8 replies to this topic

[uwfan]

I enjoyed diving on the Spree back in July and liked another trip I took in June that was land based. The land based diving did have more privacy but I wasn't bothered that much by the close quarters of the Spree.

I know not all liveaboards are quite like the Spree but it was also my first experience on a liveaboard. Now I'm trying to compare liveaboards and what they do or don't offer compared to land based diving.

How do you decide where to dive? Liveaboard or land based? If you choose a liveaboard, what do you look for or are there certain liveaboards that are your favorites? Or do you simply go by location you want to dive and see what is available?

[KeithT4U]

Let me put my opinion down. I think that if the sole purpose of your vacation is to dive then live aboards offer that much better than shore based trips. Shore based trips allow for other activities such as shopping or culture of the area that live aboards do not. I know that there are some exceptions to everything but I really think that this is the biggest difference between the two trips. I think that live aboard diving allows you to reach more remote sites that would have fewer divers at thim but great operators will find a way to make it work either way.



Keith

[ScubaDadMiami]

Live aboards can be an efficient way to do some great dives in places that not many others get to dive. They can also be cost effective since meals and the like are included.

There are different levels of comfort for divers. So, one has to balance the cost and what comes with each trip in order to find what suits. Some prefer more basic facilities because the trip centers around the dives anyway, and such a boat will typically cost less than a more upscale operation. Some are willing to pay more because there is nothing wrong with going in comfort and style even on a dive trip.

Boats also have differing policies regarding the types of diving allowed. For example, as a rebreather diver, my preference is to make two long dives (at most) per day. I want to make sure that the boat schedule will match my needs. I also want to make deeper dives. There may be other issues unique to your diving style, and you will want to check out these things before making a decision about a particular boat and operator.

If the boat has the facilities and goes to the places that I like, I definitely prefer the live aboard over land based diving.

[Starfish Sandy]

I typically prefer a liveaboard. When we take a dive vacation - we want to dive. You can do up to 5 dives a day on some liveaboards. It really can be eat, dive, sleep for your entire trip if that's what you want. I have been on a few different boats - each having there good points. I am an Agressor Fan. From my expereiences you - the crew has been fantastic!!!

[Kuraman]

I really think it depends on where you dive. I have been to Chuuk twice, both times land based, did 4 dives a day (which is all you really want to do there, deep dives), got back to the beach by 4, relaxed, cheaper, and the 3 liveaboards (Big Blue Explorer, Agressor, and the othe boat moved once all week, about 500 yards. But in the Mildives it was the only way to go, many of the islands in s. Male atoll vs one or maybe 2 more that could be reached land based. Am doing Raja Ampat in 2 weeks, and Komodo early next year liveaboard just because of the rmoteness of the area. So that being said, I really think it all depends on what the individual wants. A liveaboard in Palau is +/- $2500 for a week, and you can do all the same dives shore based for $1200 + meals.

[Capn Jack]

Like so many things in diving the answer is: It depends.

I have to say my favorite way to dive is taking a cat that sleeps 8 and cruise around diving where we want. This works well if you're friends with the folks on your trip, and if you're somewhere that has easy support for air fills. We carried a bunch of tanks and equalizers so we didn't have to do the tanks swap but a couple of times during the week. BVI is a good place for this. Also offered in the Grenadines and Belize. Couple of dives a day, choose your in and out of water time, dive model (zodiac, drift, anchored etc). Prerequisite here is either being a qualified captain, or springing for one - TMM and the Mooring offer both. You must have a local Captain if you want to cruise or dive outside the reef in Belize

Last year, I went to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia - and a liveaboard is absolutely the only way you can explore even a part of my "must-do" of diving. That was towards the upper end of liveaboard diving - two instructors who made the dives with us, cook, "hostess" (the hot towel lady, dining room server and all around workaholic) 1st mate and Captain. The larger crowd (18) made getting off and on a little more interesting, and the social interactions can be even more interesting depending on who shows up (and how much beer the crew remembers to bring). We had 27 dives in a week, and only missed one because of conditions.

