Cua Dai Beach, 4km from Hoi An ancient
town, is considered one of the most beautiful beaches in central Quang Nam province.
This special beach stands out with restaurants, hotels and newly-built
modern resorts. Roads are lined with colourful clusters of wild flowers
planted to relax visitors.
From Hanoi, we flew with
our nine-year-old son to Da Nang and arrived in Hoi An City at 9am on a
Vietnam Airlines flight. After checking in to the Hotel Vinh Hung
Hotel, in the centre of the city, a kilometer from Hoi An ancient town
(about 25 minutes walk), we decided to head to Cua Dai Beach
immediately in a bid to steer clear of the scorching heat of the
centre.
At the low cost of 15,000 VND per day, renting a bicycle is popular
among visitors to Hoi An City. Beach goers, especially foreign visitors
and young people, tend to enjoy pedaling a bicycle the short distance
from town to Cua Dai Beach . It took us about 30 minutes to pedal our
way there.
Motorbikes and taxis are also available for families with children and elders.
The beaches are stretches of white sand, with moderately salty, shallow
water which stays a lovely shade of blue year-round. At night, the
surface of the sea is filled with the pinpoints of lamps from thousands
of fishing boats. I imagined it was a lantern city on the sea.
Lying on canvas chairs, we breathed in the sea air and sunbathed while
my son built sandcastles. Afternoon is the best time for visitors to
swim and relax in the soft waves.
Seafood dishes prepared by local cooks are excellent and especially
fresh. We ate two special dishes; steamed lobster and chao ca mu
(grouper gruel) at Tan Loc restaurant which is under the direction of a
young female chef. Both the lobster and the grouper were fresh-caught
and purchased from local fishermen on Cham Island early that morning.
It was the second time I ate lobster. The first time was at a fancy restaurant in Hanoi , but the taste was different.
The sea air and the skills of the local cook brought us the fresh
flavours of the sea. Additionally, prices here were reasonable; about
half compared to Hanoi restaurants.
Friendly young female servers with healthy sunburnt complexions talked
easily with foreign visitors in English, happy to take the opportunity
to introduce their country.
“They (local villagers) are friendly and speak English very well. The
beach is clean and the sea is blue. I will come back,” an Australian
visitor told us with a smile.
Cua Dai’s waters are plentiful with sea life, making fishing a popular
form of entertainment for tourists. Visitors can hire small boats to go
fishing.
We like Cua Dai Beach because it was not overloaded with visitors and
the local people are warm and honest. I also found the local people to
be trained and cultivated with the essential skills needed to serve
guests, including foreign visitors./.