Hoi An Sports & Outdoors

I recently went diving with Rainbow Divers in Hoi An. Straight away i knew i was with a very professional yet very fun crew.
The day diving trip started with a pick up from my hotel then a short trip down to the harbour to board their traditional wooden boat converted for diving pleasure. On the way out to the Cham Island Marine Park i recieved a full briefing from my dive guide of the way the dive was going to run. We had two fantastic dives and saw plenty of local marinelife of which i was surprised was so plentiful obviously a credit to the Marine Park Association.
On the way back we stopped for a lovely buffet lunch on Cham Island followed by some time to relax on the beach.
Once the island time was over we then returned to the harbour and then transfered to the hotel. All customers commented how satisfied they were with the level of customer service we recieved and the experienced dive guys abbility to find everything in the water! Strongly suggest popping in to see manager Ross Kelly and his experienced team whether it be for a diving tour or a Padi course!

Equipment: No gear was necessary as all was included.

We had heard so many people saying that Hoi An's beach was pretty a good one, that one morning we decided to give it a go... we really felt like relaxing and swimming for a couple of hours, before heading on towards our next destination. However we found the beach and sea below average... not very inviting. What could we do?

Surio71 had a brilliant idea: head to one of the best hotels, the Hoi An Riverside Resort, and use its gorgeous swimming-pool. So we just went there, walked inside the garden, took a couple of the hotel towels, and pretended we belonged. We were not caught and we had a great swim.

Equipment: Don't bring your towels or people will find out that you are not a hotel resident... use the "free" ones next to the swimming-pool. bring some water, too... if you order something from the bar, you are likely to be asked for your room number, and you'll be caught.

I did not dive with them cos I didn't know that I can dive in Hoi An. In addition, the staff there told me that the underwater visibilty wasn't good then due to the Philippine typhoon.

The dive season in Hoi An is between April & August when the Rainbow Divers’ speedboat whisks divers out to the Cu Lao Cham Marine Park. For certified divers there is a daily dive trip to the nearby Cu Lao Cham Marine park, some 25 minutes by speedboat. The Marine Park comprises 8 islands which are home to 155 species of corals, 202 species of fish, 4 species of lobster and 84 species of mollusks.

A must for all divers to check this out: www.daveharasti.com/vietnam/underwater/

Equipment: Don't need to bring any dive gear or equipment cos they are provided. You may want to bring along your personal dive computer, mask & snorkel. They charge US$50 for 1 boat dive, US$75 for 2 boat dives & US$100 for 3 boat dives inclusive of all dive equipment. Daily departures from the Hoi An Beach Resort at 8am. Booking is essential as they like to keep the numbers to a maximum of 12 divers, diving in groups of 4, each with their own guide. Contact grae. Accommodation can also be arranged if required.

One of the great photo opportunities in Hoi An involves trying to capture conically clad bikers traversing the footbridge. You will have lots of chances but trying to get it just right is not as easy as it at first seems.

Equipment: A zoom is essential for shots like this. I have a 300 mm and even that doesn't seem to be enough.

Hoi An is located very near to the Cua Dai fine sand palm lined beach. The beach is just 5 kms away from the center of town. You can hire a motorbike (with or without driver) to take you there. Safe swimming only April-October.
There are seafood kiosks if you wanna have lunch here too.