So, you are thinking about dipping your toes into a liveaboard scuba diving trip?
I have laid out below, after literally doing 75+ liveaboards, everything you should need to make your decision easier. Of course, you can just skip my literary explanations and go right to my recommendations based on your comfort and skill level. But you would not see the REASONS you should try this type of scuba diving and therefore miss out on how this style of diving is so different from land based and why all divers eventually find that liveaboard diving is the only way they should of EVER went scuba diving.

Before I get into my recommendations for your first liveaboard. Let’s discuss the why. Some of these may be more appealing to you than others but combined, they make for an amazing experience.

Reason #1. No getting seasick from the day dive boat rolling with every wave. Even those that are very prone to seasickness can get by on a liveaboard with minimal medication. Being on a liveaboard, with it’s size, the movement from even larger swells and waves is minimized.

#2. Set up your gear ONE time. That’s right. When you board, you set up your tank, BCD, regulator and dive computer at your designated station for the week and you are good for the entire charter! No shlepping your gear bag to the dock AND back every day. After every dive the staff quickly refill your tank right where it sits and you are ready for the next dive.

Reason #3. No long boat rides in rough seas for an hour or more to the dive site. With a liveaboard, you are moored either right on top of the dive site or just a short tender ride away.

Reason #4. After every dive, take off your wet suit and have a hot shower where you can change back into dry clothes. Must high end liveaboards have hot showers available right on the swim platform as soon as you exit the water.

Reason #5. Surface interval in an air condition lounge. Yup, no baking in the sun on a day boat in your stinky wetsuit.

Reason #6. Maximize your dives for the week. Most liveaboards offer up to 5 dives a day! 4 day dives and 1 night dive. You are of course welcome to do all or just the ones you want.

Reason #7. Seasoned Diver. If you are a new diver or have not been diving in a while, there is no better way to quickly get comfortable underwater and up your skill level immensely. After a liveaboard, other divers will think you have been diving for years!

Reason #8. Gourmet meals. When choosing a top liveaboard, you will experience freshly made meals and gourmet dinners, all with beer and wine just like at a 5 star restaurant.

Reason #9. New lifelong friends. After a week onboard, you will have bonds beyond belief with your fellow divers and most want to schedule their next liveaboard together! You can now join liveaboard social media sites where you can discuss your trip, give advice about the one you were on and make new friends for your next liveaboard!

Reason #10. Maximum Enjoyment! All the above reasons combine to get you the most amazing scuba diving vacation you can ever imagine.

After reviewing the above reason you should be on the next liveaboard leaving the dock, you now have to decide which one is right for you. Your first liveaboard should not be in a destination with strong currents, long ocean voyages or diving from tenders. Having your first liveaboard in an area with calm waters and simply stepping off the back of the swim platform is the way to see just how great this style of diving is. You will also be moored right over the dive sight so no worries about getting ‘lost’ and not being able to return to the liveaboard when you have decided to end your dive.

Having all the above plus a world class reef system happens to belong to one of the most popular dive spots in the world; Belize. Belize is home to the second largest barrier reef in the world and on a liveaboard, you will be in sites out at Long Cay, and Lighthouse Reef where no other divers will interfere with your time underwater. Here is a link to the company that operates the only liveaboards in Belize, Aggressor Adventures.

Take a look around the information on their Belize pages, watch the videos and browse their photos. Even better news is they are the top rated liveaboard company in the world so your safety is a priority for them.

Once you have spent a week onboard, you will thank me for the rest of your life for introducing you to the liveaboard lifestyle!