News
8 Great Reasons to try Liveaboard Diving
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Liveaboard diving opens up a whole new world of adventures. It offers the chance to explore remote destinations and uncrowded dive sites, plus enjoy the benefits of a personalised service and more dives per day. The list of reasons to try liveaboard diving is almost endless, so here are a few to whet your appetite. Dive in and you might just find the perfect liveaboard for you.
Liveaboard diving is for EVERY diver
Some people think liveaboard diving is only suitable for experienced divers but there are liveaboard safaris suitable for every dive experience level.
Two of the top liveaboard diving destinations, the Bahamas and the Great Barrier Reef, are ideal for new divers. You can enjoy easy diving with numerous sharks in the Bahamas, or snorkel with dwarf minke whales and explore beautiful coral reefs in Australia.
If you’re looking for more challenging diving, the Galapagos Islands and Costa Rica are unmissable. These two premier destinations are only accessible by liveaboard diving and will take your breath away with the sheer abundance of marine life and adventurous diving on offer.
Immerse yourself in diving you love
If you want to focus on a particular type of diving you love, liveaboards are a great choice for doing so. You can explore destinations renowned for exhilarating wall dives, wreck diving and more. Coron is well worth visiting if you’re a fan of wrecks. It is off the beaten track and is gaining a reputation as a wreck diving mecca. There are vessels ranging from small gun boats to seaplane tenders and tankers, and the Atlantis Azores offers safaris there.
If wreck diving isn’t your thing, how about ice diving in Antarctica or diving Fiji, the soft coral capital of the world? Or maybe you want to experience night diving with graceful manta rays in Hawaii. Whatever your idea of diving bliss, there will be a liveaboard to meet your needs.
Choose from budget adventures to exquisite luxury getaways
Liveaboard diving needn’t be expensive and there are some great budget-friendly liveaboards to try. You can dive with great white sharks at Guadalupe with the MV Horizon or cruise the Great Barrier Reef with the Rum Runner without breaking the bank. Red Sea liveaboard diving is another great choice for inexpensive liveaboards and has colourful coral reefs and plenty of marine life to see.
If you’re looking for a luxury escape that includes world-class diving, pristine atolls and relaxing spa treatments, look no further than the Maldives. There are a variety of luxurious yet affordable liveaboards to choose from, with the Scubaspa Fleet providing the ultimate in luxury diving.
Time just doesn’t matter anymore
There are short and extended liveaboard safaris to choose from; from 1-night safaris in Australia with Ocean Quest to extended 17-night Aqua Tiki II catamaran safaris exploring the stunning islands and shark dives of French Polynesia.
Once you’re onboard time will be a distant memory anyway as the crew take care of your every need. You’ll live your days by the rising and setting of the sun, experiencing one memorable dive after another.
There’s a world of epic, remote destinations to explore
One of the best advantages of liveaboard diving is reaching remote destinations that other people simply don’t get to dive. Go liveaboard diving and you can explore some of the last pristine places on Earth, such as the tribal islands of Papua New Guinea, the reefs of the Solomon Islands and the wilderness of the Arctic and Antarctica.
You’ll enjoy the best marine life encounters on Earth
There’s no shortage of incredible marine life encounters to tick off your wish list when you go liveaboard diving:
- Free diving with orcas in the Arctic winter
- Snorkelling with huge humpback whales in the Dominican Republic
- Diving with the world’s friendliest giant manta rays at the Socorro Islands
- Swimming with numerous whale sharks at Cenderawasih Bay, Indonesia
And that’s just a few of them…
Don’t want to dive all the time? There are plenty of other options
When you’re not diving, you can kick back and relax on sun decks or take advantage of other activities on offer. Join a liveaboard safari in Komodo, Indonesia and you can explore pink sand beaches, go hiking local paradise islands and visit Komodo dragons. A dive and sail safari to the Seychelles is ideal for a slow-pace of life under the sails, or you can visit far-flung communities in the Solomon Islands.
Motion sickness needn’t stop you, when you know which vessels to choose
Finally, don’t let motion sickness prevent you from joining a liveaboard safari. With the variety of vessel styles to choose from, sickness can become a thing of the past. Traditional Indonesian phinisi boats and catamarans offer smooth sailing plus, in the case of catamarans, exceptional stability and the ability to anchor in shallow, flat waters. They also happen to cruise some of the most scenic liveaboard destinations out there.
Discover liveaboard diving holiday solutions around the world at Liveaboard.com.
Marine Life & Conservation
IUCN Spotlights Green Fins at Bali Ocean Days 2025, Calling for Stronger Business Model in Marine Conservation
![conservation](https://www.scubaverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IUCN-site-visit_Penida-12.jpg)
IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Global Ocean Director, Minna Epps, has spotlighted Green Fins Indonesia along with a call for stronger business models that sustain marine conservation. Speaking at the inaugural session of Bali Ocean Days 2025 held on 7-8 February, Epps emphasised the need for sustainable financing to support and scale marine conservation initiatives such as Green Fins.
Activities earlier in the week with the Coral Triangle Center in Sanur and Ceningan Divers in the Nusa Penida Marine Protected Area shaped the IUCN Ocean Director’s message at the conference and showcase, aligning with the theme of the blue economy and impact finance to sustain marine ecosystems.
“Tourism has such a big impact on marine biodiversity, and we need it to adhere to a certain code of conduct,” Epps said. “That is why through our funding facilities, we worked with The Reef-World Foundation advancing Green Fins so dive operators can become certified with standards. But this kind of initiative has been around for a long time and it’s also a tool used to improve [MPA management], but it needs to come with a business model. I also believe in market-based instruments to evolve this programme.”
