Ly Son Island guide: volcano walks, garlic fields and boats from Sa Ky

Why Ly Son, and how two nights work

Ly Son is Quang Ngai's only island, about 15 nautical miles (some 30 kilometres) from Sa Ky port. The local government describes two islands, the Big Island (Cu Lao Re) and the Small Island (An Binh, also called Dao Be), with a land area of just under 10 square kilometres. Most of the island's people live from the sea, and most of the rest from onions, garlic and maize. It is now governed as the Ly Son special zone of Quang Ngai province.

It is a volcanic island. The special zone's own description counts five dome-shaped hills left by volcanic activity, with Thoi Loi the highest at 169 metres, and says landforms of volcanic origin cover about 70 per cent of the island. The national tourism site calls Ly Son a volcano museum, pointing to tuff rings, scoria cones and twisted lava formations where molten rock met the sea.

People have lived here for a long time. The special zone's history page says Sa Huynh culture settlers lived on the island about 3,000 years ago, followed by the Cham, and that Vietnamese fishermen from the mainland settled it in the late 16th or early 17th century. That layering is why a small island has so many shrines, communal houses and festivals.

Two nights is the right length. The first afternoon covers the west side and a sunset at To Vo Gate; the full second day covers Thoi Loi, Hang Cau, Chua Hang and the Small Island; the third morning is for the market and the boat back. The whole island covers less than 10 square kilometres, so most of your time goes on the sights rather than on transport.

Craters and sea cliffs: Thoi Loi, Gieng Tien, To Vo and Hang Cau

Thoi Loi is the rim of the island's largest crater. The national tourism site describes a 20-metre national flagpole on top and a freshwater lake in the crater that supplies residents with water; walking along the rim, you see the sea on one side and the checkerboard of green and white fields on the other.

Gieng Tien, the second-largest crater, holds the Duc Pagoda with its Avalokitesvara statue. Lava from Gieng Tien also formed To Vo Gate (Cong To Vo), a natural basalt arch in the Tay (West) hamlet of An Vinh that waves hollowed out over a very long time; the provincial tourism site gives it as about 9 metres long and 2.5 metres high, and it has been ranked a national relic. The national tourism site calls it the place to watch the sun sink into the sea.

Hang Cau is a 120-metre cliff that is part of the edge of the Thoi Loi volcano ring, according to the national tourism site. The provincial tourism site describes a sheer rock wall on one side and white sand on the other, good for a walk along the shore, rock scrambling and snorkelling. Wear shoes with grip on the volcanic rock.

The coast also shows the island's reefs. The national tourism site mentions a field of fossilised "mill coral" not found elsewhere on Vietnam's coast, and the national site's newer feature recommends a boat trip to Ba Lang An Cape in the seaweed season, when green and yellow seaweed lies in the turquoise water.

Chua Hang, the whale temples and the Hoang Sa story

Chua Hang (the Cave Pagoda), on the north-east coast at the foot of Thoi Loi, is the largest of the island's sea caves. The provincial tourism site gives it as 24 metres deep, 20 metres wide and 3.2 metres high; the Cham used the cave as a shrine to Brahmanic deities, and the Vietnamese who settled the island turned it into a Buddhist pagoda in the 17th century. It became a national relic in 1994. Fresh water seeps down from Thoi Loi in front of the entrance, and a statue of Guanyin guards the pagoda, as the national tourism site notes.

The island's history with the sea is visible in its temples. The national tourism site counts more than 50 shrines and temples and seven temples to the whale, the fishermen's god of the sea, and says one of them holds Vietnam's largest whale skeleton, 28.7 metres long.

Ly Son's best-known heritage is tied to the Hoang Sa flotilla, the men the Nguyen lords sent out each year to the Paracel and Spratly islands. An Vinh communal house, by the harbour, dates from the 18th century and became a national relic in 2013; it is where the Khao le the linh Hoang Sa ritual is held on the 16th day of the third lunar month to honour those sailors (2 May in 2026). An Hai communal house, about 3 kilometres from the centre and backed by Thoi Loi, was rebuilt in 1820 and was ranked a national relic in 1995. The provincial suggested route also includes the exhibition house of the Hoang Sa flotilla.

