Liveaboard Packing List: What to Bring (and What to Leave Home)
The first liveaboard I ever packed for, I brought a hard-shell roller suitcase, four pairs of pants, a dress shirt "in case we go out for dinner" (we did not), and no seasickness medication because I thought I'd be fine (I was not).
I've since figured out what a liveaboard actually requires. The answer is surprisingly little — and very specifically chosen.
The Core Rule: Soft Bags Only
This is not a preference. Hard-shell suitcases are actively problematic on dive boats. The gear storage area is designed for soft duffels and dry bags that stack, compress, and fit in irregular spaces. A hard roller destroys this arrangement and often has to be left in a separate hold where you can't access it during the trip.
Bring a large soft duffel (80-100L) as your main bag and a smaller dry bag or backpack for daily deck use. That's it.
Dive Gear: What to Bring vs. What to Rent
This question matters both for packing volume and for dive quality.
Always bring your own:
Mask — Rental masks exist but rental masks fit like they belong to someone else. A properly fitted mask is personal equipment. Bring yours regardless of whether you're renting everything else. Cost to buy a good one: $60-150. Cost of a flooded rental mask at 25 meters in a strong current: unquantifiable stress.
Fins — Rental fins are usually either too big, too small, too stiff, or all three. If you dive regularly, you have fins. Bring them.
Dive computer — Never rely on a rental computer. You don't know what algorithm it's running, what conservatism settings are programmed in, or what its service history looks like. Your dive computer is your most important safety instrument. Own one, bring it, trust it.
Signaling devices — Surface marker buoy (SMB) and a whistle. These are personal safety equipment. Some boats provide SMBs; some don't. Always have your own.
Dive light — Even if you're not planning night dives, a small primary light is useful for crevices, under overhangs, and inside wrecks. On a night dive, you want your own light, not a borrowed one.
Reasonable to rent (with caveats):
BCD — Rental BCDs are fine for divers who don't have strong preferences about fit and lift capacity. If you dive wing-style or have a specific trim preference, bring your own. Rental BCDs add significant weight and bulk to your luggage.
Regulator — Perfectly reasonable to rent if the boat maintains its rental fleet. Ask about their service schedule when booking. Red flag: vague answers.
Wetsuit — Rental wetsuits make sense for trips where you only need a 3mm and you're not particular about fit. For cold water or long trips where you'll be in the suit for 5+ dives per day, your own suit is much more comfortable and better fitting.
Tanks and weights — Always provided by the boat. Do not bring these.
Gear I always pack regardless:
- Neoprene gloves appropriate to destination temperature
- Dive hood if water temperature is below 24°C
- Neoprene boots (even if you're renting fins — your own boots beat rental boots)
- Zinc oxide or reef-safe sunscreen (many parks require reef-safe; some boats mandate it)
- Defog solution (the boat usually has it; I prefer my own brand)
Clothing
Here is the honest truth about liveaboard clothing needs: you live in a swimsuit. For a seven-night trip, I bring:
- 3 swimsuits / board shorts — you rotate these. They get wet, they dry on the rail, you wear them again.
- 1 rashguard — sun protection on deck between dives is more important than most first-timers expect
- 2-3 lightweight t-shirts for evenings
- 1 pair of light pants or shorts for evenings and port days
- 1 light fleece or long-sleeve layer for nighttime passages — at sea, even in tropical latitudes, it gets cold with wind
- Flip flops — your primary footwear for the entire trip
- 1 pair of closed shoes if you have a port stop
Electronics
Underwater camera setup — Whatever system you shoot: compact with housing, GoPro on a tray, mirrorless with dome port, it doesn't matter. What matters is redundancy.
- At minimum two batteries for everything with a battery
- Two memory cards and a way to back up footage between dives (a small laptop or iPad with card reader, or a direct drive)
- The appropriate charger for each device
- A hardside case for your camera system if it's valuable
- Universal power adapter (liveaboards have mixed outlet types depending on country of registry)
- Power bank (10,000-20,000 mAh) — outlets on liveaboards are shared resources, often limited to one or two per cabin
- Waterproof case for your phone when it's on deck
- Your phone in a waterproof case rated for actual submersion (not just splash-resistant)
- Download offline maps for the region before you depart — internet on liveaboards is limited
Medications
This section matters more than most packing lists acknowledge.
