March (Đà Nẵng Liberation Day), 26 May (the anniversary of the UNESCO Biosphere designation) and 2 September (National Day).
• Boat fares are separate and are what actually varies. Children under 12 months usually travel free, and ages one to eight are often charged half.
• Snorkelling and diving are charged on the island, roughly 200,000 to 1,000,000 VND depending on whether you want a mask and a look or a tank and a guide.

When do the boats stop running?

March to August is the season. In the remaining months the north-east monsoon brings storms and heavy swell, and most tourist boats simply do not sail — not as a policy so much as a fact of the water. Any single day between roughly September and February can be called off in the morning by the port authority, and it is called off for everybody at once.

The corollary: if a company promises you the island in December, they are promising you something the sea has not agreed to. Ask what happens to your money when the boats do not run, and get the answer before you pay.

Which beach should you ask for?

The island's beaches are all called Bãi something, and knowing the names is the difference between arriving where you meant to and arriving where the boat happened to go.

If someone in your party is a strong swimmer and someone else is five years old, ask for Bãi Chồng and accept that you are doing the normal thing. The quiet beaches are quiet because they are harder to reach and have less shade, less food and no lifeguard.

Is Cham Island good for young children?

Yes, with two caveats that nobody mentions until you are already on the water.

1. 01The crossing is short but it is not smoothFifteen to twenty minutes in a small fast boat over open sea. On a calm March morning it is a thrill. On a choppy day it is fifteen minutes of slamming, and small children sit at the back, in the middle, where the boat moves least.
2. 02Life jackets are the rule, not a suggestionEverybody wears one on the crossing, and children keep them on to snorkel. Ask in advance for a child-sized jacket rather than assuming — adult jackets ride up over a small chin.
3. 03Shade is the scarce resourceBãi Chồng has loungers and umbrellas; the smaller beaches have a tree, if you are lucky. Between eleven and two the sand is genuinely hard work with a toddler.
4. 04Lunch is usually seafood, and usually fineMost day trips include a set seafood lunch on the island. Vegetarian, allergy or no-shellfish requirements are entirely doable, but they have to be asked for when the boat is booked — not on the beach at noon.

Families are, for what it is worth, the largest single group we send out there — more than couples, more than solo travellers. The trip that works has an early boat, one beach, and no ambition to see the whole island.

Snorkelling: what is actually down there

Cù Lao Chàm is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve with something over 950 recorded aquatic species, and the coral is genuinely protected — this is not a marketing line, it is the reason the fee exists and the reason the plastic rules are enforced.

Set your expectations at the right level, though. This is not the Maldives. Visibility is good rather than glassy, and the coral gardens are shallow, close to shore and best in the morning before the wind gets up and before forty other people have swum over them. Go on the first boat, not the third.

Staying the night

Most people do not, and most people should not — the island is small and the day trip covers it. But if you want the version where the last boat leaves without you on purpose, there are modest homestays and guesthouses around Bãi Làng and Bãi Hương at roughly 200,000 to 500,000 VND a night.

The argument for it is the evening: the day boats go, the beach empties, and you eat with a fishing family in a village of a couple of thousand people. The argument against it is that a rough morning can keep you there an extra day, so the same warning applies twice over.

How we do it

We are a car company, not a boat company — so being straight about this: on the public canô you do not need us at all. Drive yourself to Cửa Đại, buy the ticket, be on the 08:30 boat. It is the cheapest way and it works.

Where we are useful is the version with a private boat: your own departure time rather than 08:30, your own beach, a lunch that accounts for what your family actually eats, and a car that takes you to the harbour and is waiting when you come back sunburnt at four. We charter the boat, the driver handles the harbour, and you get one fixed total in writing for the whole day — car, boat, fees and all — before you pay anything.