Liveaboard vs Dive Resort for newbie divers?

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I will be very interested to hear your trip reports for Jamaica versus Cozumel. I've heard mixed reports about Jamaica - that the diving is terrible, and that it's ok. I love the diving in Cozumel, so I look forward to hearing about your experiences.

I've heard that there is a serious coral crisis in the Maldives and it does not provide good diving right now (heard from a fellow diver who was there in the past couple of years). You might want to look into that if you're seriously considering that location. The local folks might not tell you about the bleaching, but there's plenty on the internet. And I'm sure there are folks here who have been there and can say yea or nay.

The liveaboards I've been on do not put a guide in the water with you, so that means your navigation needs to be pretty good. Ours was (and still is) not so awesome. I still prefer to have someone in the water to show me where the cool stuff is - i.e., if there's a resident seahorse it doesn't generally move around a lot, so the dive guide might be able to find it while I'd only stumble upon it by dumb luck - same with drummies. Also, check out what sort of currents there are where some of the liveaboards go - might be colder water. They might be pretty stiff, might have some possibility of down-currents too. As a newer diver you'll probably want less challenging conditions.

If you want lots of diving you can get 3 boat dives a day at Anthony's Key in Roatan - easy diving with a guide in the water. We were just looking at Magic Island Resort in the Phillipines (Cebu I think) and you can get 3 boat dives a day and also shore dives.

Bottom line, my recommendation is to stay within your comfortable dive limits, and have fun.
 
If you want lots of diving you can get 3 boat dives a day at Anthony's Key in Roatan - easy diving with a guide in the water. We were just looking at Magic Island Resort in the Phillipines (Cebu I think) and you can get 3 boat dives a day and also shore dives.

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Kimela: We went with our LDS to Magic Island in 2014. The LDS then went to the new "Magic Resort", Magic Ocean in 2018. We got to know the owners, Ari and Desiree, quite well and spend a few hours with them every DEMA. Great resort with amazing staff. Quick note: Those from our LDS who have been to both resorts feel the diving in Bohol (Magic Ocean) is more varied than Moalboal. Magic Island has the huge sardine school and Pescador Island which are both amazing. However, all other dive sites are along the same wall. I'm talking with our LDS about another trip there and we'd probably structure it, 5 nights at Magic Island and 8 nights at Magic Ocean...or something similar. It does require a day of travel between resorts, car to ferry to car, but we'd want the diversity. Anyway, absolutely loved the lay out of the resort, the cottage, the food and the incredible staff. Hope the Philippines opens sometime in the not too distant future. If you go to Magic Island, try a night dive at Goby Point...octopus of many varieties.

Rob
 
It seems for experienced divers that the liveaboard experience offers the most diving across a broad spectrum of sites.

My wife and I are new to diving and want to get out and do more of it. We've got trips booked to Jamaica and Cozumel this summer, and are looking to do another trip in the fall or winter.

For our fall/winter trip, I was initially considering a 7-10 day liveaboard in either the Maldives, Australia, or Raja Ampat.
However, as I dig into the itineraries and read various trip reports, I wonder if we should do more resort based diving and become better divers before we sign up for a liveaboard.

It seems that liveaboards tend to attract more experienced divers and I'm worried we would be out of our depth on a diving liveaboard.

As an alternative to liveaboards, there are lots of shore based diving options in all of these areas, and I'm wondering if we would be better off basing out of a dive-centric resort rather than signing up for a liveaboard.

What is the wisdom of the collective? Should we forego the liveaboard trips until we become better divers?

My husband and I did not go on our first Liveaboard for years. I think we had about 250 dives when we went on Explorer Ventures Saba/St. Kitts liveaboard. I wish we'd done it sooner! I have been on a liveaboard, I think it was Bahamas Aggressor, and a woman was getting certified. It actually looked like a great idea. I think it depends on several factors, and a big one is where the liveaboard is located. Some places would not be good for a new diver, or for someone not experienced with strong currents. I think Bahamas, Cayman, Belize, Turks, liveaboards would be fine. I think you can also pay a little more to have a DM as a guide, or take a class and that way you have the DM with you.

Also, Kimela is correct. Not all liveaboards have a DM in the water as a guide. While Aggressor does not formally have a guide in the water, on every dive a DM will go in, and you can follow or not. They don't always stay in very long, or go far from the boat, just depends.

I have been diving for 20 years (but only 1-2 trips a year) and I am not super experienced in currents, so I would not go on Cocos Aggressor or some where the currents are very strong. I want to get experience with currents by going to Cozumel multiple times first. But someday I want to do trips like Palau, Cocos, etc.

If done correctly with a good location and the right liveaboard, it would be a wonderful way to gain a lot of dive time/experience in one week.
 
I will be very interested to hear your trip reports for Jamaica versus Cozumel. I've heard mixed reports about Jamaica - that the diving is terrible, and that it's ok. I love the diving in Cozumel, so I look forward to hearing about your experiences.

I've heard that there is a serious coral crisis in the Maldives and it does not provide good diving right now (heard from a fellow diver who was there in the past couple of years). You might want to look into that if you're seriously considering that location. The local folks might not tell you about the bleaching, but there's plenty on the internet. And I'm sure there are folks here who have been there and can say yea or nay.

