The Best Scuba Diving Liveaboards in the World
Our survey asked readers to evaluate liveaboards they’ve dived with in the past two years, and to rank the best liveaboard they’ve experienced overall. Below is the top readers choice in every category, followed by every liveaboard that scored excellent (based on number of votes and percentile score), in alphabetical order. In each category, we listed the top overall readers choice, plus all liveaboards that received an excellent score (based on score and number of votes) in alphabetical order.
Best Overall
Caribbean and Atlantic
Readers Choice: Aqua Cat, Bahamas
All Star Cuan Law, British Virgin Islands
Bahamas Aggressor
Belize Aggressor III
Blackbeard’s Cruises, Bahamas
Cat Ppalu, Bahamas
Roatan Aggressor, Bay Islands
Turks & Caicos Explorer II, Turks and Caicos and Silver Banks
Turks and Caicos Aggressor II
Pacific and Indian
Readers Choice: Galapagos Shark Diving, Galapagos and Costa Rica
Arenui, Indonesia
Humboldt Explorer, Galapagos
Nautilus Explorer, Baja, Mexico
Okeanos Aggressor II, Cocos, Costa Rica
Philippine Siren, Philippines
Red Sea Aggressor II, Egypt
Red Sea Aggressor III, Egypt
Socorro Aggressor, Guadalupe and Socorro Islands
Quality of the Liveaboard
Caribbean and Atlantic
Readers Choice: Aqua Cat, Bahamas
All Star Cuan Law, British Virgin Islands
Bahamas Aggressor
Belize Aggressor III
Blackbeard’s Cruises, Bahamas
Cat Ppalu, Bahamas
Roatan Aggressor, Bay Islands
Turks & Caicos Explorer II, Turks and Caicos and Silver Banks
Turks and Caicos Aggressor II
Pacific and Indian
Readers Choice: The Arenui, Indonesia
Galapagos Shark Diving, Galapagos and Costa Rica
Humboldt Explorer, Galapagos
Nautilus Explorer, Baja, Mexico
Okeanos Aggressor II, Cocos, Costa Rica
Philippine Siren, Philippines
Red Sea Aggressor II, Egypt
Red Sea Aggressor III, Egypt
Socorro Aggressor, Guadalupe and Socorro Islands
Inside Scoop: “I really love the island of Fernandina, only visited by liveaboards as it is too far as a day tour. Fernandina is home to the biggest population of marine iguanas. What others only see on BBC, you can see in person. ” —Jenny Waack, Galapagos Shark Diving
Quality of the Berths
Caribbean and Atlantic
Readers Choice: Turks & Caicos Explorer II, Turks and Caicos and Silver Banks
All Star Cuan Law, British Virgin Islands
Aqua Cat, Bahamas
Bahamas Aggressor, Bahamas
Belize Aggressor III
Blackbeard’s Cruises, Bahamas
Cat Ppalu, Bahamas
Roatan Aggressor, Bay Islands
Turks and Caicos Aggressor II
Pacific and Indian
Readers Choice: The Arenui, Indonesia
Galapagos Shark Diving, Galapagos and Costa Rica
Humboldt Explorer, Galapagos
Nautilus Explorer, Baja, Mexico
Okeanos Aggressor II, Cocos, Costa Rica
Philippine Siren, Philippines
Red Sea Aggressor II, Egypt
Red Sea Aggressor III, Egypt
Socorro Aggressor, Guadalupe and Socorro Islands
Quality of Rental Gear
Caribbean and Atlantic
Readers Choice: Belize Aggressor IV, Bahamas
Aqua Cat, Bahamas
Blackbeard’s Cruises, Bahamas
Turks and Caicos Aggressor II]
Pacific and Indian
Readers Choice: The Arenui, Indonesia
Galapagos Shark Diving, Galapagos and Costa Rica
Nautilus Explorer, Baja, Mexico
Attention To Safety
Caribbean and Atlantic
Readers Choice: Belize Aggressor IV, Belize
Gerald NowakA school of hammerheads in the Galapagos.
