Who to book liveaboards through?

[Lp]

Hi

Who do people book liveaboards through?

I've read not to trust liveaboard.com but a lot of boats don't seem to have a direct email (some do of course)!

Thoughts?

Thanks

 

[Scared Silly]

I have booked directly with some boats but most recently used Dive Advice. Dom was great to work with and have met him personally. I would use them again.

 

[covediver]

I would try to book directly. Failing that you can try a broker but you might find it useful to find a dive shop that has a group charter to whereever you want to go and book spots through them. That has worked for some people I know in the U.S. Not sure how that works in other places

 

[chillyinCanada]

Hi

Who do people book liveaboards through?

I've read not to trust liveaboard.com but a lot of boats don't seem to have a direct email (some do of course)!

Thoughts?

Thanks

I use Greg at Liquid Diving Adventures. I've been using him for well over a decade.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Hi

Who do people book liveaboards through?

I've read not to trust liveaboard.com but a lot of boats don't seem to have a direct email (some do of course)!

Thoughts?

Thanks

Where do you want to go? You can get some pretty good advice on boats from those of us here who have actually been on them.

 

[divenski]

I mostly book through the live aboard itself. If they don't have contact info on their website, that's a bit of a red flag for me. I'm thrifty but for a dive operation, good quality equates to safety, good dive experiences and money well spent.

That said, there are many online travel agents that you can use. Try Dive Advice, or Bluewater Travel, or Equator Diving. I trust all of those. I recently had a long email conversation with Jez at Premier Liveaboard Diving and he seems to know a lot as well.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Who do people book liveaboards through?

I've read not to trust liveaboard.com but a lot of boats don't seem to have a direct email (some do of course)!

Maybe I'm being unrealistic, but I wouldn't book a liveaboard that did not have their own website or at the very least a way to contact them directly, whether that's email or FB or whatever. You're not a real business if you don't have a presence on the interwebs.

 

[runsongas]

I've used Dom @ Dive Advice before a few times because they have a partner agency in norcal they work with so I'm dealing with someone local at the end of the day.

 

[js1221]

I can second Greg at Liquid Diving Adventures.

 

[Lp]

Where do you want to go? You can get some pretty good advice on boats from those of us here who have actually been on them.

Looking at Komodo in late may/June. 3 guys. Also tossing up alor option as some operators there too at this time. Pref of the group is pelagic over macro.

Main thing i guess would be that the boat goes after it, avoids crowds, good/safe guides and Indonesian food. Doesn’t need to be fancy but a/c helps

What do you reckon ?