These are living places of worship. Dress modestly, take your shoes off where locals do, and ask before photographing rituals.

The Small Island and the water

An Binh (the Small Island) is a short boat ride from the Big Island; the national tourism site puts it at about 15 minutes. It has fewer than 100 families, according to that site, is small enough to explore on foot, and has white-sand beaches where snorkelling and coracle paddling are the usual activities. The provincial tourism site reports that between October 2025 and February 2026 a conservation project repainted 83 houses and added 20 murals about sea turtles and marine life, so the village itself is now part of the visit.

The special zone's 2030 tourism plan aims to stop single-use plastic on An Binh. Bring a refillable bottle and a bag for your rubbish.

From the Big Island you can also walk the seawall to Mu Cu islet, which the national tourism site suggests for an easy stroll. For water sports, the special zone requires operators to provide life jackets and rescue staff and forbids taking visitors out to sea in bad weather. If an operator offers to go out when the sea is rough, say no.

Garlic fields, markets and festivals

Ly Son is known across Vietnam as the kingdom of garlic. The national tourism site explains that farmers spread fine white sand over the dark volcanic soil, which keeps in moisture and protects the crop from sea wind; it also mentions seaweed used as fertiliser. That is what gives the fields the checkerboard look you see from the craters. Ly Son garlic is small, with thin white skin, a strong aroma and a mild, sweet heat, according to the provincial tourism site, and it is a recognised national brand. The prized kind is single-clove garlic.

Buy garlic, garlic wine and banh it la gai on your last morning rather than the first day, so you are not carrying them around. The national tourism site points to the Ly Son night market for local specialities.

The island's two big festivals are the Khao le the linh Hoang Sa ritual at An Vinh communal house and the Tu Linh boat race, in which village crews from An Vinh and An Hai race boats carved as the four holy animals: dragon, unicorn, turtle and phoenix. The special zone says the race was first held in 1826, and it is listed as national intangible heritage. The national tourism site places it at the beginning of the lunar year; in 2026 races were also staged around 30 April as part of the provincial tourism festival. In June 2026 the island also hosted a SUP festival from To Vo Gate to the Small Island and the Ly Son Cross Island open-water swim. Check the year's programme before you plan around a festival, and book boats and rooms early for those dates.

Getting there: Sa Ky port, fares and the weather

Fast boats leave from Sa Ky port on the Quang Ngai coast. The provincial tourism site says the Sa Ky – Ly Son route has fast boats every day in the morning and afternoon, and advises contacting the ticket office before you travel. The national tourism site gives the crossing as 30 to 60 minutes in one article and 35 to 45 minutes in another. Tickets are electronic: in May 2026 passengers were boarding by scanning a QR code.

When we checked on 2026-10-03, the most recent fares published by the provincial tourism site dated from spring 2026. From 30 March 2026 the three companies then running the route, with four boats a day between them, set the visitor fare at 212,000 dong one way. Phu Quoc Express joined the route from 17 April 2026 with departures from Sa Ky at 07:00, 10:00 and 14:00 and from Ly Son at 08:30, 12:15 and 16:00, and fares of 216,000 dong (VIP) and 160,000 dong (economy), not including the port fee. Times and fares change with the season and the price of fuel, so confirm them with the operator or the port before you go.

On public holidays the route gets very busy: in the 30 April–1 May break of 2026 the operators ran 25 to 32 sailings a day. Book the return boat when you book the outward one.

The weather is the real limit. The special zone says that when seas are rough and winds strong, boats are not allowed to leave port, and that passengers must be told in time so they can change plans. The local government's climate notes put the rainy season from September to February and the strongest winds around October, so those are the months to keep the most slack. Leave a spare day before an onward flight, and do not plan a same-day return to catch a plane.

Getting to Sa Ky: the national tourism site suggests flying into Da Nang, or connecting to Chu Lai airport, then taking a taxi or coach to the port. Quang Ngai station is on the north–south railway, which makes a night in Quang Ngai city and an early boat a good alternative.