6 Essential Tips For Liveaboard Dive Trips

June 9, 2020 With accessible locations like the Caribbean, Red Sea, and the Great Barrier Reef, great diving is possible all year. But some of the best, most pristine diving on the planet is found at remote islands that can only be reached by joining liveaboard dive trips. Whether you are a seasoned diver or newer to the game, there are some useful tips and tricks that you need to know to make your liveaboard dive trips a success. Read on to find out more.

Why go liveaboard diving?

Liveaboard dive trips are the perfect way to explore amazing locations and dive to your heart’s content. You get to complete multiple dives a day and cruise some of the most idyllic destinations in the world. 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?

Follow these essential tips for the best liveaboard dive trips yet:

1. Pack small for liveaboard dive 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 liveaboard destinations are in the tropics, you will not need much more than a couple of swimsuits, sundresses or shirts and shorts, and pajamas. You will most likely be living in your bathing suit anyway and will not 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.

2. Be an early bird.

The saying goes: the early bird gets the worm! This is also true in the world of liveaboard diving. Diving as early as sunrise will allow you to witness the reef as it wakes up for the day. You will have the site all to yourself before any day boats arrive, or even some of your fellow liveaboard divers for that matter. FIND YOUR NEXT DIVE ADVENTURE ON MYDIVEGUIDE.

3. 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 charged should not be a problem.

4. 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 in 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 do not leave home without it! READ MORE: WHICH IS THE BEST LIVEABOARD FOR YOU?

5. Bring a light jacket.

Yes, you may be joining liveaboard dive trips in warm, tropical locations, 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 lightweight rain jacket; the tropics are full of random rain showers.

6. Invest in travel dive 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 and the size of your dive bag to a minimum. The best way to do this is to invest in travel-specific dive gear. Many dive equipment manufacturers make travel-specific gear like travel BCD’s, lightweight regulators and fins, hoseless computers, and thinner wetsuits. Start planning your liveaboard dive trips on  LiveAboard.com. READ MORE: TOP LIVEABOARDS FOR ADVANCED DIVERS - PART 1.