Because tours are for losers.
When you arrive at your hostel or hotel in Hoi An, odds are you’ll be greeted by tons of flyers advertising things for you to do. Places to get a customized leather jacket, do some pottery- or, go on a day trip to Cham Island.
There’s certainly nothing wrong with Cham Island- in fact, it’s a rather wonderful place. Calm, relaxing, and scenic, as you’ll see later on in this post.
But a tour? It takes away from these vibes that Cham Island naturally possesses. And why pay extra money for that when you can do it oh so easily by yourself?
What’s wrong with the tours?
So what’s so wrong about these tours?
First off, the price. I don’t remember the exact numbers, but basic tours of 5-7 hours were slightly under 1 million Dong ($40 USD). I’d suspect that tours offering snorkeling and other activities would only be upwards from here.
As you’ll see later on, not only can you radically decrease the price by going yourself, but you can give yourself the freedom to spend as much time on the island as you like.
This includes the option to stay overnight on the island.
Then, of course- the vibes. Cham Island is a place to go to unwind and relax. For whatever reason, being on a speedboat full of shouting tourists isn’t so conducive to this.
How to get to Cham Island without a tour
It’s really quite easy to get to Cham Island on your own- it just takes some advance preparation, especially during high season.
If you are here during peak season, make sure to book your ticket beforehand.
There are several ways that you can book. One way is to drive over to the port the day before and walk into any open office that you see and inquire about prices.
But I imagine you’ll be busy, so an easier way is to just book through this number (+84 982221846). I got them down to 400k Dong round trip ($16 USD). A little haggling may be necessary.
There’s another company that offers 350k Dong round trip, as well as a 700k Dong ($28 USD) package that includes a motorbike and a homestay room with- wait for it- sea view.
I’m mocking it, but it’s actually a pretty great deal. You can’t do much better if you rent each thing individually. I probably would’ve done it, but they didn’t respond. Feel free to try though- take a look a the flyer for contact information.
When you book your tickets, I advise you to get the return for the following day so you can spend the night on the island. It’s worth it.
Once you have the tickets, simply go to the pier, collect your tickets, and hop on the boat to Cham Island.
Things to do on Cham Island
You only have one day, so we want to make the most of it.
Get a quick bite to eat by the port, rent a scooter (not a must, but pretty close to it), and head off to explore what Cham Island has to offer.
Visit the beaches on the western side
The island is basically divided in two. The beachy western side where everyone goes, and the wild eastern side where nobody goes.
We’ll obviously still go there- but we’ll get to that later.
There are several nice spots along the western coast.
One of my favorites was Bãi Xếp Beach. It’s located just a five minutes drive from where the boat dropped you off.
When you go down the stairs to the beach, turn right. You’ll have to climb over some rocks, but you’ll then have a long stretch of beach that almost nobody goes to. Good snorkeling too.
Another good one is Bãi Ông, located about ten minutes in the opposite direction from the boat.
There are other spots, but I won’t get into it any more. Just ride along the coastline and stop wherever you find a nice spot. That’s the true way to explore an island.
Scooter to the wild eastern side
If the western side of Cham Island is the calm, well-behaved guest, the eastern side is the wild relative who shows up drunk and smashes all your furniture.
Scootering on the eastern side of Cham Island is both an immensely scenic ride and a puzzle.
Why a puzzle? Because you’ll often find yourself stopping to plan a route between the massive boulders that lie on the road, blocking your path forward.
To add another fun little challenge, there’s a decent chance that more boulders will come tumbling down from the cliffs above at any second.
It can all become a fun game. Just be aware that a possible consequence of losing it is that you end up being a permanent part of the landscape.
In all seriousness, be cautious. Don’t go if the weather is bad, and don’t ride across an obstacle if you’re not sure that you can make it back over it. But I can’t lie to you, it’s a fun time.
You won’t be able to drive the whole coast from top to bottom. Whether you come via the north or south side, the road will ultimately become impassable (as of May 2025).
You’ll have a longer ride if you come from the south side. But after a squeezing your way through a bunch of obstacles, you’ll eventually find that the road has been literally sliced in half by a boulder so big it could be your mother.
Let’s hope Google doesn’t punish me for that one.
Comment below if the road has been fixed so I can update!
Stay overnight
Why not stay overnight? You’re not tied to a tour, so why not?
Unless you managed to book the package with the homestay I mentioned earlier, you’ll have to find accommodation on your own.
There are two areas you can stay in on Cham Island. The first is near where the boat drops you off, called Bãi Làng. The second is 10-15 minutes south of the port, called Bãi Hương.
Either works- the former is a little more lively, the latter more remote- but both are pretty low-key.
I‘d recommend booking in advance on Airbnb or Booking.com in high season. That way there’s no stress to find a place when you arrive.
I didn’t and there was literally nothing left. What transpired was me shyly going door to door asking if anyone had space.
Not much luck at first, until this lovely lady saw me stressing and walked into the middle of the road and started yelling until someone came out and said they had a room.
Either way works.
