Question My biggest fear (on my first liveaboard trip).

[rmorgan]

@BrandonTL, for future reference, my buddy (and wife) was uninterested in a full Wolf/Darwin Galapagos LOB, plus she wanted to see everything else. So we did five days of land-based diving from San Cristobal, which was quite nice (dozens of hammerheads and a massive bait ball at Leon Dormido/Kicker Rock, very nice reef dives at Espanola, a good night dive, etc.), and then did an inter-island cruise which was outstanding. I think there's a good range of prices among the cruises, and the islands are really all that--snorkeling with penguins and marine iguanas, hiking up to see the tortoises, visiting a caldera. There are several operators on both San Cristobal and Santa Cruz, and we were able to shape our dive experience. The entire archipelago is other-worldly.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I've done several liveaboards and been diving the Caribbean, some Asia-Pacific, and elsewhere for 25 years, and the Galapagos still remains on my bucket list--indeed near the pinnacle of my bucket list--because it's expensive, difficult and time-consuming to get to, and as you noted, it's a challenging, unusual kind of diving--hanging on for dear life in ripping current in chilly water. I have been in awe of the place as a diving destination since a scuba mentor of mine dived the Galapagos 20 years ago. (They took a drysuit course and bought a drysuit just for that trip, and as far as I know, never dived a drysuit again!) I'm an experienced drysuit diver now, and am working on the finances as I near retirement, so I believe I WILL get there someday. Anyway, I'm sure there are novice divers who do a Galapagos liveaboard and do just fine, but I don't think they're the majority. For most of us, the Galapagos is a milestone in our diving career.

As for being bored at sea, one of my other bucket list adventures is to do a transatlantic cruise. Stopping at ports was my least favorite part of cruising. Being in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do, as cut off from the world as I want to be, really appeals to me. But again, I don't think that attitude is the norm.

 

[Rob9876]

good to hear from someone who did a liveaboard with a comparable amount of dives.

My son (13 at the time) and I did a Blackbeard's liveaboard in the Bahamas (cheaper cousin of the Aqua Cat and the Cat Ppalu, all of the All Star Liveaboards cruise line) when we only had 9 dives. It was a great experience, and diving that often helped us to take our diving to the next level. All Star also has a boat in the British Virgin Islands (the Cuan Law) which I've heard good things about, and I believe may have more shore excursions.

Doing up to 5 dives a day, including night dives), we didn't really have much time to get bored. A quick shower after the night dive, perhaps a beer or two after that, and I'd be lucky to make it through 2 pages of my book before falling asleep.

I will say that 5 dives a day started to feel a bit like work to me at the time, especially since we went in late December so we had to get in and out of 5mm wetsuits between each dive. So I understand wanting to possibly do other things, and I also like the "land-based liveaboard" idea from @drrich2 -- so I'll add one more option along those lines: Scuba Club Cozumel would allow you to get 2 guided boat dives every morning, then do shore dives on their house reef in the afternoon and at night if you wanted (believe they also do boat night dives on certain nights). Breakfast and lunch are provided, then you could go into town for dinner. Any time you didn't feel like diving, you could either relax or do some of the other activities available on the island.

 

[gwklein]

If you do a Caribbean liveaboard you won't be out in the middle of the ocean. You are never far from land and the boats almost always are anchored near an island or atoll for the diving and for overnight. Most liveaboards also allow their tender to be used for shore excursions so long as it does not cause a safety issue for the divers. Many of the boats also have hobie cats (Cuan Law), kayaks (CL and Cat Ppalu), standup paddleboards (Cat Ppalu). Some boats also allow fishing as long as it is away from the divers. Just check with the operator before you book to find out what activities they do have.

 

[Doc Harry]

Bored on a liveaboard?
Eat
Dive
Nap
Repeat as often as possible

When I was in the Galapagos, they didn't permit dive cruises with land excursions. So we did a 7-day cruise with land excursions and day diving from Puerto Ayora.

If I were to dive the Galapagos again, I would dive dry. I really froze in a 7mm wetsuit around Santa Cruz island. It was very unpleasant.

 

[living4experiences]

Why not?

Super cold water and high currents...no thanks! I'm a warm water diver. If I add a 2-mil vest to my 3-mil, I can tolerate 5-mil on my core/upper body, but no way on a 7-mil. For context, I was certified in the Blue Hole, New Mexico, in a farmer john, 7-mil, and it was miserably cold. I swore off ever diving in cold water. I now live in Oregon and I won't dive here or in Washington. The water is too cold! And I'm not interested in the expense and hassle of dry suit certification.

I just returned from Raja Ampat and that was warm water with high currents, so add cold water to that equation, and, to me, it's no fun. YMMV...

 

[living4experiences]

As for being bored at sea, one of my other bucket list adventures is to do a transatlantic cruise. Stopping at ports was my least favorite part of cruising. Being in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do, as cut off from the world as I want to be, really appeals to me. But again, I don't think that attitude is the norm.

Not a diving trip, but I spent the summer in Europe in 2022, and took a transatlantic cruise instead of flying home from England to New York. It was 16 days, the last port being the Azores in Portugal. It was so relaxing and a great way to power down from the busy summer travel. Every couple of days, they'd change the clocks, so when you arrived in New York, there's no "jetlag" feeling. I'm doing the same thing (this time it's a dive vacation) in a couple of months. I'm starting in Fiji for 3 weeks, then move to Sydney, dive a couple of days, spend 17 days crossing the Pacific from Sydney, diving in French Polynesia along the way, and end up in Honolulu. Then I'm spending a week in Kona for diving then back to Portland.

 

[nippurmagnum]

Again, we should have known better but in our naivety/inexperience it didn't even occur to use that there would be a minimum logged dives requirement.

I’ve been on 3 liveaboards in Egypt and have seen several newbie divers. On the most recent trip, a beginner diver hired a divemaster to accompany him for the whole trip, and you could see him improving throughout the week. You could consider doing that with your significant other. A liveaboard is absolutely a blast, and you can’t beat it for the quantity and quality of experience you’ll get. And the Red Sea usually has excellent diving conditions — great viz, healthy reefs, varied marine life, and manageable current. Plus the land portions of the trip are unbeatable. See Tut, ride horses at sunset along the Giza pyramids, explore tombs in the Valley of the Kings, etc. For the price of a single Galapagos liveaboard for one, you can pay for two Egypt liveaboards with a private guide AND land based excursions for a week while staying at five star hotels.

 

[Pearlman]

Super cold water and high currents...no thanks!

Yes - That’s the idea even I learnt from the Internet and other threads on this forum. Therefore even I am apprehensive about going there…

I’ve been on 3 liveaboards in Egypt and have seen several newbie divers.

My first impression on reading the OPs query was exactly this - A wrong destination has been shortlisted for a newbie LOB experience. Galapagos is expected to be too hard for a beginner to experience and actually enjoy it.

 

[BrandonTL]

What you're not going to get are shopping trips, casino time, and shows liek you would on a cruise ship. You will get great diving though...

I won't miss these things at all . I have never been on a cruise, and although I will "never say never", a traditional cruise ship cruise doesn't really appeal to me.

The "Land Excursions" that I was a little concerned about missing out on range from hiking and taking nature in, to guided tours or adventures, to even being able to walk around the block if I am feeling a little cooped up.