Tranquil Sunset - Liveaboard Diving
A liveboard trip, (also called a Dive Safari) offers divers accommodation and diving combined and means that the divers never need to return to shore until the liveaboard holiday is finished. For many decades, liveaboard holidays had been the choice for hardened divers who were searching for challenges in the most remote of areas. However, in recent years liveaboard dive boats have started to cater to divers who are interested in the tranquility of the coral reefs and whom never have to deal with the hassle of going back to shore every day, or interruptions caused by busy dive sites.
For most dive enthusiasts, their ultimate holiday experience would be a diving safari. This type of diving holiday removes all need for extensive plans, or difficulties associated with getting you and your dive equipment on and off the dive boat at the end of a hard days diving. This does a lot to enhance your diving experience, because at the end the dives you can return to the boat, enjoy a meal and then relax at sea. It is one of the most sublimely peaceful ways to dive and a perfect way to relax, away from all the stresses of modern life.
There are different types of liveabord, ranging from the basic, to the very epitome of luxury. More often than not, the larger boats will be much more luxurious when compared to the smaller vessels, but the latter are ideal for intimate groups. As you can imagine, a luxury liveaboard is generally a larger boat and therefore, it will have more space and this also means more deck space and larger cabins. This makes them ideal for divers who want to spend their liveaboard holiday with a large group of friends.
You can visit a different reef, wall dive or wreck dive every day, because the boats generally travel from one area to another right after the last dive, or at least to a mooring closeby the next chosen dive site. With an early start, this means you are more often than not, the only liveaboard dive boat at the dive site for your first dive of the morning. The chance to dive an undisturbed dive site, really makes for a dive to be remembered!
Liveaboard holidays are heaven for the most dedicated and experienced scuba divers, but it could be a challenge for those who are just starting out. Some of the attributes which makes this type of diving appealing to dedicated divers include the capacity to dive the more beautiful, further away diving spots; more adventure; a chance to make new friends; flexibility; more daily diving; travel for less time and it negates the hassle of carrying your gear around.
Similar to most things in life, some negative aspects will be associated with this type of diving, such as the fact that divers have to stay in confined areas; more likely to be affected with sea sickness from the pitching and rolling of the boat; minimal scenery; no shopping opportunity; limited food selection and absolutely nowhere to go.
It might be worth keeping in mind that if you are experiencing scuba diving for the first time, this might not be the ideal way to start. That said, all-in-all, I believe the thrills coupled with the relaxing nature of a liveaboard holiday will over-shadow any negative attributes and will shine through to give divers a truly wonderful and memorable experience. I loved every one of my liveaboard holidays and I look forwards to the next one!