The Best Liveaboard Destinations: 11 Spots to Add to Your Bucket List!
Don’t get me wrong, pretty much all I do is land-based diving…. for now.
Shore diving, boat diving, I love it all. But that’s for lack of wanting… it’s for lack of funds thus far!
While it’s great to combine scuba diving with a vacation and stay in your own accommodations, eat, and do things other than dive, sometimes the only way to get to a particularly remote area is by liveaboard.
Or perhaps there’s something that a liveaboard offers that a regular diving trip doesn’t, like proximity to a faraway dive site so you can dive it multiple times and not need to worry about a long trip.
This is a collection of the best liveaboard destinations: mostly places you can only get to by liveaboard, and a few where liveaboard is the absolute best way to experience it!
Raja Ampat
The holy grail of liveaboard dive destinations is Raja Ampat — just look at those lagoon waters and islets!
Liveaboards that focus on Raja Ampat tend to leave from Sorong and traverse the Dampier Strait area, as well as the areas around Fam, Mansuar, and the stunning destination of Misool, considered the crown jewel of Raja Ampat.
Some highlights include seeing manta rays at the cleaning station near Mansuar and Cape Kri, the world’s most biodiverse dive site in the world, hitting a world record of 374 species of fish spotted on a single dive!
Note, though, that currents in Raja Ampat (and particularly Cape Kri) can be rather intense. Raja Ampat is a destination for those experienced with currents — including downcurrents, which can be scary to experience.
But those currents also bring big life: manta rays, reef sharks, huge schools of mackeral and tunas, and even occasionally whales or dolphins.
And Raja Ampat isn’t all big stuff, of course — you’ll also find a huge variety of nudibranchs, pygmy seahorses, and other macro treasures.
With a combination of hard and soft corals, walls, slopes, and shallow reefs, Raja Ampat has a little of everything, so it’s pretty difficult to leave disappointed.
Possible to Do By Land?: Yes, but better by liveaboard.
Price Per Day: $250 to $550 per day
Duration: 5-10 nights
Maldives
Most people think of the Maldives as a honeymoon, resort destination… but not divers!
For divers, the Maldives is one of the best liveaboard destinations on the planet, allowing you to island-hop without the pricy seaplanes and cover a lot of ground without committing to the sites around just one resort.
Your general Maldives liveaboard will combine North Male, South Male, and Ari Atoll, but you can also book other liveaboards in more remote parts of the Maldives, like Gan Atoll, though that will require an additional seaplane after arriving in Male.
But even just leaving from Male, you’ll see so much even on on a short itinerary. See the big stuff — reef sharks, whale sharks (snorkel only), and near-guaranteed mantas at cleaning stations — as well as the amazing small stuff.
A typical Maldives itinerary will include Rasdhoo Atool (keep an eye out for hammerheads!), North Ari Atoll (known for its manta cleaning stations), South Ari Atoll (possibility of whale sharks), South Male Atoll (wreck diving), Vaavu Atoll (sharks and rays), and North Male Atoll (beautiful reefs).
Possible to Do By Land?: Yes, but better by liveaboard.
Price Per Day: $210 to $350 per day
Duration: 7 to 10 nights
Galapagos
Practically synonymous with biodiversity, the Galapagos is a dream liveaboard experience… but the water conditions here are definitely a challenge!
Typically liveaboard operators here will either require or heavily suggest you have at least 50 logged dives.
Frankly, as someone with 100+ dives, I’d suggest you at least double that unless you regularly dive in difficult conditions (current, low visibility, etc.) as you will have to do some more advanced maneuvers like negative entry and handling strong currents.
Additionally, the water in the Galapagos can be quite cold. In the warmer season (December to May) expect your average water temperatures between 21-30°C (70-86°F), but by June through November, those drop to an average of 16-24°C (60-75°F).
And that’s just the average temperatures — the thermoclines (changes in water temperature) can be quite intensely varied too, dropping several degrees in an instant! Depending on your comfort level, you may prefer to dive dry and get drysuit certified before doing a Galapagos liveaboard.
Look for an itinerary that covers the renowned Darwin and Wolf Islands, two unique outer Galapagos Islands that have been a marine sanctuary since 2016.