The Spree and Fling are the ultimate "Gorilla Diving" with 4-5 dives per day and the most austere (relatively) living conditions. However, they again are about the only way to do places like the Flower Gardens.

I have enjoyed diving with small operators like Keith Santillano in Palau - where we lived in a hotel near the pier and had place on the pier for our gear. There are liveaboards there, but you can get the full Palau experience by living ashore and enjoying the local culture.

Diving from a resort that caters to divers is the other end - like those in Coz or Roatan. Your gear is often setup for you on the boat, (not my preference but some really like that) and you just roll out of bed, stretch and walk to their pier for a 2 or 3 tank boat dive day, walk back to the hotel for a bottle of To-Kill-Ya with a bucket of beer chasers.

[Landlocked Dive Nut]

Everyone has mentioned many good things to consider. It is definitely not only a personal choice, but can vary by trip/region, time, mood or budget at any given time! And, if mal-de-mer is an issue, you just don't do a liveaboard in an area with rough seas, 'cuz they don't turn around and take you to land!

Much as I love diving, and all my vacations center around the sport, I also enjoy mixing with the history & culture of new places, and love some land-based adventure too.

[georoc01]

I concur with others that there are some places like the GBR where a liveaboard is the only way to go. We were 100 miles from shore. Not exactly convenient for a day boat.

But the other factor is your tolerance for being at sea 24 hours a day. I know there was one day in Australia where I did get seasick and missed a dive. And I was more than ready to get off the boat by the time we hit shore when diving off the coast of North Carolina.

For me, its more about what is more conducive to the diving of the location. Bonaire and Roatan were both short boat rides and shore diving that was easy. For sites more distant from shore, a liveaboard is the only way to go.

[secretsea18]

How to decide????


For me, it totally depends upon the location and IF I can reasonably get the diving experience I want on a liveaboard or on a landbased location.

For example, if I can get the experience landbased, AND the travel times are 10-15 minutes each way to the dive site from the resort... such as in Lembeh... I will ALWAYS pick the land based over the liveaboard. Also I factor in the price of single vs required DO... Liveaboards always allow singles to pay the DO rate as long as you are willing to take a stateroom-mate that you might not know. I don't really care about who shares my room as long as I get my own bed, so that is OK with me. In this situation, liveaboards do not charge you any extra fee for being a single with double occupancy, so it is a good deal, and I usually get my own room and do not have to pay extra as I am willing to share as a female!

If the majority of the dive sites are remote or not easily accessed <30 minutes boat to dive site, then landbased is not cool. I would select the liveaboard.

So there are certain locations where I would always select the liveaboard.... IE: Cocos Island, Galapagos Islands, Raja Ampat (one place excepted), Andaman Islands, certain places even in the Bahamas, Socorros Islands, Fiji, most places in PNG, Great Barrier Reef, Thailand, Palau (as I am unwilling to take 1 hour boat rides), among many other places....

On the other hand, I will only dive on land based in certain places, most notably, my place in the Philippines, Tonga, certain places in PNG, LEMBEH (I would NEVER do a liveaboard here !), select other Indonesia places, among other sites.....


For what it's worth, my last trip was to Andaman Islands, India on a liveaboard for remote diving, and my next two trips will be land-based... Lembeh at Lembeh Resort in November and Philippines (my 8th visit to this location in 11 years) in February 2009.

YMMV

Robin


I make sure I get to dive the places that are the best, and compare the operators, both liveaboard vs land-based in each place and make decisions based upon my research, word of mouth from friends, and the operators I know, in order to get the best diving at the best rates.

I rarely get seasick and rarely spend much time in my hotel room or stateroom, so those are miniscule factors in my dive trip decisions....

Edited by secretsea18, 14 October 2008 - 06:07 PM.