Where to do liveaboards???
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Kevster
Contributor
Am considering a liveaboard as I find getting 2 dives on a week long holiday is not enough for me. Any recomendations as to the best place to do a liveaboard. I like coral reefs, just been to The Poor Knights in NZ and thought it was a waste of time and money, same with Millford Sound. I like warm waters and lots of colours. I have considered Australia, Maldives, Vietnam, Galapagos but can't make up my mind. Going on a liveaboard and doing science at the same time is a good alternative as well. I will be traveling by my self, do not necessaraly need a lots of luxury though it is nice. I like good food and wine and good diving. I am not up for sharing a room with a complete stranger and I do not want to break the bank either. Anytime from October to March is good for me. Advice please))
Why bother with a liveaboard. There are plenty of land resorts around where you can dive 3-4 times per day. There are several land resorts in Indonesia that you can dive as much as you want.
Liveaboards are generally expensive and more often than not you will end up sharing a room. Major advantage with doing a liveaboard is not the number of dives but getting to dive remote locations where there are no land based options.
Indonesia, Maldives & Egypt have the largest number of boats.
there are some good value boats that cruise Bunaken,Bangka & Lembeh.
HAHAHAHAHH that is really funny )) So I am (un)fortunate to live in the most expensive and one of the riches countries in the world, still it does not mean I want to throw away the little money the state lets me keep after paying tax ))) Taxes here are rather high, we are not all millionairs....................
)) So I am (un)fortunate to live in the most expensive and one of the riches countries in the world, still it does not mean I want to throw away the little money the state lets me keep after paying tax ))) Taxes here are rather high, we are not all millionairs....................
robint
Contributor
I would go to Palau, hands down, best diving you can get for a liveaboard trip because of variety and wow factor. Sharks, mantas, big fish, small fish, drift dives, sharks, reef hook dives, blue holes, sharks, vertical walls that blow your mind.... and all from a skiff where you leave your gear all week. Easy easy....
robin
robin
Ulsterkiwi
Registered
Hi, I would highly recommend a liveaboard experience.
I am curious though. You said the Poor Knights was a waste of time and money. Were you on a day trip there or on a liveaboard? The experience might have been different otherwise. What was so bad about the experience there?
I am more curious however about your choices and expectations. You said you like coral reefs, why did you go to the PKs then? Its New Zealand not the tropics, many on Scubaboard would consider this cool water diving, hardly where to go for the coral reef experience!
One of the best posts I have ever read on SB was in relation to liveaboards and how to approach them. The essence of the advice was to keep your expectations realistic otherwise you will come away disappointed. From your "ticklist" I would suggest you would be best to address that first and then think about where you might want to go for your next trip or even the best of boats and sites are going to be a waste of time and money.....
I am curious though. You said the Poor Knights was a waste of time and money. Were you on a day trip there or on a liveaboard? The experience might have been different otherwise. What was so bad about the experience there?
I am more curious however about your choices and expectations. You said you like coral reefs, why did you go to the PKs then? Its New Zealand not the tropics, many on Scubaboard would consider this cool water diving, hardly where to go for the coral reef experience!
One of the best posts I have ever read on SB was in relation to liveaboards and how to approach them. The essence of the advice was to keep your expectations realistic otherwise you will come away disappointed. From your "ticklist" I would suggest you would be best to address that first and then think about where you might want to go for your next trip or even the best of boats and sites are going to be a waste of time and money.....
Manuel Sam
Contributor
Since I do not believe it has been mentioned yet, late October thru March is prime season in the Revillagigedos Islands (aka Socorros Islands) of Mexico. It is not colorful reefs but it is some of the best large animal diving there is, with hammerheads and 4-6 other types of sharks, tunas, and arguably the friendliest mantas and dolphins you will encounter anywhere. In November and December, there is a decent chance to see whalesharks, while in February and March, the humpback whales are around, altho seeing them underwater is still are very iffy proposition.
There are about 5 boats that do these islands and I've always heard good feedback on three of them: the Nautilus Explorer, the Solmar and the Rocio del Mar. I haven't heard much on the other two so I can't comment.
