The ultimate liveaboard packing list

This is the complete guide to liveaboard packing. We’ll walk you through everything that should (and shouldn’t) be on your packing list from dive gear to PJs.

 

The basics

LOAs are one of the best ways to enjoy a dive-heavy vacation. They’re easy to plan and you won’t spend half your trip lugging around gear or going from point A to B. It’s the true Eat-Sleep-Dive-Repeat lifestyle. The only decisions you have to make are where to go and what to pack. If it’s your first time on an LOA then use the list below to simplify those packing decisions!

This list is for a ~7 day LOA in a tropical climate. If you’re going somewhere colder sub in better exposure protection (e.g., drysuit). If you’re going somewhere for longer/shorter you might want to change the number of bathing suits or t-shirts by 1 or 2 but that’s probably the only adjustment. 

There are two helpful rules of thumb. The first rule of thumb is to bring more of everything you wear while diving. Doing 4 or 5 dives a day for multiple days lowers your core temp fast. Expect to keep adding layers over the course of the week and to end up with ~double what you would for a 2-tank boat trip in the same water temperature. 

The second rule of thumb is to pack less of everything you wear topside. You’ll spend most of the day in a bathing suit and towel. You won’t need a fresh t-shirt or cover-up every single day and no one is wearing makeup or nice dresses to dinner every night.

If you don’t already have a bag with wheels and flexible sides then now is the time to invest. Eagle Creek makes some nice ones that are durable enough to last a lifetime. We prefer Eagle Creek to the ones made by dive gear companies because they let you go under the radar in airports. It will help you occasionally skip out on extra fees for scuba gear on some airlines and will make your bag a less likely target for airport thieves who know that scuba gear is small, expensive and easy to resell. 

 

Dive gear – necessary

  • BCD
  • Regulator
  • Wetsuit 
  • Booties & fins
  • Mask
  • Computer
  • SMB (surface marker buoy / safety sausage)
  • Whistle
  • Knife / line cutter
  • Flashlight, batteries, charger 
  • Backup flashlight – any boat with legitimate safety measures will require this for night dives 
  • Tank light for night dives
  • Dive log – make sure you’ve got enough blank pages. And if you’ve gotten past your first dive log, make sure that you bring enough books to prove the minimum level the boat requires. Most boats never actually check but occasionally they will look for a certain number of dives or for a certain number of a specific type of dives such as deep, wreck or drysuit.
  • Certification cards 
  • Dive insurance card – many boats now ask for your DAN or Dive Assure number. If they don’t then you’ll doubly want the card just in case you need to reach out for help.
  • Ear beer
  • Save-a-dive kit – a good LOA will have most things but make sure you’ve got spares for critical pieces of gear that use uncommon pieces especially unusual fin straps or mask straps. And a small thing of duct tape or electrical tape is always worth it.
  • 2-3 heavy duty trash bags – the best way to deal with gear that hasn’t fully dried off before you need to pack for your return flight.

Dive gear – optional but highly recommended

  • Gloves – gloves can be controversial but it never hurts to have a pair in your pocket in case you’ll have to hang onto a mooring line
  • Wetsuit liner or vest or hood (or all of those) – I’ve never met anyone who regretted bringing a few extra layers
  • Liner socks – a pair of cheap thin lycra socks can be magical for blister prevention. They also make it much easier to slip on a wet wetsuit.
  • Reef hook – just in case
  • Mask defog – most boats will provide this but it never hurts to bring your own. You can also then store it by your station so it’s easy to grab right before hopping in the water
  • Camera + gear

Clothing 

There will be some people with different outfits every day but that is neither expected nor necessary. You won’t be wearing it much anyway. Save on space/weight by bringing less. If you opt for neutral colors & boring things then no one will even realize it’s the second day you wore that black t-shirt.

  • 5+ bathing suits – they’re small and light and it is so amazing to have a dry one to change into before dinner in an air conditioned cabin
  • 3 sets of daytime clothes – for the ladies this could be either 1 pair of shorts with 3 shirts or 3 coverups. For the gents this is just a couple of shirts. Go for quick-dry material since you’ll be pulling these on over wet bathing suits or leaving them on the dive deck .
  • 3-4 sets of “dry” clothes for the evenings – these can be very casual (shorts and t-shirts) but it can be nice to bring one nice-ish set, such as a sundress for ladies or a button-down shirt for men, for dinner on the last day which is often off the boat at a restaurant
  • 2 fleeces: 1 “wet” fleece that you can pull on if you’re cold after dives and 1 “dry” fleece for those rare moments when you’re clean and dry and chilly from AC or an evening breeze
  • 1 windbreaker or rain jacket: it always comes in handy at least once!
  • 1 pair of pajamas or hangout clothes for the evenings after night dives. We highly recommend sweatpants with elastic at the ankle cuffs so you can walk around on the dive deck without getting them wet.

 

Toiletries

  • All your normal things….
  • Ladies: extra hair elastics
  • Ladies: small bottle of hair detangler 
  • Reef safe sunscreen
  • Aloe for sunburns
  • Bug spray

 

First aid kit

  • Electrolyte mix/tablets – plain water isn’t always enough when you’re diving a lot. Bring a bag of these and start using them on day 1 before you have any problems. You’ll be much less likely to get headaches or get really tired in the middle of the afternoon.
  • Neosporin – don’t let a small nick get infected and cut short your dives!
  • Waterproof bandaids – good for blisters 
  • Anti-itch/irritation for bug bites and jellyfish/coral stings
  • Cough drops – breathing out of a tank for 5+ hours a day can dry out your throat. You don’t need a whole bag, but a small role of a dozen comes in handy
  • Ear things – you might not need any of these, but better to have them just in case your ears start getting sore. We recommend starting to dive without any of these and if you have issues equalizing or your ear starts feeling uncomfortable use any/all of the first three listed. But be careful when mixing any medications with diving and know your limits. It’s better to make the safe choice and skip a dive then to permanently damage your ear and end all future diving.
    • Ibuprofen – decrease inflammation
    • Sudafed (decongestant) – decrease swelling/inflammation in ear by narrowing blood vessels
    • Claritin (oral antihistamine) – block effects of histamines to prevent congestion
    • Flonase (antihistamine nose spray) – same
    • Antibiotics – most doctors are willing to prescribe a pack of ear drop antibiotics just in case
  • Stomach things – similar to ears, these should be in the bag that you hopefully don’t have to open. But stomach issues and wetsuits don’t mix so just in case…
    • Pepcid AC or Alka-seltzer for Heartburn – sometimes eating and then going horizontal can get in the way with normal function. Usually easily cured with a few tablets. 
    • Pepto
    • Imodium
    • Cipro

 

Other stuff

  • Passport
  • Cash & a credit card
  • Sun glasses
  • Hat
  • Waterproof ditch bag – we consolidate passports, a credit card and some cash into a small waterproof bag with a strap. We leave this somewhere that would be easy to grab on the way out of the cabin. Ideally we never have to make a fast exit but we’ve heard just enough stories from others that we’re always prepared.
  • Small around-the-boat bag – we bring a net pool bag where we can store sunscreen, hats, sunglasses, books, etc. in-between dives. This is especially nice if your cabin is on a different deck from the sundeck so that you’re not running up and down extra stairs or going inside while wet. 
  • Charger block – some liveaboards have plenty of outlets. Some don’t. Bringing a block means that you’ll always be able to charge camera/flashlight batteries and it will make you a hero for your fellow passengers.
  • Converter – check the requirements wherever you’re going
  • Books – we always bring 2-3 per person. We never even finish the first one.