Are you looking for adventure? Imagine waking up to the gentle sway of waves, the ocean on your doorstep. There are many life-changing benefits of scuba diving from liveaboards. And it’s not just for divers, non-divers are welcome too! Read and find out how you can get more adventure diving.
What Are The Benefits Of Scuba Diving From Liveaboards?
Diving from a liveaboard offers numerous benefits from all-inclusive packages with multiple dives, access to remote dive locations, and liveaboards worldwide. They accommodate special dietary needs, provide a home away from home where you unpack your gear just once, and allow you to spend time with like-minded people. Bring your non-diver!
What’s the Difference Between Diving from Dive Centers and Liveaboards?
Dive Centers: Day Boats
Day boats are for divers who enjoy shorter dive trips. You’ll book your hotel accommodation and book your dives with a dive center or book both as a package. You’ll spend your vacation doing shore diving or your day boat will take you to popular dive sites alongside other dive boats. When you’re done with your 2 tank dives for the day, the day boat takes you back to shore. You’ll take all your belongings with you back to the hotel. You freshen up and find a restaurant or a bar.
Liveaboards:
The name ‘live-aboard’ is self-explanatory, only more!
The liveaboard is about living on a large boat (yacht). Some people call it a dive charter or a dive safari. You live on it, sleep, eat, and dive from it. Liveaboards are perfect if you love diving and want to do more dives in a day and get more adventure! These dive liveaboards are designed to accommodate everything you need, from accommodations, air compressors, tank storage, gear rentals, bars, restaurants, crew services and many other amenities.
The 11 Benefits Of Scuba Diving From Liveaboards – Your Next Vacation!
You dream that you’re on vacation and sleeping in, waking up to the smell of fresh coffee, you look out your window, see the blue sky and hear the gentle waves lapping against your boat.
This is the life of scuba divers living on a liveaboard. Imagine this is you!
1. Waking Up At Your Dive Site
You can’t do this on a day boat! You wake up and see you’re already at your dive site, your coffee is made and your light breakfast is waiting for you. Your boat captain and crew on the liveaboard already checked the weather and dive conditions. You’re good to go diving!
2. Unpack Once
If your dive gear comes with you on your vacation, do you find it annoying carrying it back and forth from your hotel to your day boat?
With the liveaboard, you unpack your dive bag once. When you’re done diving for the day, rinse your gear with fresh water, hang them out to dry and store them in the hanging locker. That’s it!
3. Remote Exotic Dive Locations
Liveaboards take you to remove dive locations like Darwin Island in the Galapagos where you’ll get exclusive opportunities to explore the pristine underwater ecosystems. You’ll have more time to encounter a wider variety of sea creatures giving you a sense of adventure. With perfect timing, you may see a giant manta ray or a school of hammerhead sharks.
There’ll be no day boats with divers kicking their fins in your face. You’ll enjoy being the first to arrive at your dive site.
4. Liveaboard Diving Is Worldwide
Imagine the stories you can tell if you went diving in over 30 countries and had your choice of over 490 liveaboards worldwide. Some of the popular dive locations for diving from liveaboards are:
- Thailand – the Similan Islands
- Indonesia – Komodo
- Australia – the Great Barrier Reef
- Egypt – the Red Sea
- Maldives – Raja Ampat
- Galapagos Islands – Darwin Island
5. Do More Dives In A Day
With liveaboards, you have more time to do multiple dives, maximizing your time underwater. This helps fill up your dive logbook faster. You can do 4-5 dives in a day if you like (night dives too).
Typically, a day boat will do 2 tank dives and maybe a night dive if they have enough divers.
If you’re a nitrox diver, some liveaboards offer nitrox – please remember to bring your certification to access it.
6. Surface Intervals Are More Enjoyable
Have you felt bored, hungry, crowded or cold when sitting in a day boat doing your surface interval?
The liveaboard is more enjoyable because, during your surface interval, you can instantly ‘chill out’, enjoy a warm beverage, soak up the sun’s warmth on a lounger, and have a light snack before your next dive. Maybe you want to spend the time to see how your underwater photos turned out.
7. Enhance Your Photography Skills
Remember to pack your underwater camera, an additional camera battery, and a solar charger for your liveaboard adventure. Whether you’re a seasoned photographer or videographer, liveaboards provide the perfect setting to capture a wide range of incredible marine life, from the grandest creatures to the tiniest exotic species.
Let’s not forget the scenic natural landscapes above the water. Oh, and how about taking photos of your new friends? This is the time to inspire your creativity!
8. Comfort And Convenience
There is no need to travel back and forth to shore. From a liveaboard, you have an all-inclusive vacation. You can eat, sleep, and dive from it. Rinse and repeat! Liveaboards gives you everything you need from:
- Accommodations
- Meals prepared by professional chefs
- Library
- Movies
- Lounges and bars
- Dive gear rentals, tanks and storage
- Tour guides/instructors
- Possible other amenities like jacuzzi and hot tubs and many more
It’s your home away from home offering you offering a comfortable and convenient diving experience and relaxation time.
9. Professionally Guided Dive Excursions
Liveaboard dive guides are either Open Water Scuba Instructors or Dive Masters who are experienced and have knowledge of the dive sites they take you to. Before each dive, they present you with a comprehensive dive briefing and make you aware of safety hazards and interesting sea creatures to look for. If you’re a solo diver, no worries, they have you covered.
10. Specialized Dive Activities
Some day boats may not be able to offer the dive types you might be interested in doing. Many liveaboards offer:
- Wreck diving
- Cave diving
- Night diving
- Naturalist diving
- Shark diving
- Whale diving
- Underwater photography
- Cold water diving
11. Looking After Your Special Dietary Needs
Discussions with your liveaboard representative about your special dietary needs should be done before you make your booking. This way, you can be well assured that you are satisfied and well-nourished on the liveaboard.
12. Divers of All Skills and Non-Divers Are Welcomed
Liveaboards welcome novice divers to advanced divers. Some liveaboards want advanced divers only so it’s important to research their itineraries and look for the following:
- Destinations
- Recommended dive skills
- Suitable for non-divers, snorkelers, families
Final Verdict – The Takeaways
Diving from a liveaboard can be an adrenaline rush. The best dive adventures take place in remote and exotic locations, diving with sea creatures large and small, enjoying local cuisine prepared by professional chefs, doing multiple dives a day and having everything else you need at your front doorstep without stepping on land. This is the ultimate dive vacation experience you might be looking for!
What Do You Think?
What remote locations do you want to go diving to? Have you been to the Galapagos Islands? What’s your number one scuba travel destination on your bucket list? Have you been on a liveaboard? I’d love to hear your stories! Please let me know in the comment box below and I will respond!