Dive trip planning, step by step

A dive holiday has more moving parts than an ordinary trip. Flights have to fit around dive days, your certification and medical paperwork need to be in order, and the weather can make or break the week. Work through these steps a few months before you travel and you will spend the trip underwater rather than on the phone.

1. Choose where and when

Start with what you want to see and how experienced you are, then check the season. Weather, water temperature, visibility and the big animals all change through the year, and the best month for one destination can be the worst for another. Our list of the best scuba diving destinations notes who each place suits and when divers usually go.

Storm seasons matter too. In the Atlantic, including the Caribbean, the official hurricane season runs from 1 June to 30 November, with most storms from August to October. Many divers still travel then, but flexible bookings and good insurance become more important.

2. Pick your style of diving

• Shore diving: you walk in from the beach or a jetty, dive on your own schedule and pay less. Great where the reef is close, as in Bonaire or parts of the Red Sea.
• Day boats from a resort or town: two or three dives a day with a guide, back on land for lunch or the afternoon. Flexible, and easy to mix with non-diving partners.
• Liveaboards: you live on the boat for several days to two weeks, dive up to four or five times a day and reach remote sites day boats cannot. Best for keen divers who want to maximise dives.

3. Choose a dive operator

The operator shapes your trip more than the destination does. Questions worth asking before you book:

• How many divers go with each guide, and how big are the groups?
• Do they offer enriched air nitrox, and do they rent and service their own equipment?
• Is oxygen and first aid kit carried on every boat, and are the crew trained to use it?
• What experience or certification do the sites you want need?
• What is included: tanks, weights, marine park fees, guides, transfers?

Recent reviews from other divers, a quick reply to your emails, and clear answers about safety are good signs.

4. Get your paperwork and skills ready

• Certification card: take the physical card or a digital copy. Bring specialty cards too, such as nitrox.
• Logbook: some operators and sites ask how many dives you have logged, or when you last dived.
• Medical form: most operators ask you to complete a diver medical questionnaire. If any answer is "yes", get a doctor's sign-off before you travel rather than at the dock.
• Refresher: if it has been more than six months to a year since your last dive, book a refresher or an easy check-out dive at the start.
• Training: if your trip includes deep sites or strong current, consider an Advanced course first; see scuba certification levels.

5. Sort out insurance

Ordinary travel insurance often excludes scuba diving, or covers it only to a certain depth. Check that your policy covers diving to the depths you will dive, plus medical evacuation and hyperbaric (recompression) treatment. Many divers add specialist dive accident cover, such as membership of Divers Alert Network (DAN) in their region, on top of their travel insurance.

6. Pack the right gear

Use our scuba gear checklist as your packing list. A few travel-specific points:

• Check your airline's checked-baggage weight limit; dive gear adds up quickly, and a light travel BCD or fins can help.
• Carry your regulator, computer and mask in your cabin bag; they are the hardest to replace.
• Pack for the water temperature in the month you travel, not the yearly average.
• Bring reef-friendly sunscreen, and check local rules; some places restrict certain sunscreen ingredients.
• Bring your save-a-dive kit, chargers and any prescription medication in your hand luggage.

7. On the trip

Ease into the diving with a shallow, simple first dive. Listen to every briefing, even on sites you have dived before. Drink plenty of water, wear sun protection between dives, and do not push for one more dive when you are tired. The scuba diving safety tips apply on every dive, and they matter most when you are diving several times a day.

8. Plan the flight home

Leave a gap between your last dive and your flight. DAN's general guidance is at least 12 hours after a single no-decompression dive and at least 18 hours after multiple dives a day or multiple days of diving. The simplest plan is to keep your last full day dive-free and use it for a snorkel, a land tour or drying your gear.