Myself, I've always gone on the Solmar V. The food is well above average in my opinion (but food is a very subjective thing) and their desserts are among the best I've had on liveaboards. And yes, they do have wine but you have to pay.
You will get 3-4 dives a day, but on a typical trip, you will get only about 18-19 dives - definitely not a lot of dives for the length of travel (you have to fly into San Jose de los Cabos in Mexico). That is one of the drawbacks, along with the 24-hour crossing each way from the mainland to the islands.
The Solmar has two single cabins - they are the size of a phone booth - but I find them more than adequate, if you can get one. As a single female traveler, your chances of getting one of these single cabins are not bad, considering that there are more single traveling males on these trips than there are single females. But, it is still a matter of luck and they will not guarantee you a single. It depends on the makeup of the remainder of the passengers.
The two single cabins that I mentioned are standard cabins. The cost for a standard cabin on the Solmar is $3200 + 11% tax. It is $3300 for a superior cabin but all of those are doubles and it is extremely unlikely that you will get one of those all to yourself unless you are willing to pay extra.
I suggest that you visit their website (do a search for Solmar V) and sign up for their e-newsletter. Sometimes they have really good specials. You can also look at their video reports from past trips and see if this diving appeals to you.
As far as colorful reefs, in my opinion, the best are in the Indo-Pacific, and the prettiest I have ever seen have been in (not in any particular order of ranking) Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, PNG, Thailand/Burma, and the Philippines. I have yet to go to the Red Sea so can't comment on them. Of those, I believe that the least inexpensive liveaboards will be in Thailand, Indonesia, and Philippines.
I also agree with Kevster that if maxing out on the number of dives a day is most important to you, you don't necessarily have to do liveaboards to get 5 or more dives a day. You can easily get 5 dives a day on nice colorful reefs at a lot of resorts in Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines.
There are about 5 boats that do these islands and I've always heard good feedback on three of them: the Nautilus Explorer, the Solmar and the Rocio del Mar. I haven't heard much on the other two so I can't comment.
Myself, I've always gone on the Solmar V. The food is well above average in my opinion (but food is a very subjective thing) and their desserts are among the best I've had on liveaboards. And yes, they do have wine but you have to pay.
You will get 3-4 dives a day, but on a typical trip, you will get only about 18-19 dives - definitely not a lot of dives for the length of travel (you have to fly into San Jose de los Cabos in Mexico). That is one of the drawbacks, along with the 24-hour crossing each way from the mainland to the islands.
The Solmar has two single cabins - they are the size of a phone booth - but I find them more than adequate, if you can get one. As a single female traveler, your chances of getting one of these single cabins are not bad, considering that there are more single traveling males on these trips than there are single females. But, it is still a matter of luck and they will not guarantee you a single. It depends on the makeup of the remainder of the passengers.
The two single cabins that I mentioned are standard cabins. The cost for a standard cabin on the Solmar is $3200 + 11% tax. It is $3300 for a superior cabin but all of those are doubles and it is extremely unlikely that you will get one of those all to yourself unless you are willing to pay extra.
I suggest that you visit their website (do a search for Solmar V) and sign up for their e-newsletter. Sometimes they have really good specials. You can also look at their video reports from past trips and see if this diving appeals to you.
As far as colorful reefs, in my opinion, the best are in the Indo-Pacific, and the prettiest I have ever seen have been in (not in any particular order of ranking) Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, PNG, Thailand/Burma, and the Philippines. I have yet to go to the Red Sea so can't comment on them. Of those, I believe that the least inexpensive liveaboards will be in Thailand, Indonesia, and Philippines.
I also agree with Kevster that if maxing out on the number of dives a day is most important to you, you don't necessarily have to do liveaboards to get 5 or more dives a day. You can easily get 5 dives a day on nice colorful reefs at a lot of resorts in Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines.
wunderhorn
Registered
I dove on the Utilla Aggressor II last August and had a blast! It isn't too far and they do run specials when the boat isn't filling. Plus you don't have to spend most of your vacation on a plane. I'm doing Turks & Caicos this year. I recommend this kind of vacation for someone who (like me) just wants to dive, dive, dive!!!
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