The liveaboards I've been on do not put a guide in the water with you, so that means your navigation needs to be pretty good. Ours was (and still is) not so awesome. I still prefer to have someone in the water to show me where the cool stuff is - i.e., if there's a resident seahorse it doesn't generally move around a lot, so the dive guide might be able to find it while I'd only stumble upon it by dumb luck - same with drummies. Also, check out what sort of currents there are where some of the liveaboards go - might be colder water. They might be pretty stiff, might have some possibility of down-currents too. As a newer diver you'll probably want less challenging conditions.

If you want lots of diving you can get 3 boat dives a day at Anthony's Key in Roatan - easy diving with a guide in the water. We were just looking at Magic Island Resort in the Phillipines (Cebu I think) and you can get 3 boat dives a day and also shore dives.

Bottom line, my recommendation is to stay within your comfortable dive limits, and have fun.

Yes, I found the corals at Maldives to be very poor but the diving was still great, so many fish, such fish diversity and the currents were exciting.

I actually got tired of sharks. Truth.

I've been on 4 itineraries and decided that was enough but now there isn't anywhere else open in that neck of the world. I may have to return.
 
I've heard that there is a serious coral crisis in the Maldives and it does not provide good diving right now (heard from a fellow diver who was there in the past couple of years). You might want to look into that if you're seriously considering that location. The local folks might not tell you about the bleaching, but there's plenty on the internet. And I'm sure there are folks here who have been there and can say yea or nay.
I’ve been there 3x. It’s not that bad. Actually some of them are recovering. Also, there are lots other things you would see there besides the corals, for examples:

1. In Rangali Maldivaru, South Ari Atoll, famous for Oceanic Manta cleaning station, there are plenty of new table corals sprouting like wild flowers in spring time, as shown in the video I took 4 months ago, below:

2. In Vilingili Kandu, Deep South of Maldives, you can reef hook (connected to a leash to your BCD) to a rock, hang in mid water and watch the Shark parade, as shown, below:

3. If you want to see Tiger Sharks, Silvertip Sharks other pelagics, you can go to Fuvahmulah, Deep South of Maldives, as shown in the video, below:

4. You can see lots of schooling fishes in Kanduoiy Giri, where fishermen dumped fish carcasses, as shown in the video, below:

5. If you like to see manta feeding at night, you can dive in Mayaa Lagoon, North Ari Atoll, as shown in the video, below:
 
6. If you want to be really close to Nurse Sharks, Blacktip Sharks, go dive in Alimatha Jetty, in Vaavu Atoll, as shown, below:

7. If your hand would like to be manicured by cleaner shrimps, just stick your hand in a small coral crevices in Rangali Reef, as shown in this video, below:

8. There are some beautiful hard corals growth at the bottom of Kuda Giri Wreck and soft coral hanging upside down in Nassimo Thila overhang as shown toward the end of my trip video of Central Maldives, below:
 
I’ve been there 3x. It’s not that bad. Actually some of them are recovering. Also, there are lots other things you would see there besides the corals, for examples:

1. In Rangali Maldivaru, South Ari Atoll, famous for Oceanic Manta cleaning station, there are plenty of new table corals sprouting like wild flowers in spring time, as shown in the video I took 4 months ago, below:

2. In Vilingili Kandu, Deep South of Maldives, you can reef hook (connected to a leash to your BCD) to a rock, hang in mid water and watch the Shark parade, as shown, below:

3. If you want to see Tiger Sharks, Silvertip Sharks other pelagics, you can go to Fuvahmulah, Deep South of Maldives, as shown in the video, below:

4. You can see lots of schooling fishes in Kanduoiy Giri, where fishermen dumped fish carcasses, as shown in the video, below:

5. If you like to see manta feeding at night, you can dive in Mayaa Lagoon, North Ari Atoll, as shown in the video, below:

These are wonderful! Thanks for sharing them. I think I'm more convinced these dive trips may not be for me - like @markmud, I'm a pretty lazy diver. I think I will like muck diving if/when I get a chance to do it. I don't want to worry about down currents or having to hook something to the reef. But I love SEEING it, so it's fantastic that you - and others like you - are willing to take great pics and video! :)
 
I have been diving for 20 years (but only 1-2 trips a year) and I am not super experienced in currents, so I would not go on Cocos Aggressor or some where the currents are very strong. I want to get experience with currents by going to Cozumel multiple times first. But someday I want to do trips like Palau, Cocos, etc.
I've been on several Aggressor trips out to Cocos and only found the current to be an issue on a couple of sites where you might have to pull down a mooring line. Often you're just hunkered down on the bottom in the rocks watching what comes by, and when it's time to leave you just let go and drift away to do your ascent and safety stop in the blue. It's not like you have to swim into a current to get back, as can happen with a moored boat in the Caribbean.
 
These are wonderful! Thanks for sharing them. I think I'm more convinced these dive trips may not be for me - like @markmud, I'm a pretty lazy diver. I think I will like muck diving if/when I get a chance to do it. I don't want to worry about down currents or having to hook something to the reef. But I love SEEING it, so it's fantastic that you - and others like you - are willing to take great pics and video! :)
That’s how I started with diving. Here’s a thread that I posted 5 years ago: Where do you muck dive? Then I am slowly moving to big animal encounters and other more exciting dives. :)

That’s the nice thing about liveaboard. We go visit many sites with different types of diving, including muck diving. Last year, when I was in Raja Ampat, there’s a muck diving site called Algae Patch in Batanta.

 

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