It may be hard to get excited about anything involving outdoors and water when the weather is cold, but experienced divers know that this is the best times to dive in some of the world's most amazing waters. Fall, winter and especially spring are prime diving season in the warmer Pacific regions and the Southern Hemisphere. And with the number of quality liveaboard tour companies, there are great opportunites for both the dive expert and the beginning diver to have a truly unique vacation.
Now you could head to some island and stay in an expensive beach-side hotel. And if your lucky, you might be able to get in a dive each day. But if you love to explore underwater worlds, what you want to do is go on a liveaboard dive tour. A liveaboard tour is essentially a floating hotel. With a wide range of boats and ships to stay in, you can choose to stay in deluxe or bare-bones accommodations. For example, you could stay on a 150 ft. motor sailer, a luxury modified Chinese junk, or a simple diving charter.
The advantage of a liveaboard tour are obvious. With added mobility, you can stay close to dive sites that would normally take days to reach. With expert guides as your hosts, you can usually get in several dives-of-a-lifetime every day. Additionally, you can move from site to site without packing and re-packing.
The choices of diving locations and purposes are as numerous as the number of islands and ports in the ocean. If your goal is proximity, then Eastern U.S. divers might head for the Bahamas. If you don't mind a longer flight, there are many possibilities in the Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia, and the Australian and African coasts. Tours often pick a special topic or a guide's favorite location. A tour may dive among sunken World War II wrecks, through reefs teeming with sea life, among giant migrating plankton eaters, or off the coasts of isolated and pristine islands. Those of you looking for an extreme diving experience might even choose to cage-dive with great white sharks.
Expert divers reading this are probably already packed. But what about beginners? Most of the same tour companies also offer training classes and day trips that can get you ready for a liveaboard trip. A true beginner may want to just stick to the day trips, but a diver with only limited experience can find a tour that includes diving opportunities for all levels. With the great locations available, you don't have to dive in difficult waters to experience amazing and beautiful marine life.
So if you are looking for a vacation to a warm climate that includes lots of water activity, instead of immediately searching for beach resorts, consider a liveaboard dive trip. There's no better way to get to a secluded diving location than already being there. And with virtually instant, on-site diving opportunities, you are guaranteed many amazing diving opportunities when you liveaboard your floating hotel.
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Liveaboard Dive Tours
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