Ladies: What do you wear on liveaboards?

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

Most lingerie-type stores and on-line catalogs sell cover-ups that are way too skimpy and a lot are see-thru, which I don't want. I used to have a couple of cover-ups that were great - swimsuit-type material, came down about mid-thigh, cap-sleeves and not see-thru. I can't seem to find any like that these days.
Try Athleta.com, they have had several types of shorter dresses made of swimsuit type material over the years, and I've had good luck with their traditional swim cover ups too, good luck!
 
I always pack 4 bathing suits (small bikinis due to packing considerations and the fact they dry faster). Most of the time I throw on running shorts and a tee shirt between dives. Sometimes I will throw on a cover-up. Right before the dive I will head to my room and throw on a sorong for the dive deck. Easy to dry if it gets wet. You can also get your wetsuit on with out taking the sorong off until the very end if you are feeling modest. Sorong is also great for the last night as a skirt so you don't feel like the dregs of society when all the crazy people break out their fancy clothes!!

Do not wear your wet bathing suit between dives... You do not want to get what Marie referenced, and the boat does not appreciate you getting their cushions wet since it is so hard to dry in such a humid climate.

Athleta has a great selection of quick drying cover-ups. They always have things on sale too!!
 
Oh and I see a ton of people in really cute cover-ups and when I ask them where they bought it they almost always say $15 at Target so check out Target. At least then if you muck it up or if the boat laundry shrinks it you aren't out a ton of money.. At the end of the trip lot's of people will leave their clothes for the villages too. Makes the bags a bit lighter at the end of the trip!

Big thing to understand is experienced LOB people do not usually dress up on LOBs. You will see the people wearing the same 3 tee shirts/ cover-ups for the entire trip. It makes packing so easy!
 
Like I've said before, don't bring many clothes on a LOB, but bring at least 3 swimsuits and 2 cover-ups so that you can be dry and comfortable between dives. I like cover-ups by Dotti. Other items include a few shorts and t-shirts, but don't forget to bring a pair of sweat pants or yoga pants and a light-weight, versatile jacket because it can get cold onboard at night - if you run into some wind and rain. I've also experienced some LOBs where it was cold in the cabin and hard to adjust the temperature, so I was glad for my yoga pants!

You also need one pair of sturdy footwear, like athletic shoes, in my opinion. Don't just bring one pair of flip flops or flimsy sandals. You don't wear shoes much onboard but you can wear the shoes while traveling and they can come in handy if there are any shore excursions.

They usually try to sell you some souvenir t-shirts and other apparel on the boat at the end of the trip, so that will give you a clean change of clothes for the trip home!
 
Definitely true - experienced LOB divers bring very few clothes :)

No one is going to be doing anything other than squirming into their gear on the dive deck and concentrating on their dive - meaning what you are wearing is not an issue for anyone else but you. I just did two back to back LOBs with 2 throw on dresses that I can wear on plane home (casual but not beachy cover ups, 1 cover up that's not made of much fabric but perfect for over my bikini, a pareo, 2 tshirts, a singlet and a pair of shorts. I also always throw in a pair of lightweight pants and make sure one t shirt has slightly longer sleeves for shore visits to villages for cultural reasons. I take two pairs of bikinis...that's about it really.

In transit I wear jeans and a hoody and joggers which are my "warm clothes" if the weather gets cool during the trip.

I've yet to be on a boat where laundry service is not available. If your joggers or runners or flip flops decide to die - dive booties are perfectly acceptable mountain climbing/shore trekking alternatives.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

Back
Top Bottom