The world is full of fascinating dive destinations. With easy to get to locations like the Caribbean, Red Sea, and the Great Barrier Reef, great diving is easily accessible year-round. However, some areas are more remote than others. In fact, some of the best, most pristine diving on the planet is found on hard to reach islands. That does not stop the most adventurous of divers. These superb dive sites are best dived via liveaboard, of which there are many great operators and destinations to choose from.
Liveaboard diving is the perfect way to explore amazing locations and dive to your heart’s content. With your dive gear close by and your living quarters just above the water, the ocean is your playground; what more could you ask for on a dive trip? Whether you are a seasoned diver or newer to the game, there are some useful tips and tricks when it comes to liveaboard diving different than other dive vacations you may have taken. Follow these recommendations and you are sure to have the best dive holiday yet.
Pack Small for Liveaboard Trips
Most liveaboards are the size of a yacht, but you are still on a boat and space is limited. Your cabin may be fairly small so pack only what you need. Since most livaboard destinations are in the tropics you shouldn’t need much more than a couple swim suits, sundresses or shirts and shorts, and pajamas. You will most likely be living in your bathing suit anyways and won’t be spending much time in your cabins. A great tip is to also bring some kind of small, collapsible storage bin to keep your odds and ends organized in one spot. This will help keep your room tidy.
Be an Early Bird
They saying goes: the early bird gets the worm. This is also true in the world of liveabourds diving. Diving as early as sunrise will not only give you an opportunity to witness the reef as it wakes up for the day, but you will have the site all to yourself before any day boats arrive at the site or even some of your fellow liveaboard divers for that matter.
Bring a Solar Charger on the Liveaboard
Your cabin, or stateroom as they are often called, will have a limited number of charging outlets that you will most likely have to share with your bunk-mate. To save the hassle of worrying about keeping your phone charged, bring a small solar charger instead to charge it from. There is likely to be plenty of sun at your dive destination, so keeping your solar charger fully charge should not be a problem.
Bring Your DAN Insurance
It does not matter whether you are a seasoned diver or newly certified, accidents happen to the best of us and it is better to be prepared than to be sorry. Carrying Divers Alert Network (DAN) dive accident insurance is even more important when diving remote areas since the nearest hyperbaric chamber could be thousands of miles away and require air evacuation. DAN will handle all of this for you so don’t leave home without it!
Bring a Light Jacket
Yes, you may be liveaboard diving in a warm, tropical location, but you will be living on the water and it can get chilly in the evenings. Be prepared with a light weight jacket or sweatshirt for those cool nights or post-dive chills. Be even more prepared by bringing a light-weight rain jacket; the tropics are full of random rainshowers.
Invest in Travel Gear
As we all know, scuba diving is a gear intensive sport. A full sized BCD, wetsuit, regulator, mask, fins, etc. can get bulky and heavy fast. Since you will most likely be traveling internationally for your liveaboard dive trip it will be important to keep the weight of your gear to a minimum as well as the size of your dive gear bag. The best way to do this is invest in travel specific gear. Many dive equipment manufacturers make travel specific gear like trave BCD’s, smaller, light weight regulators and fins, hoseless computers, and thinner wetsuits.