Contrary to what many scuba divers may think, a liveaboard scuba diving in Bali may not necessarily be more expensive relative to conventional scuba diving vacations. As a matter of fact, liveaboard scuba diving, if well planned may even save you money and hassles.

Firstly, you will save a lot of transportation time and costs, such as traveling to your dive operator’s boat and then after your dive, returning to your hotel or resort, lugging your cumbersome scuba diving gear to and fro, then repeating this same process for the next couple of days during your scuba diving vacation in Bali.

Next, you save money from hotel or resort accommodation because since you are living on the liveaboard dive boat, there will be no need for hotel or resort bookings. On top of that, you do not need to hunt for expensive meals in your hotel or resort since all liveaboard scuba diving packages will include meals. This will also mean that you will be probably having very fresh and succulent sea food caught by the crew while you are enjoying your scuba diving.

The highlight of your liveaboard Bali scuba diving vacation is that you can dive in many exotic dive spots instead of the ones near where you stay. This is because you need not return to your resort hotel to retire for the day, the liveaboard dive boat will cruise to far flung scuba diving locations while you are sleeping, again saving you time and best of all, you get to save more money by diving in more dive locations for the same price.

Below is a typical liveaboard Bali scuba diving package offered by quite a few Bali dive operators.

Day One-Visit one of Bali’s most interesting street on the way to Pemuteran & Menjangan North West Bali which will also include a stopover in View Point Restaurant Sanda. Dive Sites: Pemuteran House Reef & Reef Project or Secret Bay in Gilimanuk

Day Two-After breakfast, you will hop onboard for a dive boat trip to Menjangan Island. Dive Sites: Menjangan – National Park, Walls, Anker Wreck, Coral Garden, lunch and surface rest on a white sandy beach.

Day Three-Dive Sites: Amed or Tulamben or Secret Spot, Drop Off, Liberty Wreck Dive and Wall Dive

Day Four-After breakfast drive to East – Bali and stop over to view Bali Islands famous terraced rice fields. Dive Sites: Blue Lagoon & White Beach including a night dive in Blue Lagoon

Day Five-Dive Sites: Gili Mimpang & Gili Tepekong or Gili Biaha

Day Six-Dive Sites: Gili Biaha or Nusa Penida or Nusa Lembongan 2 Speedboat Dives.

Day Seven-Dive Sites: Blue Lagoon – White Beach – Chanel

So if you want to save time, money and hassle during your Bali scuba diving vacation, why not try liveaboard scuba diving?

Chris Chew
http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/bali-liveaboard-scuba-diving-vacation-128596.html

In terms of lugging the gear around, I'll pass. The last thing I want to do is carry a BCD and regulator around Nicaragua for a week, only to find that dive packages (including gear and tanks and boat rides) are the only option. And that's assuming I don't get robbed in Managua for my funny-looking, inflatable vest. It looks like Bonaire will continue to reign supreme as a dive destination. Cheers.

I don't think I've ever been to a dive shop that didn't offer gear rental. I'd suggest calling or e-mailing some of the dive shops you found online and asking about their rental policies. Some shops just don't post the entire price list on the web site.

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Sorry, but you'd be surprised at the number of people who ask questions here without trying anything else first. I've seen people asking medical questions that even a qualified physician wouldn't be able to answer without an examination.

I wish I could be more help, but I haven't been to the Corn Islands, and apparently no one else here has either. You could rent gear at your local shop and take it with you, but if the island shops won't even rent you a tank, you'd more than likely have a problem if you tried to bring one on a plane.

http://www.atlanticedge.com/product.php?productid=16951&cat=340&page=1

I won't buy it online, but that's the gear I'm looking at. Also considered

http://www.atlanticedge.com/product.php?productid=16948&cat=340&page=1

and

http://www.atlanticedge.com/product.php?productid=16954&cat=340&page=2

I'm not very good at knowing which regs/octos are the best and the such, so any advice/comments are definitely welcome!

Thanks!

Mares is a good brand. The first package would be more than enough for tropical diving. I would like to point out a few things. First that particular BC is a Back Inflate not a normal jacket BC. This is actually becoming much more standard, and it kind of comes from "Tech-reational" diving. (Where a diver would use a backplate and wing) Personally I find these much better than the jacket style as it offers less clutter and more freedom of movement in front of you. However if you have never dove a back inflate, it may take a little getting used to.

Second, the regulator is a good one, however I would watch out for what used to be called S&P equipment. This regulator is exclusively for women? Sounds like something I can charge more money for, but when it comes down to it, it's a normal first stage, and the second stage has a little color to it. Oh S&P means Small and Pink and that's how diving equipment was geared to women in the past. If you can put function ahead of fashion, you can probably save considerably. Also take some of the money you save and get a more comfortable mouthpiece. That's an easy way to make a good regular feel great. The Oceanic setup is good as well. (I dive a GT4 and Alpha8 setup and have never had a problem) I personally am not a fan of the backup being on the power inflator, but it does streamline a little. But being a FL diver recommend a sound device when in the open water so the inflator becomes a little crowded.

One last thing is on the Women's cut BCs some have the built in chest support (more to cover the chest) and some are just cut different. Again this is all about preference, but I have had some ladies that have the extra fabric say they love it, but just as many that are a not as happy with it. So talk to your shop about trying a few out before making a purchase. When it comes down to it, the fit is way more important than most shops tell you. When I first started out I do a BC that was supposed to fit me (for chest size height etc) I was comfortable and had OK trim etc. Then I tried a different BC that was smaller and instantly everything felt 10 times better. And my trim went from OK to Pretty good. So don't just go by what they tell you "should" fit. decide for yourself.