Stay Safe & Healthy in Cham Island

Breaking swells from September through December (during the NE monsoon season) make Cham Islands almost inaccessible; from January to April only occasionally accessible; and from May to August almost always accessible. This is due to the extremely shallow water conditions at the river inlet to the ocean, which has an average depth of only 900 mm.

The weather also changes during the day; it is quieter in the mornings, but winds and waves pick up around noon.

Squalls frequently occur in the late afternoons during the summer, especially later in the season in August (look towards Laos and see if dark clouds are forming). Avoid getting trapped in an insecure boat during a hazardous storm!

A word of caution: Few boats in Vietnam are built for rough conditions or function to international standards! Most locally manufactured boats, regardless of size, have flat bottoms and are not seaworthy.