21 Essential Items to Pack for Liveaboard Holidays

You’ve just booked your holiday of a lifetime for unlimited diving and full ocean views on a liveaboard. Now you may be thinking, what are the essentials I need to pack to ensure a smooth-sailing holiday? Well, you’ve come to the right place for information on packing essentials as we have a list set for you. Remember to bookmark this page as a reminder when you’re packing for your ultimate dream liveaboard holiday.

If you don’t have your own scuba equipment, that’s fine as most liveaboards let you rent equipment during your trip (make sure to check with your provider before you go). However, we highly recommend that you take your own scuba diving equipment because after all, you are doing a liveaboard trip, packing as much diving in as you can so you want to be as comfortable as possible in a familiar kit.

From diving equipment to holiday essentials and travel needs, here are the items you need to bring and things to remember before you set off on your dream holiday.

Liveaboard packing essentials - scuba diving

Scuba Diving Gear for Liveaboard Holidays

Wetsuit or exposure protection: Pack exposure protection that fits your needs and the water temperature that you’ll be visiting on your liveaboard holiday. If you tend to get cold faster, we recommend packing a thicker wetsuit. If you’re travelling to warmer waters, we recommend taking a thinner wetsuit or shorty wetsuit and rash vest. Take a look at our wetsuit and rash vest range.

BCD: Bring a travel-friendly BDC with you on your liveaboard holiday. If you’re in the market for a new BCD for your holiday. We recommend investing in a lightweight travel BCD option. Take a look at our BCD options.

Regulator: There are a lot of lightweight regulators on the market. If you want to invest in a new regulator, take a look at our full regulator range.

Mask: An essential piece of kit that’s a big must-have when you’re packing for any scuba diving or snorkelling holiday. The mask can either make or break your scuba diving experience. After all, it’s the piece of equipment that shows you the underwater world. So you want to make sure that you choose a mask that is comfortable and fits in order to reduce the risk of mask fog or leaks. Check out our mask options.

Fins and booties: Ensure that you have a comfortable dive by bringing your own fins. We recommend that you choose a lightweight travel option for your fins and make sure to bring booties if they’re required with your fins. Check out our full range dive fins and booties options.

Dive Computer: An essential safety item to include in your packing list, plus it’ll make your trip so much more enjoyable. Find out dive times, max depth and other important safety aspects, including deco time. Some liveaboard holidays include this as a compulsory item so make sure to check with your provider. Check out our extensive range of dive computers.

Don’t forget to check the batteries before you leave and bring a spare just in case they decide to run out on your trip.

SMB: Another essential piece of kit for all liveaboard holidays are SMBs. SMBs are designed so boats above you can find your location. Your divemaster will have one also but if for some reason you may get separated, it’s vital that you have one on you at all times during diving.

Documents and Insurance

Certification: Make sure to take your certification with you as proof of your dive training and level of certification. Some liveaboards may ask for proof of certification and logged dives.

Travel insurance: Travel insurance is a must-have for all liveaboard holidays (and all scuba diving holidays for that matter). Make sure to do your research into the fine print and find a provider that covers that holiday and the diving that you will be doing.

Dive logbook: Remember your dives by logging your adventures into your logbook. Don’t forget to bring extra pages so you don’t run out of space to record all your amazing adventures.

Liveaboard packing essentials - Scuba diving

Essential Clothing for Liveaboard Holidays

Warm clothing: Being in the middle of the ocean after a dive, you can become quite cold. So remember to pack some warm clothing such as jumpers, socks and joggers so you can warm up quickly after a dive. If you would like to spend your evenings out on the deck, having warm clothing would be perfect to make these nights looking out at the stars more comfortable for you.

Changing robe: A great piece of kit to remember in your packing list. Changing robes are perfect for flinging on when you’ve just entered the boat after a dive.

Swimwear: Don’t forget this essential item! During your surface intervals, you may want to lounge in the sun and get some of those rays. Plus you’ll be using them a lot for diving, snorkelling and swimming because after all, you are in the middle of the ocean.

Safety Items for Liveaboard Holidays

Sunscreen: There’s nothing worse than getting burnt on your holiday. Opt for a reef-friendly sunscreen so you can continue to protect what you love.

Medication and first aid kit: Pack all the medical essentials you would need for a holiday but include some boat-related and diving essentials, including motion sickness tablets and decongestant medication.

Haircare: Your hair will become damaged with increased exposure to the sun and saltwater.

Moisturiser: Diving all day and lounging in the sun in every moment possible? You’re going to need to bring a good moisturiser to bring the moisture back into your skin.