IUCN’s visit is part of their Blue Natural Capital Financing Facility (BNCFF), which supports at least 21 projects around the world, building the business case for investing in the future of our ocean.
In Indonesia, the project supported by IUCN was developed in partnership with The Reef-World Foundation, the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA) and the Coral Triangle Center, which serves as the local implementing organisation for Green Fins. The initiative engages marine tourism businesses through voluntary sustainability certification based on the only internationally recognised environmental standards for diving and snorkelling operations. Green Fins’ activities aim to reduce negative environmental impacts associated with marine tourism activities as well as improve the management of marine protected areas.
IUCN’s promotion of Green Fins in Bali Ocean Days signals the need for greater private sector engagement in marine conservation across Indonesia and beyond.
Investors, donors, marine tourism operators and stakeholders looking to support scalable marine conservation solutions are encouraged to explore opportunities with The Reef-World Foundation, the international coordinator of the Green Fins initiative. To learn more about sustainable marine tourism and how to get involved, visit www.reef-world.org.
About Reef-World
The Reef-World Foundation is a registered UK charity which delivers practical solutions for marine conservation around the world. The charity promotes the wise use of natural resources – particularly coral reefs and related ecosystems – for the benefit of local communities, visitors and future generations. It is dedicated to supporting, inspiring and empowering governments, businesses, communities and individuals around the world to act in conserving and sustainably developing coastal resources.
Reef-World leads the global implementation of the UN Environment Programme’s Green Fins initiative, which focuses on driving environmentally friendly scuba diving and snorkelling practices across the industry globally. As such, the charity provides low-cost and practical solutions to local and industry-wide environmental challenges associated with the marine tourism industry. It provides education and capacity-building assistance to empower environmental champions (within the diving industry, local communities, authorities and governments) to implement proven coastal resource management approaches.
Visit www.reef-world.org to learn more or follow them on Facebook, Instagram and X.
About Green Fins
Green Fins is a proven conservation management approach – spearheaded by The Reef-World Foundation in partnership with the UN Environment Programme – which leads to a measurable reduction in the negative environmental impacts associated with the marine tourism industry. The initiative aims to protect and conserve coral reefs through environmentally friendly guidelines that promote a sustainable diving and snorkelling tourism industry. It provides the only internationally recognised environmental standards for the diving and snorkelling industry and has a robust assessment system to measure compliance.
Green Fins encourages and empowers members of the diving industry to act to reduce the pressures on coral reefs by offering dive and snorkel companies practical, low-cost alternatives to harmful practices – such as anchoring, fish feeding and chemical pollution – as well as providing strategic training, support and resources. By reducing the local direct and indirect pressures tourism puts on coral reefs, it helps make corals healthier and more resilient to other stresses such as the effects of climate change. Look for the Green Fins logo when booking your next dive trip.Visit www.greenfins.net to learn more or follow the initiative on Facebook, Instagram and X.
News
Filming 360 in The Bahamas
![](https://www.scubaverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/360-Shark-Story-scaled.jpg)
In December 2024, the Shark Trust had a very special opportunity to film sharks and rays in The Bahamas. Frogfish Photography are the Bahamas Dive Ambassadors for the UK. And Caroline, Deputy Editor at Scubaverse, is the Marketing Manager at the Shark Trust. So, when the need arose to film footage of several species of shark and ray for a new Shark Trust project, The Bahamas seemed the perfect fit. A huge thank you is needed here to the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism. As they stepped in to fully support the trip both financially and practically. Ensuring that the filming expedition ran smoothly, and that we got as much time as possible in the water with sharks and rays, during the 10 day, 3 island trip.
The Bahamas is famous for its sharks and rays. Divers flock there to experience getting up close to a range of species. Our itinerary saw us visit Nassau, Bimini and Grand Bahama. It packed in as many in-water experiences as possible and had us dive, snorkel, and even take a submarine to experience them in a variety of different habitats and to capture them on film. We saw 148 sharks and rays from 8 different species (all of which have been logged on the Shark Trust Shark Log!).
But why were we there? The expedition was designed to fulfil the needs of two new projects being launched by the Shark Trust in 2025. The filming done underwater on this trip was the start of creating OneOcean360: A Shark Story. A new 360 immersive experience designed primarily for immersive domes and planetariums. The film will be the nearest experience to getting in the water with sharks and rays without getting wet! It will bring the world of sharks to an audience that may never get the chance to experience it first-hand. A Shark Story aims to deepen people’s understanding of sharks, uncovering and illustrating why they are so wonderful as well as being vital to marine ecosystems.
The film is being made in collaboration with Real Immersive. Also based in Plymouth, they have an immersive dome and are providing the technical expertise behind creating this unique experience. Reviewing the footage in the dome has been an invaluable part of the process. Both inspiring the team and allow us to refine the filming techniques to suit this immersive theatre.
You might imagine that we are using expensive cameras and even more expensive housings. But this is not the case. The entire project is being filmed using Insta360 X4 cameras. With only a few simple additions to the standard dive setup. The INON weight plate allowed us to attach this camera to a dive weight, set it down on sand or wreck, and then swim away and let the sharks be the stars. And the results are very exciting. The film will be ready this autumn. It will be accompanied by an educational pack for teachers to take away after school trips to see the film. Encouraging all those that see it to continue learning about these incredible animals.
You can support the creation of OneOcean360: A Shark Story by heading to the crowdfunder page and donating or selecting a reward.
https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/a-shark-story
Read about the shark and ray dives we did on Nassau, Bimini and Grand Bahama in our next blog post coming soon on Scubaverse.
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