Fishing is entirely prohibited in this massive 15,000 square mile area, so it’s a huge draw for incredible creatures like schools of hammerheads, massive clouds of tuna, and possibly even whale sharks!
And of course, it wouldn’t be a Galapagos dive trip without diving with some playful sea lions (and maybe the unique endemic marine iguana if you are lucky!)
Most Galapagos liveaboards depart from Baltra, the main airport of the islands, and go for 7 nights.
That makes this an expensive liveaboard option, but it’s one for the bucket lists.
These islands inspired Charles Darwin, after all, one of the world’s greatest naturalists!
Possible to Do By Land?: Can access some sites by land, but Darwin and Wolf and other dive sites are liveaboard only
Price Per Day: $350 to $800 per day
Duration: Typically 7 nights
Komodo
Famous for its rip-roaring currents and huge pelagics, Komodo is a dream liveaboard destination for those experienced enough for its challenging waters.
Ever seen those videos of people clipping themselves in to a reef hook and soaring through the current, flying in place like Superman? Those videos were likely taken in Komodo!
But Komodo isn’t all currents, people assure me (I am a little bit of a baby when it comes to currents, admittedly — it’s a fear I’m working through after what felt like a near-death experience in Nusa Penida) — it also has incredible shallows and reefs where the currents are milder.
That said, you should still have plenty of dive experience (AOW + at least 50 dives logged) before booking a Komodo liveaboard, even if it is one of the top liveaboard destinations for divers.
If you can afford it, try to book the fun traditional boats, the Phinisi, which are a unique way to get around the Komodo area via liveaboard – in particular, the La Galigo liveaboard is really cool as it was designed by a diver but built by Sulawesi craftsmen (a nearby island in Indonesia).
Komodo expeditions usually run from May to September, as the rest of the time, the liveaboards typically move to Raja Ampat for the high season there.
They depart from and return to the main port of Labuan Bajo on Komodo, usually lasting a week to 10 days.
A typical Komodo liveaboard itinerary includes diving around Padar Island (heaven on earth for macro photographers — and a relief from the currents of Komodo!), Nuse Kode which part of Komodo National Park and home to dive site like the Yellow Wall, Cannibal Rock, and Rhino Rock.
Komodo is famous for its mantas and you will be basically guaranteed to see them at the cleaning station in Manta Alley, and after that, you’ll get to see Komodo’s famous land-dwellers: the eponymous Komodo dragons, the largest lizards in the world!
Other spots on a typical Komodo itinerary include dive sites near Siaba Besar (turtles and reef sharks), Sebayur (sharks and coral), Gili Lawa Darat (mantas and possibly dolphins), and more!
Possible to Do by Land: There are a few dive shops in Labuan Bajo, but you really won’t be able to see the best of Komodo this way.
Price Per Day: $270 to $350 per day
Duration: 7-10 days
Similan Islands
Want to visit the Similan Islands in Thailand? This is a liveaboard only experience, so you’ll have to shell out for the trip!
Luckily, the Similans are a great introduction to liveaboard life, as a Similan Island liveaboard is often short and relatively affordable.
It’s a great way to test out if liveaboard diving is your kind of thing, because you’ll get the full liveaboard experience without committing to a week plus (and several thousand dollars!)
All liveaboard trips depart from Khao Lak in Thailand, so you’ll have to get there first — once you reach Khao Lak, they’ll handle the rest from there.
While you can do a shorter itinerary that only includes the Similan Islands, you really ought to do a longer one that also includes Richelieu Rock, which is one of the best dive sites in Thailand, hands down.
Common sightings at Richelieu Rock include whale sharks (in season, which is February through April), coral reefs jam-packed with colorful nudibranchs, seahorses, and possibly even mantas and sharks if you look out in the deep blue.
If you just visit the Similans, it’s mostly about the epic coral landscape: think swim-throughs galore, canyons, tunnels filled with soft and hard corals. Some of the favorite dive sites are Elephant Head Rock and Christmas Point, teeming with reef life and beauty.
