Tourist diving: how to choose the best and avoid disappointments

The tourist diving market is large and diverse. Knowing how to choose differentiates between a wonderful experience and a disappointing one.

Types of diving tourism packages

Day Boat
Picks you up from the port to the dive site and returns on the same day. Suitable for starting out and trying out basic sites.

Live-aboard Boat
You live on board a boat for a week or more and dive in remote locations not reached by day boats. More expensive but a much deeper experience.

What you are looking for in the package

• The number of dives per day, the more the better, usually
• Ratio of divers to guide: less than 6 per guide is a good standard
• Condition of rental equipment, age of cylinders and quality of regulators

Signs of a good package

• The guides know the names of the fish and the locations in detail
• They check your certificates before diving, not after
• They have a clear emergency plan and oxygen equipment on the boat

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A good diving package makes you feel like you are getting back ten times what you paid.