How Many Dives On A Liveaboard

You may be wondering how many dives on a liveaboard, and of course the answer to this question does depend on two factors. The number of dives on a liveaboard will firstly depend on the number of days you book the liveaboard for, but also the number of dives will be affected by how many dives you do each day whilst onboard.

The total number of dives on a liveaboard range from four dives in total for the entire liveaboard trip up to 68 dives during the trip for longer itineraries. This can mean you dive up to 4-5 times per day on some liveaboards, but how many times you dive up to their maximum is entirely your choice.

See below for a table of the number of dives on liveaboards across the world.

The best way to dive anywhere in the world is by a scuba diving liveaboard. You can check the latest and best deals on liveaboards using the following window:

Extra dives on liveaboards

Some liveaboards offer extra dives which are in addition to the standard number of dives included in the dive package. A dive package is normally included in the cost of the liveaboard in most cases. Some liveaboards charge for extra dives vs other liveaboards include these in the cost of the liveaboard trip.

Extra dives with private dive guides

You can also choose to dive with a private dive guide too. Diving with a private dive guide can been the dives included in the package or on the extra dives. Most liveaboard boats will charge extra for a private dive guide.

Table of the number of dives on liveaboards

The following table of the number of dives on liveaboards is in descending customer rating order, followed by Scuba Diving Luxury Rating (SDE Lux Rating, see below), so the liveaboards with the highest customer rating and the best SDE lux rating will be at the top of the list. If you want to change the list order, use the “Sort by” dropdown below.

The column with the “Number of dives (Max)” will be the maximum number of dives on the longest itinerary (see “Itineraries” column) for each liveaboard in this table. The best way to check how many dives on the liveaboard for shorter dive itineraries will be to click the “Booking Link” for the liveaboard you are interest in, in the “Discover Liveaboard” column below.

What is SDE Lux Rating %

The column headed “SDE Lux Rating %” is my own Liveaboard Luxury Rating which I’ve assigned to all liveaboards. To discover how the rating is calculated for your chosen liveaboard dive boat, click the liveaboard name link in the “Discover Liveaboard” column above (also this is explained in more detail below).

To help you to choose the right diving liveaboard for you, the “Scuba Diving Earth Liveaboard Luxury Rating” (SDE Lux Rating) means you can compare each liveaboard with other liveaboards on a like-for-like basis. This makes choosing the right liveaboard much easier.

The maximum rating for any liveaboard is 100%, and this rating is split between the 6 features listed below:

1. Diver benefits: A higher ‘diver benefits‘ score means there are more features specifically for scuba divers. These include onboard nitrox, dive courses, gear rental etc.
2. Liveaboard design features: The higher the ‘liveaboard design features‘ score, the more the dive boat has been designed with scuba divers in mind. This includes whether the dive boat was custom built for divers, if it has charging stations, outside showers etc.
3. Cabin luxury: A high score in ‘cabin luxury‘ means the cabins on the liveaboard offer better features. These might include ensuite cabins, air-conditioning, daily housekeeping, seaviews, TVs etc.
4. Onboard comfort: A high score in ‘onboard comfort‘ means there are more onboard features to make your dive trip feel more luxurious. These include what towels are provided on the liveaboard (always important for travelling light), complimentary toiletries, crew ratios etc.
5. Food luxury: If you are a foodie then ‘food luxury‘ will be important to you, as a high score on this rating will mean there’s more on offer. These might include the type of food served onboard, the dietary requirements catered for, vegan food, vegetarian food, buffet style, fine dining etc.
6. Drink luxury: If you like a drink in the evenings you may look for a higher score in ‘drink luxury‘ score, but this score also includes drinking water and soft drinks too.

The “SDE Luxury Rating Total” is calculated by adding the totals from each of the above features and benefits. The higher the SDE Luxury Rating, the more features and benefits the liveaboard has, which leads on nicely to how to use the SDE Luxury Rating.

How to use the SDE Luxury Rating score

When choosing the liveaboard dive boat for you, your decision is helped by customer scores, which is how the liveaboards in the above table are sorted in descending order.

If you are stuck choosing between two or three of these liveaboards, where each one has a high customer score out of 10 and that have itineraries you like, use the SDE Luxury Rating score to help narrow down your choice.

Think about it like using Booking.com when searching for the best hotel to stay at. Booking.com also use a customer score where each customer rates hotels out of 10. This is similar to the liveaboard customer rating, which is also rated out of 10.

But let’s say you only like to stay in hotels rated 9 and above on Booking.com, but you also want the hotel to have WIFI or parking, or to have a swimming pool etc. The features each hotel has is secondary to the score out of 10.

In the case of liveaboards, the SDE Lux Rating system can also be used as a secondary tool in the same way to help you determine which liveaboard offers the best features to suit you.

Each of the liveaboards linked-to from the above table will be individually scored. Which means that if cabin luxury is important to you, focus on this score to help you choose your liveaboard. But if diver benefits are your top priority, use this score first, and so on.

I hope you enjoyed this article about how many dives on a liveaboard

If this article hasn’t answered all of your questions. If you have more questions either about snorkelling or scuba diving (or specifically about how many dives on a liveaboard), please comment below with your questions.

There will also be many more articles about scuba and scuba diving safety tips (and on snorkelling too) for you to read and learn about this fabulous sport.