Top Tips for Scuba Travel
A selection of scuba & underwater camera travel bags
One of the best things about scuba diving is that it takes us to some amazing, far flung places that we wouldn’t normally think about going to, I’m thinking about the likes of Raja Ampat as I write this but it could equally apply to numerous exotic locations anywhere in the world. But going diving in these often difficult to reach places presents a number of challenges that you’ll need to overcome from getting your diving gear there in one piece to working out what to take and what not to take so you don’t get penalised by hefty excess baggage charges. We take a look at some of the most important things to consider before travelling to your next exotic scuba diving holiday.
Understand The Type of Diving
While this may seem obvious it is defiantly worth taking some time to research your destination to find out more about the type of diving you’ll be doing, sea temperature, currents and marine life as this will help you to decide on what you need to take. For instance, there is nothing worse than assuming the water temperature will be a nice, warm 30 C only to find out its a cool 26 C and that you’ll need a full wetsuit rather than the rash guard and board shorts you bought with you! It’s worth spending a couple of hours online to really understand the location, conditions and marine life you’ll have chance of seeing, this will help inform what you pack to take with you, especially important for underwater photographers who can’t decide which dome port to take and whether our not they should be taking their new macro lens! Other things to consider are currents which could impact your choice of fins and if you’ll need a reef hook or other accessories.
Pack Light
Again, another obvious one but as with any holiday or trip its always tempting to take the kitchen sink with you and this can cause problems later on at the airport and cost you some hard earned cash due to excess baggage fees. If your going on a diving holiday or liveaboard then most of your luggage will be diving gear and you’ll be able to get by with a few t-shrits and shorts/trousers for the evenings when you’re not in the water. Its always tempting to take lots of spare, or backup equipment but its not always possible to do so. For example, some divers like to take a couple of sets of fins to tailor to specific conditions, however as per the point above its worth doing your research to make sure you take the best set for the job or conditions. Often you can rent equipment where you’re going if something malfunctions or breaks instead of doubling up on everything.
Make Sure Your Travel insurance Covers You For Diving
Another seemingly obvious point, but another one to check before you go as its really important. A lot of standard travel instances won’t cover you for extreme sports which often includes scuba diving. Its worth investing that little bit more to make sure it covers you, or invest in some dedicated diving insurance which would cover you for expenses related to a serious diving accident such as transport to a decompression chamber. The other item to check is that you are covered for the area/country you’re heading to, often travel insurance will also link to government travel advisories so worth checking whether or not your government is advising against travel to your destination as this can invalidate your insurance as well.
How Will You Get There?
Some of the best diving destinations are remote and for good reason, they haven’t been spoiled by mass tourism. This can lead to some pretty interesting journeys with multiple modes of transport involved. For example, most trips will probably involve a flight to begin with, but after that can you get to your destination by a taxi or e-hailing ride or will it involve a long bus journey or boat ride. Getting to places such as Raja Ampat are great example of this, from Kuala Lumpur it’s a couple of flights to Sorong in West Papua, then a ferry ride from Sorong to Raja itself. Once you arrive have you checked whether or not you’ll be picked up by the resort of boat operator? Its really worth making sure you have this all sorted out as its a lot less stressful if you do this before you leave, it could also impact how much gear you decide to take with you as well
How Much Baggage Allowance Have You Got?
These days airlines are becoming stingier and stingier with the baggage allowances offered as part of your ticket price and if you fly with a budget airline often you’ll have to pay extra for your baggage anyway. Its worth making sure you get a generous baggage allowance if travelling with your own gear as scuba equipment isn’t light! Better you pay upfront that risk it and get stung for excess baggage fees at the airport. Sometimes its worth packing some heavy, sturdy items close to the top of your luggage so you can transfer them to another bag easily. If you don’t fancy doing this then there is always the option of renting equipment when you get to your destination and cut out the worry!
Are You Taking a Camera?
For those who are avid underwater photographers you’ll know that besides it being an expensive hobby, it’s also a big challenge to be able to transport your housing, camera, lenses and strobes without damaging them. Apart from being heavy and expensive items they can be quite delicate and its certainly not something you’d want to risk putting in your hold luggage and getting broken during transit. There are some great purpose made camera bags available to store cameras, lenses and a few other electronic items such as dive watches, you can also get some great padded bags to stores your camera housing and ports in as well. They may seem a little expensive but compared to the cost of a replacement housing or dome they are really worth the investment. Also worth making sure you have enough batteries and chargers with you to ensure you don’t run out, especially if you’re going on a liveabaord trip. I’d recommend rechargeable batteries to be a little more environmentally friendly.
Have you Got Some Protective Luggage
Scuba diving gear isn’t cheap and can be delicate as well, its worth investing in some padded travel bags that will protect your expensive items such as BCD’s, regulators and other items. For expensive delicate electronic pieces of kit, try to put them in your hand luggage so they have a bit more protection, for many items with lithium batteries this will need to happen anyway. Some dive luggage has specific pockets for fins but if not, they can be laid on top of things to protect them. Try to make sure dive masks as in a protective box or in the pocket of an open heel fin to stop the glass from smashing. Its important, expensive kit so you want to make sure it arrives in one piece,
Take a Save-A Dive Kit
A good idea is to prepare a little save a dive kit which small little items that can repair kit. A dedicated diving multi tool is a small, inexpensive item to take with you as well as a spare mask step, some cable ties, o-rings, mouthpieces and tape. Its amazing what these items can repair and mean the difference between calling off a dive or getting to jump in the water.
Prepare your Dive Kit
Often you’ll buy some new gear before you go on a dive trip, and its worth making sure you have prepared it properly before you need to use it. A good example are masks - make sure you remove the film that builds up on the inside of the glass by either using toothpaste or a lighter very carefully. Nothing worse than jumping into the water and finding you can’t see anything because you mask has fogged up! The same goes for camera equipment as well, make sure you spend time familiarising yourself with the controls on your housing, often cameras can save settings so you don’t need to fumble around underwater quite so much.
Relax and Enjoy Yourself
A protective bag for your camera equipment is really handy
Again, it may sound obvious but its your holiday and you want to enjoy it. Spend time ahead of your trip preparing and you’ll have more time to enjoy the trip. You’ve worked hard all year for this and you don’t want to ruin it be getting stressed out.
Hopefully these few hints, hacks and tips will help you prepare for your next epic dive trip and ensure you get the most out of it. Diving holidays are often expensive and can be stressful if you don’t have everything ready and in good condition. Spend that little bit of time up front and it should pay back in spades! Happy blowing bubbles!