Tips for Booking Wooden Boat Tickets from Cua Dai Port to Cu Lao Cham Island
You spent a few days on Cham Island, and it’s one of those trips where it really goes as planned but somehow turns out better than you expected. You will depart Cửa Đại port in Hội An (about 60 minutes, around 400,000 VND), and hop on one of those Cham island wooden boats instead of the speed boats everyone usually takes. Slower, yeah, but different vibe entirely.
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Cham Island speed boats will get you there in 15 – 20 minutes, but you barely feel the sea. On the wooden boat, it was 08:00 AM, and you left the dock with local people, a few tourists, sacks of vegetables, crates of fish… it felt like time slowed down. About two hours crossing, the engine humming, salt sticking on your skin, wind hitting your face. The ticket’s cheap too, with 200,000 VND one way, and you actually get to see Hội An disappearing behind you instead of just blinking and arriving.
You landed at Bãi Làng beach, the main village. First impression: Tiny. Blue wooden houses, fishing nets everywhere, kids barefoot chasing each other, a few aunties selling iced tea on plastic stools. No big resorts, no crowds screaming for selfies, which hit like a truck after that long boat ride.
First, you should rent a motorbike from them for 200.000 VND/day, and drive around the island. The road climbs up the hills, giving these insane views over the Sea. Halfway up, there’s a viewpoint called Eo Gió. No sign, no ticket, just a dirt path off the road. Sat there for an hour watching fishing boats come and go.
The next 10:00, you should book the snorkeling services for 250,000 VND for a 2-hour trip. We went to Cham Island wooden boat, no fancy gear, just masks and fins. First spot was Hòn Khô, the water was so clear you could see the coral ten meters down. Schools of silver fish dart around, and these purple sea urchins are everywhere. I asked the fisherman if they eat them, and he laughed and said they just leave them alone unless tourists ask for grilled ones.
Lunch back on the beach was ridiculous for how fresh everything was. Grilled squid still smelling of charcoal, steamed clams with lemongrass, and a spicy fish soup they call “canh chua” — all caught that morning. You sat under the shade of coconut trees, rice on enamel plates, beer from a cooler. Zero pretense.
See more details >>> Itinerary, time and ticket prices for speed boat to Cham Island
Cham Islands Speedboat
The Cham Island wooden boat back to Hội An left at 2:00 PM sharp. Same slow hum, same salt in the air. Looking back at the island getting smaller and smaller, you kind of didn’t want to leave. If you’re in Đà Nẵng or Hội An and you’ve got time, skip the Cham Island speedboat at least one way. Take the wooden boat. You’ll understand the rhythm of the place better that way.
If I had to sum it up, Cham Island Da Nang isn’t about ticking off spots or getting the perfect Instagram shot. It’s about slowing down. Sitting on the Cua Dai or Bai Lang pier at sunset. Eating seafood grilled by someone’s grandma. Riding a motorbike down a road that ends at the ocean. It’s not polished, not crowded, not loud — and that’s exactly why it gets under your skin.