All Star Cuan Law, British Virgin Islands
Aqua Cat, Bahamas
Bahamas Aggressor
Belize Aggressor III
Blackbeard’s Cruises, Bahamas
Cat Ppalu, Bahamas
Roatan Aggressor, Bay Islands
Turks & Caicos Explorer II, Turks and Caicos and Silver Banks
Turks and Caicos Aggressor II
Pacific and Indian
Readers Choice: The Arenui, Indonesia
Galapagos Shark Diving, Galapagos and Costa Rica
Humboldt Explorer, Galapagos
Nautilus Explorer, Baja, Mexico
Okeanos Aggressor II, Cocos, Costa Rica
Philippine Siren, Philippines
Red Sea Aggressor III, Egypt
Socorro Aggressor, Guadalupe and Socorro Islands
Quality of the Food
Caribbean and Atlantic
Readers Choice: Belize Aggressor IV, Belize
All Star Cuan Law, British Virgin Islands
Aqua Cat, Bahamas
Bahamas Aggressor
Belize Aggressor III
Blackbeard’s Cruises, Bahamas
Cat Ppalu, Bahamas
Roatan Aggressor, Bay Islands
Turks & Caicos Explorer II, Turks and Caicos and Silver Banks
Turks and Caicos Aggressor II
AggressorA typical spread aboard Belize Aggressor IV, first-place winner for Quality of the Food.
Pacific and Indian
Readers Choice: The Arenui, Indonesia
Galapagos Shark Diving, Galapagos and Costa Rica
Humboldt Explorer, Galapagos
Nautilus Explorer, Mexico
Okeanos Aggressor II, Cocos, Costa Rica
Philippine Siren, Philippines
Red Sea Aggressor II, Egypt
Red Sea Aggressor III, Egypt
Socorro Aggressor, Guadalupe and Socorro Islands
Quality of Staff
Caribbean and Atlantic
Readers Choice: Turks & Caicos Explorer II, Turks and Caicos and Silver Bank
All Star Cuan Law, British Virgin Islands
Aqua Cat, Bahamas
Bahamas Aggressor
Belize Aggressor III
Blackbeard’s Cruises, Bahamas
Cat Ppalu, Bahamas
Roatan Aggressor, Bay Islands
Turks and Caicos Aggressor II
Pacific and Indian
Readers Choice: The Arenui, Indonesia
Galapagos Shark Diving, Galapagos and Costa Rica
Humboldt Explorer, Galapagos
Nautilus Explorer, Baja, Mexico
Okeanos Aggressor II, Cocos, Costa Rica
Philippine Siren, Philippines
Red Sea Aggressor II, Egypt
Red Sea Aggressor III, Egypt
Socorro Aggressor, Guadalupe and Socorro Islands
Inside Scoop: “The Hermitage is a small monastery built atop Mount Alvernia, the highest elevation in the Bahamas. All Star visits it once or twice a year when we offer the ‘Down Island Itinerary’ with Aqua Cat.” —Kevin Purdy, All Star Liveaboards
Level of Value
Caribbean and Atlantic
Readers Choice: Blackbeard’s Cruises, Bahamas
All Star Cuan Law, British Virgin Islands
Aqua Cat, Bahamas
Bahamas Aggressor
Belize Aggressor III
Cat Ppalu, Bahamas
Roatan Aggressor, Bay Islands
Turks & Caicos Explorer II, Turks and Caicos and Silver Banks
Turks and Caicos Aggressor II
Pacific and Indian
Readers Choice: Galapagos Shark Diving, Galapagos and Costa Rica
Arenui, Indonesia
Humboldt Explorer, Galapagos
Nautilus Explorer, Baja, Mexico
Okeanos Aggressor II, Cocos, Costa Rica
Philippine Siren, Philippines
Red Sea Aggressor II, Egypt
Red Sea Aggressor III, Egypt
Socorro Aggressor, Guadalupe and Socorro Islands
Level of Luxury
All Star LiveaboardsThe 102-foot-long Aqua Cat liveaboard transports guests to dive the Exuma Cays of the Bahamas.
Caribbean and Atlantic
Readers Choice: All Star Cuan Law, British Virgin Islands
Aqua Cat, Bahamas
Bahamas Aggressor
Belize Aggressor III
Blackbeard’s Cruises, Bahamas
Cat Ppalu, Bahamas
Roatan Aggressor, Bay Islands
Turks & Caicos Explorer II, Turks and Caicos and Silver Banks
Turks and Caicos Aggressor II
Pacific and Indian
Readers Choice: The Arenui, Indonesia
Galapagos Shark Diving, Galapagos and Costa Rica
Humboldt Explorer, Galapagos
Nautilus Explorer, Baja, Mexico
Okeanos Aggressor II, Cocos, Costa Rica
Philippine Siren, Philippines
Red Sea Aggressor II, Egypt
Red Sea Aggressor III, Egypt
Socorro Aggressor, Guadalupe and Socorro Islands