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Has anyone ever been diving off of Cham Island in Hoi An? I'm there right now and wondering if we should spend the money on the dives. We went diving in Nha Trang and loved it. Let me know. Thanks.
Cham Island Vietnam
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jazzbo
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I know that this original post was in 2007, but I searched the boards for something on Cham Island, Viet Nam, and this was all I found. I thought, therefore, that I would post about my experience in case anybody else was looking for info on Cham Island.
My wife and I did our OWC dives at Cham Island with chamislanddiving.com. The organization is (what appears to be) a co-operative that has been around for about 8 years or so. The staff is a combination of ex-pats and locals. We did 4 dives over two days on 29 and 30 July of this year.
We both had a really great experience, and now are completely hooked and addicted to diving. (We're certified SCUBA divers now!!!) I, of course, don't have anything to compare it to. Other, more experienced divers from the trip, thought the visibility to be only so-so, but enjoyed the coral, huge starfish, couple of lionfish we saw, barracudas, eels, and titan triggar fish. There were many other beautiful tropical fish, but given our neophyte levels, we couldn't identify much more and found ourselves just overwhelmed with how beautiful life is underwater. So, while I can't compare it to other dive sites, I can say that others enjoyed it, and we were blown away by how amazing it was.
The dive company was really terrific. The staff speak about 8 languages among the group of them. The boat had a nice selection of water, tea, coffee, and fruit for snacks. The provided lunch was very good and definitely plentiful. The staff was very friendly and we were incredibly impressed by their organization and knowledge. They really took care of us on the trip and were very prepared for each different group, (us doing the OWC, a group just snorkeling, another group of experienced divers, and even another group doing a masters course).
If I had one thing that I would be slightly critical of, it would be that as first time divers going into the ocean for our first time ever, we were really thrust into the water. After three assistants furiously strapped us in we were able to do a quick, but still thorough, buddy check, but then it was IN IN IN IN IN! It worked well for my wife who was feeling just a touch nervous before hand. So, she didn't have a chance to other think it, it was just strap in and jump!
So, that was fine, but what I would be critical of is that during our first free descents, (on the 3rd and 4th dives), we went down quickly and without two much assistance. Now, our instructor was keeping a very careful eye on us the whole time. When I had trouble equalizing on the 3rd dive (and first free descent), he came right up to help me out. He talked me out of my initial panic and helped me focus and relax. After the dive he gave me some really great pointers on how I was descending too quickly and what I could do to create a better descent. My wife, who was previously doing fine, had trouble on her 4th dive, but again, our instructor came back up to get her and help her out. I think the problem was that he would just descend first, quickly, and we felt some pressure to keep up with him and descend the same way. Physiologically I think I've learned that I need a slower and more controlled descent, it just feels like that's the way my anatomy is set up. That then I can be comfortably equalized and neutrally buoyant and ready to go.
Anyway, overall it was a very positive experience and I would highly recommend Cham Island Diving as a site for anybody who goes to Hoi An, Viet Nam. Great people, great site, great experience.
And, I'm excited to now be a SCUBA diver! Our next two trips (Monterey, CA and La Paz, Baja, Mexico), are already planned!
My wife and I did our OWC dives at Cham Island with chamislanddiving.com. The organization is (what appears to be) a co-operative that has been around for about 8 years or so. The staff is a combination of ex-pats and locals. We did 4 dives over two days on 29 and 30 July of this year.
We both had a really great experience, and now are completely hooked and addicted to diving. (We're certified SCUBA divers now!!!) I, of course, don't have anything to compare it to. Other, more experienced divers from the trip, thought the visibility to be only so-so, but enjoyed the coral, huge starfish, couple of lionfish we saw, barracudas, eels, and titan triggar fish. There were many other beautiful tropical fish, but given our neophyte levels, we couldn't identify much more and found ourselves just overwhelmed with how beautiful life is underwater. So, while I can't compare it to other dive sites, I can say that others enjoyed it, and we were blown away by how amazing it was.
The dive company was really terrific. The staff speak about 8 languages among the group of them. The boat had a nice selection of water, tea, coffee, and fruit for snacks. The provided lunch was very good and definitely plentiful. The staff was very friendly and we were incredibly impressed by their organization and knowledge. They really took care of us on the trip and were very prepared for each different group, (us doing the OWC, a group just snorkeling, another group of experienced divers, and even another group doing a masters course).
If I had one thing that I would be slightly critical of, it would be that as first time divers going into the ocean for our first time ever, we were really thrust into the water. After three assistants furiously strapped us in we were able to do a quick, but still thorough, buddy check, but then it was IN IN IN IN IN! It worked well for my wife who was feeling just a touch nervous before hand. So, she didn't have a chance to other think it, it was just strap in and jump!
So, that was fine, but what I would be critical of is that during our first free descents, (on the 3rd and 4th dives), we went down quickly and without two much assistance. Now, our instructor was keeping a very careful eye on us the whole time. When I had trouble equalizing on the 3rd dive (and first free descent), he came right up to help me out. He talked me out of my initial panic and helped me focus and relax. After the dive he gave me some really great pointers on how I was descending too quickly and what I could do to create a better descent. My wife, who was previously doing fine, had trouble on her 4th dive, but again, our instructor came back up to get her and help her out. I think the problem was that he would just descend first, quickly, and we felt some pressure to keep up with him and descend the same way. Physiologically I think I've learned that I need a slower and more controlled descent, it just feels like that's the way my anatomy is set up. That then I can be comfortably equalized and neutrally buoyant and ready to go. Anyway, overall it was a very positive experience and I would highly recommend Cham Island Diving as a site for anybody who goes to Hoi An, Viet Nam. Great people, great site, great experience.
And, I'm excited to now be a SCUBA diver! Our next two trips (Monterey, CA and La Paz, Baja, Mexico), are already planned!
That was a great blog on Cham Island! My friends will be backpacking in Vietnam soon and has only time for 1 diving spot, thus we're pretty vexed up choosing between Cham vs Whale Island. Cham Island seems relatively new as a diving destination on diving... What would you recommend???
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