Dhavalilama: Everything you need to know about a scuba diving liveaboard vacation
A different and beautiful world lies under our vast seas and oceans. You can easily explore these mesmerizing worlds of sea flora and fauna through Scuba Diving. So, if you love diving and planning to go for a vacation, then Scuba Diving Liveaboard vacation would be the best option.
Liveaboard is all about staying on a boat for a week or so and diving on various sites. Sounds amazing. For seven days you will be out in the water, diving, swimming with fishes and other water animals, exploring ocean that too away from fast-paced city life.
Purpose of Scuba Diving Liveaboard
For any diver, going on a liveaboard scuba diving vacation is like a dream come true. It allows the diver to concentrate on diving and share that experience with other divers. Liveaboard boats are large enough to accommodate a group of divers and have all the basic amenities like dining, washrooms and living quarters. It is more like a diving resort which allows divers to dive in remote areas.
Going on a Scuba Diving Liveaboard vacation is quite a big decision. It may be a lifetime opportunity for many divers.
Experience level
Before booking the diving vacation, the very first thing that the diver needs to check is the ‘required experience Level.’ It’s essential to check whether the liveaboard caters the needs of beginner diver or the experts. Depending on their area of diving, liveaboard may even require an advanced diving certificate. These liveaboards vacations are meant for expert divers, hence may even have criteria for a minimum number of dives. It is very important, to be honest with your experience level as far as scuba diving liveaboard bookings are concerned. It’s always advisable to select one that suits the experience level of the diver.
Pack light
During your liveaboard scuba diving holidays, you will be staying on the boat and would be diving all day long. It’s better to pack things accordingly. Minimum two swimsuits or swimming trunk, hoodie or fleece, loose t-shirts, flip-flops, few sundresses or sarong, and few skirts or shorts, preferably quick drying ones are more than sufficient. If your focus is diving, then there would be no need to pack make-up, too many shoes, trousers or nice dresses as you won’t be using them. So, just pack light and have a comfortable journey.
Check your equipment before you go
Check your swimming gear before going on the trip. Make sure that its servicing is done and is working properly. Testing the equipment before the trip is highly recommended. If there is any problem, you would have ample time to get it fixed. After all, you would not want your expectations and planning go to waste, because your swimming gear has some functional issues and doesn’t work when you are onboard.
Checklist of what you expect from your vacation
Before going onboard, make a checklist of your expectation from your liveaboard vacations. Your checklist should contain both compulsory and nice to have features. This would help you in deciding what all your liveaboard boat can fulfill, as far as, your expectations are concerned.
Try to focus more on diving-related expectations and onboard requirements. This includes diving areas, room size, deck area, food quality, safety factor, etc.
Liveaboard boats have come a long way since their inception. There are few scuba diving liveaboard boats which provide the luxury of a good hotel.
Selecting your liveaboard scuba diving vacation
Once you have made a list of your expectations and diving requirements, start browsing and select the liveaboard which that meets your expectations. Most of the liveaboard diving companies have their own websites. You can browse through these sites and check for details including dive sites, safety measures, customer’s feedback and reviews, dive deck, availability of Nitrox, etc. These sites also have various videos and images of the trips organized by them. You may check these out and see if you like them or not. The most important thing is to check if it falls within your budget.
With a little bit of research and proper planning, you would be able to find a liveaboard boat that will fulfill all or most of your expectations.
Leave your marine-life expectations at home
One thing that can end up a good diving vacation into a disappointing one is over expectation about marine life. Predicting animal behavior is quite difficult. They are king of their own wish. Many times divers make a list of sea creatures they want to see during their diving vacation. Sharks, Whales, dolphins, and other sea creatures swim as per their own wish. You may or may not be able to see them during your diving vacation. Unlike land destinations, there are no fixed sight scenes in oceans. If you see them feel happy and enjoy that view, but don’t get disheartened if it doesn’t happen. As it would lose the charm of other creatures which you saw while diving.
Don’t be afraid to talk to the crew
The crew of your boat is there to serve you and take care of your various needs. Interact with them and try to know them. There are chances that they may be from some other part of the World and won’t be speaking the same language. Don’t worry, give it your best shot and try to overcome the language barrier. If you are facing any problem related to diving or your stay, just contact the crew members and ask for their help.
Trip insurance
Getting your trip is very important. One unfortunate incident like illness, weather, etc., may result in the cancellation of the trip. This won’t be a much of a problem if you have the insurance. It’s advisable to not continue with your vacation plan if you are sick as it may result in injuries related to sinuses or eardrums. It’s better to sit out, take rest and let your insurance take care of your booked vacation
Conclusion
Numerous traveling agencies conduct these dive safaris. It’s better to do thorough research and then select the one which suits your budget and the expectations.