Personally, I’d regret going all the way out in the Andaman Sea all the way out to the Similans only to skip Richelieu Rock, but if your budget can’t afford the extra days that requires, a short Similans liveaboard is a great way to get introduced to liveaboard life.
Possible to Do By Land?: No
Price Per Day: About $225 to 250 per day
Duration: Typically 3-5 days depending on if you also visit Richelieu Rock
Tubbataha Reef
Another liveaboard only experience, but this time in the Philippines!
Departing from Puerto Princesa in Palawan, this weeklong liveaboard experience is one of the most beautiful protected areas of the Philippines — which is saying something, as in my experience, even the most-visited reefs are rather pristine.
Tubbataha Reef is massive, and you’ll need several days to explore it properly. A typical itinerary starts with exploring Jeazy Beazley Reef before making its way to the North Atoll of Tubbataha, where you can dive the Malayan Wreck and visit a dive site called ‘Shark Airport’ — sounds promising to me!
The South Atoll also has a lot to offer, with Black Rock being one of the prime spots, as well as Sea Fan Alley, known for its gorgeous fluttering sea fans. There’s also another wreck here, T-Wreck, if you’re a wreck dive lover.
Expect to see massive schools of fish, white tip and grey reef sharks, as well as nurse sharks and possibly even hammerhead sharks!
Possible to Do By Land?: No
Price Per Day: About $300 to 350 per day
Duration: Typically 7 days
Rowley Shoals Marine Park
The most exclusive on this list, this is the hardest liveaboard destiantion to book, but its worth it for many.
It’s as remote as it gets. Take Western Australia — already remote.
Now go to Broome — even more remote.
Now go 300 kilometers west of Broome… and that’s Rowley Shoals.
To make it even more hard to get to? It’s only open to 200 divers per year, for a limited 6 week time window.
Most people wait about 3 years to get on their dream liveaboard, but they find it worth it when they do!
Rowley Shoals is located on the widest continental shelf that exists anywhere on the planet, with three massive coral atolls and unbelievable visibility (60 meters at times!)
Dives typically focus on Mermaid Reef and Clerke Reef, where you’ll find over 200 species of coral, all sorts of sharks including reef sharks, hammerheads, and tiger sharks.
Despite being so remote, you’d think conditions may be rough given its position in the open ocean, but it’s actually quite varied. There are peaceful sheltered lagoon dives, swim-throughs and canyons, and wall dives, and some drift dives, typically without super strong current.
Possible to Do By Land?: No
Price Per Day: Anywhere from $300-1,000 per night!
Duration: Typically 5-7 days
Red Sea
This is another common beginner-level liveaboard because the prices are pretty affordable and there are many itinerary types of various lengths and focuses.
The majority of the liveaboards here focus on the Northern Red Sea, which is all about wrecks and reefs, and it’s home to its most famous wreck (and arguably the most famous wreck dive in the world), the Thistlegorm!
A Northern Red Sea itinerary will typically include the Brothers Islands, two gorgeous pinnacles about 60 miles off the coast of the Red Sea. It’s all about sharks here: hopefully, you can see hammerheads, silky sharks, gray reef sharks, oceanic whitetip sharks, and possibly even thresher sharks, those enigmatic sharks of the deep!
There are also large schools of shoals of fish, particularly tuna, barracudas, jackfish, and snappers.
You can also dive the Aida II and the Numidia if you’re a big wreck diver. Some, but not all, North itineraries include the Thistlegorm, so check your particular liveaboard’s itinerary carefully if that’s on your bucket list.
Some liveaboards will go as far as Daedalus Reef, which is the furthest reef in the Red Sea, with massive walls leading to sheer drop-offs that are stunning to behold — and even more stunning if you get the chance to see some majestic schooling hammerheads, a distinct possibility!
Another popular site is Elphinstone, known for its soft corals, steep walls, and grey reef sharks (and sometimes oceanic white tips!).
Southern Red Sea liveaboards are less common, but no less incredible. You can visit sites like Abu Dabab, Sha’ab Shark (wall dives and white tips, sometimes even silky sharks!), Fury Shoals (incredible swim-throughs) and Abu Galawa Soraya with its incredible wreck dive.
