Best diving on a liveaboard hands down is....

[Damselfish]

I'm looking to use a bunch of miles to travel to wherever the best liveaboard diving is. Most of the dive websites give top lists, but they all seem ot stray away from really saying where the best diving is. Can anyone give some guidance? Thanks.

I wouldn't put much stock in "top lists". They often seem to be advertiser driven, created by someone on a deadline who threw something together (possibly by researching other people's useless top lists on the net) or otherwise pretty meaningless. At best maybe you will get some ideas of options you haven't heard of.

As everyone has said what is "best" for you depends on a whole bunch of things that you haven't spelled out. One not mentioned much is budget. You may get someplace free on miles, but there is a wide range of prices for the liveaboard trips themselves.

 

[Lorenzoid]

You may get someplace free on miles, but there is a wide range of prices for the liveaboard trips themselves.

The OP hasn't stated his location, but if he's in North America, then this suggests to me that the OP consider the Red Sea. Airfare to Egypt can be expensive, but a Red Sea liveaboard can be a bargain compared with Indo-Pacific liveaboards.

 

[RJP]

I'm looking to use a bunch of miles to travel to wherever the best liveaboard diving is. Most of the dive websites give top lists, but they all seem ot stray away from really saying where the best diving is. Can anyone give some guidance? Thanks.

How long is a piece of string?

 

[Hintermann]

The OP hasn't stated his location, but if he's in North America, then this suggests to me that the OP consider the Red Sea. Airfare to Egypt can be expensive, but a Red Sea liveaboard can be a bargain compared with Indo-Pacific liveaboards.

No. no. Don't waste money on airfare from US to Egypt. If you are from North America, book a Red Sea Liveaboard through a UK based unit like Scuba Travel, Regal Dive or Blue-O-Two. They offer very good value packages including charter flights out of Gatwick Airport in London. Then book the cheapest return air passage from your nearest or most convenienet US International Airport to London (prices of which can be very good value) so as to be able to 'connect' to the charter flights. You will have to clear UK entry & exit formalities of course but that should not a problem to US or Canadian citizens.

In fact, I am pretty sure staff of those companies mentioned above know how to cater to their American customers.

 

[RJP]

Any recommendations for a particular Red Sea liveaboard boat ? Interested in the high end.

We had a great time several years ago on Emperor Fleet boats. They have several levels; we chartered two of their top-tier "platinum" boats which were outstanding. (Though I think they only have one platinum boat these days.)

---------- Post added June 11th, 2015 at 08:51 AM ----------

No. no. Don't waste money on airfare from US to Egypt.

Really depends on where you're flying from in the US. Going out of JFK our direct flight to Cairo was cheaper than most flights I've ever taken to the UK. Certainly easier to fly direct.

 

[Lorenzoid]

No. no. Don't waste money on airfare from US to Egypt. If you are from North America, . . .

Hintermann, as I understood the OP, his airfare is essentially free, paid with airmiles. So my comment was recommending using those airmiles to pay for a flight that would otherwise be expensive for us to a destination at which the liveaboard itself is relatively economical.

 

[RJP]

Hintermann, as I understood the OP, his airfare is essentially free, paid with airmiles. So my comment was recommending using those airmiles to pay for a flight that would otherwise be expensive for us to a destination at which the liveaboard itself is relatively economical.

Nothing better than free flights to places where diving is inexpensive!

 

[Lorenzoid]

Nothing better than free flights to places where diving is inexpensive!

Well, that's my thinking, anyway. North Americans would flock to the Red Sea just as our European friends do if it were not for the airfare.

For those of us without airmiles to burn, Hintermann's point about the package deals from London is something to consider. The total cost of flying roundtrip to London and a flight-plus-liveaboard package deal from London could very well be less than the total cost of a roundtrip to Egypt plus a liveaboard.

 

[kelemvor]

How long is a piece of string?

About yea long.

 

[TSandM]

I'm going to sing with the choir here. It depends on what you like.

I've done the Paul Gauguin, which is not a liveaboard. It's a very nice, and very expensive cruise ship that offers some diving (and, as we learned too late, you can also set up your own ahead of time). Accommodations are lovely, food is excellent, service is great, but you spend quite a bit of time at sea. If luxury and fine food is your thing, it gets gold stars for those. I thought the diving at most of the destinations was yawn-inducing. I don't like shark-feeding dives.

In contrast is my favorite liveaboard, which is the MV Tala in the Red Sea. It's not fancy (although I understand it has undergone some refurbishment since I was last there) but it's more than adequate and comfortable. The food varies with whether the usual cook is there, or has had to leave on a family emergency and has been replaced at short notice with someone who burns all the baked goods. But the diving . . . Red Sea diving is good, perhaps not as lush as the reefs in the Philippines, but certainly forthcoming with huge morays, turtles, dolphins, a few sharks, and lots of smaller reef fish. The wrecks are amazing -- even I enjoyed them, and I am not a wreck person. They are real, with history, and old enough to have a fair bit of marine life.


And the crew of the Tala is dedicated to the idea that every guest should peg the fun meter every single day. If you want to dive reefs, they'll put you on reefs. Wrecks? They'll put you on wrecks, and they have some fabulous 3D computer mockups of the wrecks to give you a superb orientation. Want to tech dive? They can support that. Want to scooter? Scootering three big wrecks in one dive at Abu Naha is a kick in the pants. Faisal will talk you into monkey diving and running a scooter with your toes. My husband has never forgotten that! And sitting out on the upper deck at night, under a sky absolutely milky with stars, is an experience I'll always remember.

It's surprisingly inexpensive, and definitely huge bang for the buck.

I would love to try one of the super expensive, fancy liveaboards someday, but I'm not sure any amount of polished wood and linen on the table will make a trip as memorable and just plain great as our two trips on the Tala have been.