Seasickness medication (the most important item):
- Scopolamine patches: the gold standard for prevention. Apply the night before boarding, replace every three days. Prescription required in most countries — get it in advance.
- Dimenhydrinate (Dramamine): over-the-counter, effective, causes drowsiness. Take it before symptoms start.
- Cinnarizine (Stugeron): widely available in Europe, Australia, Asia; not FDA-approved in the US but highly effective.
- Ginger capsules: modest evidence for mild motion sickness, no drowsiness side effects.
Dive-specific:
- Ear drops for swimmer's ear prevention — apply after every dive if you're prone
- Prescribed oral antibiotics for external ear infection (your doctor can prescribe these in advance as a precaution for multi-week dive trips)
- Decongestant for equalization issues — not for daily use, but when you wake up congested and want to dive, pseudoephedrine is useful
- Ibuprofen for aches from multiple dives per day in cold water or demanding conditions
- Antihistamines (coral scratches, sun reactions, unknown marine contacts)
- Antiseptic wipes and small bandages (coral cuts get infected fast in tropical water)
- Reef-safe sunscreen SPF 50+
- Lip balm with SPF (sun on the water is more intense than most people anticipate)
Photography Gear
If photography is a priority, approach packing it systematically:
Video:
- Primary camera in housing with two ports (wide and macro if you're versatile)
- Two video lights with at least two batteries each
- Float arms or buoyancy trays — camera rigs need to be neutrally buoyant underwater
- Backup compact camera or GoPro for days when you don't want to handle the full rig
- All O-rings inspected and lubricated before the trip
- Spare O-rings for your housing — these fail, and nowhere on a remote liveaboard sells them
- Silica gel packets to store with your housing when it's not in the water
- Memory cards totaling at least 256GB for video, more for 4K
- External drive to back up footage — do this every night, not at the end of the trip
What NOT to Bring
Hard suitcases — covered above. This is a hard rule.
Too many clothes — you will not wear them. You will carry them to a boat and carry them home without removing them from your bag.
Expensive jewelry — nowhere to go that requires it, real risk of loss in wet-gear environments.
Full-size toiletries — the boat has water pressure limitations. Modest amounts of shampoo, body wash, and essential toiletries only.
Books you "might read" — you'll be exhausted. Download a few things to your phone if you want to read. Physical books add weight for very little payoff.
Drone — some divers bring drones. Some national parks and marine reserves explicitly prohibit them. Check regulations for your specific destination before packing one. The Maldives, Galapagos, and various Indonesian parks all have restrictions.
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FAQ
Should I bring my own regulator on an airplane? Yes if you have one and prefer it. Regulators travel well in a soft case or padded bag. The alternative — trusting rental regulator maintenance standards at an unfamiliar operator — is a bet I prefer not to make when I'm 25 meters deep. If you own a regulator, bring it.
How do I protect my dive computer on the plane? In your carry-on, always. Never check a dive computer. The pressure changes in aircraft holds are not what damages dive computers (they're built for pressure), but the baggage handling is. Carry it on.
What if I'm flying to a warm destination but the liveaboard goes somewhere cold? This happens on Galapagos and some Antarctic trips especially. Pack your thermal gear (7mm wetsuit, gloves, hood) — it's heavy and bulky, but it cannot be rented at quality levels that matter on a cold-water liveaboard. The rest of your clothing can be minimal. Prioritize the thermal layer.
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Related: [What Is Liveaboard Diving?](/blog/what-is-liveaboard-diving-guide) | [Best Liveaboard Destinations 2026](/blog/best-liveaboard-destinations-2026) | [Budget Liveaboards Under $250/Night](/blog/budget-liveaboard-diving-guide)