Hon Dai, Cham Islands: Vietnam's Best Coral Reef?

Austin Tuwiner

PADI Divemaster · 500+ dives · 20 countries & states

November 6, 2026

Dive Sites

Green topped rocky island seen from the dive boat under overcast sky at Hon Dai, Cham Islands, Vietnam

Painted Bai Chong Beach sign standing on the sand in front of palm trees at Hon Dai, Cham Islands, Vietnam

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In August of 2026, I dove Hon Dai with Cham Island Diving Center, by boat out of Hoi An, Vietnam.

I was staying up in Da Nang, so it was about a 40 minute drive down to Hoi An to meet them.

Hon Dai sits off Cu Lao Cham, a UNESCO listed marine park.

This was the best dive I did in Vietnam.

Dive Log · Cham Islands, Vietnam · August 2026

Hon Dai

Dive Score3.2 / 5

Dive Data from my Garmin Descent MK3i

Max Depth

49ft / 14.9m

Avg Depth

27ft / 8.2m

Dive Time

45min

Water Temp

86°F / 30°C

Visibility

16-20ft / 5-6m

Entry

Boat

Recommended Certification

Open Water

Why it scored 3.2#1 of 3 I've dived in Vietnam

My take: The best dive I did in Vietnam, with the best coral cover in the country. Storms and nearby dredging cut my visibility to 16 to 20 ft (5 to 6 m), so check conditions before you go.

My satisfaction3/5

Marine life3/5

Reef or wreck3/5

Conditions2/5

Crowds5/5

Getting there3/5

My 6 ratings above, plus visibility, water temp, cost, season and ease from the dive data. 5 = calm, uncrowded and easy to reach. How the Dive Score works

Reef Vietnam Coordinates: 15.94484, 108.484566

The Coral

The coral cover is the reason this site beats everything else I dove in Vietnam. Not the visibility, which was bad, and not the depth, which is shallow.

Wide field of overlapping plate and table corals across the reef at Hon Dai, Cham Islands, Vietnam — Plate and table coral running cover the island walls.

Dense mixed hard coral garden covering the reef slope at Hon Dai, Cham Islands, Vietnam — More hard coral packed across the slope.

Branching staghorn coral bommie rising off the reef at Hon Dai, Cham Islands, Vietnam — Staghorn corals standing up off the reef.

Dense field of soft coral covering the top of the reef at Hon Dai, Cham Islands, Vietnam — Soft corals drifting in the cu

Massive rounded boulder coral formations stacked across the reef at Hon Dai, Cham Islands, Vietnam — Boulder corals stacked up on the other side of the site.

The Dive

Austin at the surface in mask and gear with divers, speedboats and the island behind at Hon Dai, Cham Islands, Vietnam — Austin at the surface before dropping down.

Visibility was the problem here. Recent storms had stirred everything up and there's dredging at the river nearby, so I had maybe 16 to 20 ft (5 to 6 m) for most of the dive.

It was tough to keep up with the guide and the rest of the group while also trying to film.

Rocky shoreline of the island seen from the water with snorkellers alongside at Hon Dai, Cham Islands, Vietnam

Visibility was no better than Dam Bay or Madonna Rock, sites I visited out of Nha Trang.

However, the coral reef and marine life is what made this site stand out to me.

What Marine Life I Saw

Moorish idols and bannerfish swimming over a garden of plate and table coral at Hon Dai, Cham Islands, Vietnam — Moorish idols and bannerfish hanging out by some plate coral.

School of barracuda in the blue above the reef with soft coral in the foreground at Hon Dai, Cham Islands, Vietnam — Barracuda swimming in the blue above the reef.

White spotted pufferfish hovering over the sand beside the rock at Hon Dai, Cham Islands, Vietnam — Huge pufferfish that swam by me.

Spotted fish with a yellow marking swimming close over the rocky reef at Hon Dai, Cham Islands, Vietnam — Never seen this fish before!

Pair of banded coral shrimp on rock beside a long spined urchin at Hon Dai, Cham Islands, Vietnam — Banded Coral Shrimp inside a crevice.

Large green anemone with long tentacles on the reef at Hon Dai, Cham Islands, Vietnam — A big green anemone drifting in the currents.

Soft coral colonies on the reef top with two yellow and black fish above them at Hon Dai, Cham Islands, Vietnam

Field of soft coral with small blue damselfish scattered through it at Hon Dai, Cham Islands, Vietnam — Damselfish scattered through the soft coral.

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Conditions & Logistics

Logistics

The day ran $100, which covered gear, a guide, and lunch on Bai Chong beach.

Beach with umbrellas, sun loungers and palms where the group stopped for lunch at Hon Dai, Cham Islands, Vietnam — The beach the boats pull into.

There were also tons of monkeys on the island.

Conditions

Visibility on my dive was 16 to 20 ft (5 to 6 m), down from recent storms and dredging at the nearby river mouth.

Water temp sat at 86°F (30°C), the warmest water I dove in Vietnam.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Austin Tuwiner

Hey I'm Austin, a PADI Divemaster based in South Florida .

I initially got certified at 16 at a scuba camp in Kona, Hawaii, did my Advanced Open Water on Koh Tao, my deep and nitrox on Gili Trawangan, and my Rescue and Divemaster in Miami.

Since then I've logged 500+ dives across 20 countries and states. I write about the gear I dive with, the sites I've dived, and the trips I've taken.

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