The main draw for the south is St Johns, which is a small cluster of reefs which has the most remote diving in the Red Sea — you won’t be fighting crowds like on the Thistlegorm, here.
Just north of the Sudan border, these reefs have stunning coral formations, plus schools of hammerhead sharks, silvertip reef sharks, grey reef sharks, manta rays, and schools of barracudas all possible drop-ins on your dive trip!
.Possible to Do By Land?: Yes, lots of dive shops in Hurghada, Sharm el-Sheikh, and Dahab will bring you to many sites. However, a few are only accessible by liveaboard.
Price Per Day: About $115 to 200 per day — definitely some of the most budget-friendly liveaboard diving! Note that North itineraries tend to be cheaper than South itineraries due to increased supply and demand.
Duration: Typically 5-7 days
Great Barrier Reef
Admittedly, the Great Barrier Reef isn’t the pristine beauty it once was… unless you visit it by liveaboard and see its more remote and deeper portions, that is, where the reef is still pretty vibrant.
For the healthiest and least-impacted reefs, you’ll want to do a longer liveaboard that gets you out of the range of shorter liveaboards, where there’s a lot of dive traffic (and thus, unfortunately, damage to reef from some careless divers).
Virtually all Great Barrier Reef liveaboards will depart from Cairns, but you should look for one that visits some of the more unique outer reef areas, like RIbbons Reefs, Cod Hole, and Osprey Reef.
These are some of the most spectacular reefs in the Coral Sea and you’ll see so many types of coral, huge schools of fish, the funky potato cod, massive coral walls that sink a thousand meters into the abyss, grey reef sharks, silvertips…. the list goes on!
One unique thing about some liveaboards is the chance to visit the rarely-visited Lizard Island, even getting to stay there for a night to get off the boat for a change!
Possible to Do By Land?: Yes, but the corals you’ll see on a day dive from Cairns or somewhere similar is disappointing — take it from me!
Price Per Day: From $200 to 300 or more per day
Duration: Anywhere from 2 days to 8 days
Socorro Islands
If you like big pelagics… Socorro is the liveaboard destination for you! This is shark and manta heaven, with 7 species of shark regularly found in these waters.
Leaving from Cabo — a great dive destination in its own right! — you’ll embark to the most remote Mexican archipelago, the Revillagigedo Islands, so remote they take over a day to sail there.
These islands are nicknamed Mexico’s “Little Galapagos” and given the diversity of sea life you’ll find here, you won’t be arguing with that comparison!
Set your expectations at a reasonable level but hopes high: you might get to dive with dolphins, silvertips, tiger sharks, oceanic mantas, humpback whales, and schooling hammerheads!
Oceanic mantas are all but guaranteed: one of the islands, San Benedicto, has a dive site called The Boiler which is an oceanic manta cleaning station, where you’ll regularly find several friendly, curious manta rays.
Possible to Do By Land?: No
Price Per Day: Around $250-300 per day
Duration: Typically 9-10 days
Cocos Island
Costa Rica isn’t really known for its diving, but Cocos Island is the exception to the rule. The catch? It’s several days away by liveaboard.
They call Caño Island near Uvita a “Cocos Island in miniature” and having dived Caño Island, I can tell you: if that’s any indication of how incredible Cocos Island would be, I’m all in!
This is another dive destination that is said to be comparable to the Galapagos, but it’s even more exclusive and rare to visit, since there are only a handful of liveaboards that visit Cocos Island.
All liveaboards depart from Puntarenas and last about 10 days, because you need about 2 days at sea each way to reach this island — yes, that’s how remote this island is!
Once you arrive though, it’ll be worth the sea days: expect schooling hammerheads and mantas at Alcyone, schools of bigeye jacks and snappers at Big Dos Amigos, macro paradise at Bird Island including adorable frogfish and morays, massive marble rays at Dirty Rock, and schooling marble and mobula rays at Lone Stone.
If you’re lucky, you may get to see whale sharks, false killer whales, white tips and eagle rays!
Possible to Do By Land?: No
Price Per Day: From $450-550 per day
Duration: Typically 10 days
