Liveaboard Diving for Beginners: Best Trips for New Divers (2026)

Yes, new divers can do a liveaboard. Boats such as MV Marco Polo and MC Stingray in Thailand, Moana in Komodo and Horizon 3 in the Maldives accept Open Water divers with no minimum number of logged dives. Start with a 2 to 5 night trip, and avoid boats that ask for Advanced Open Water and 50 logged dives.

A liveaboard is a dive boat you sleep on, with three or four dives a day and meals included. It is not only for experienced divers, but every boat sets its own entry rules, and they vary a lot. This guide lists boats on Be Underwater whose trip pages ask for Open Water as the highest certification and a low or zero logged-dive minimum.

If you want a general overview of life on board first, read our first liveaboard guide. For the cost side, see how much a liveaboard costs.

Beginner-friendly liveaboards at a glance

Sorted by trip length, shortest first. Requirements are the ones shown on each trip page.

Prices are per person as listed on Be Underwater and vary by date and cabin. Mandatory extras such as park fees or fuel surcharges may apply, so check each trip page. "None listed" means the trip page does not state a minimum certification; confirm with the operator before booking.

How to read the requirements

Two fields matter. The minimum certification is the level you must hold (Open Water, Advanced Open Water, sometimes with Nitrox). The minimum logged dives is the number of dives you must have in your logbook. A boat can ask for Open Water but still want 20 or 30 logged dives, which a newly certified diver does not have.

Treat both fields together. For a brand-new diver, the safe filter is: minimum certification Open Water (or lower) and minimum logged dives none or 0. If a trip page asks for a number, count the dives you have actually logged, including your course dives.

Start with a short trip

A 2 to 5 night trip is the easiest way to try the format. You get the routine of early briefings, several dives a day and long surface intervals without committing a week of your holiday and budget. MC Stingray runs 1 to 2 night trips from Khao Lak, Maika Komodo Liveaboard runs a 2 night trip in Komodo (it asks for 10 logged dives), and MV Marco Polo and Moana cover 4 to 5 nights.

If you already know you like boat diving, week-long routes such as Salvora, Horizon 3 or Sindalahs Yacht give you more dives per euro or dollar. See liveaboard vs resort diving for how the two styles compare.

Boats that need more experience

These boats are popular, but their trip pages ask for Advanced Open Water and many logged dives (or a logged-dive minimum a new diver does not have yet). Come back to them later:

• Maldives Blue Force One and Maldives Blue Force 3: Advanced Open Water and 50 logged dives.
• DUNE Black Manta and DUNE Theia (Maldives): Advanced Open Water and 50 logged dives.
• Komodo Aggressor: Advanced Open Water and 50 logged dives.
• Maldives Aggressor II and Seafari Explorer 2: Advanced Open Water and 50 logged dives.
• Mikumba Dua (Komodo): Open Water and 30 logged dives.
• Red Sea Aggressor II and DUNE Titan (Red Sea): Open Water and 20 logged dives.

Browse the full list with filters on all liveaboards.

Tips for your first liveaboard

• Consider Advanced Open Water. It widens your choice of boats and adds practice at depth and in current. Read Open Water vs Advanced Open Water and our Advanced Open Water course guide.
• Ask about nitrox. Many boats offer enriched air, often as an add-on, which can extend your no-decompression time. You need a nitrox certification to use it, and the trip page shows whether it is included or extra.
• Work on your buoyancy. Good buoyancy saves air, protects the reef and makes drift and current dives much easier. A few pool or shallow practice dives before the trip pay off.
• Plan for seasickness. Pick a calmer region and season, book a cabin low and near the middle of the boat, and speak to a doctor or pharmacist before you go.
• Tell the crew you are new. Guides pair beginners with a buddy or guide and choose entries and depths accordingly. Be honest about your last dive date and consider a refresher if it was long ago.
• Choose the area carefully. Strong currents and deeper walls are typical in parts of Komodo, the Maldives channels and the offshore Red Sea. Trip pages and the destination guides show the level each route suits.

Where to book

Be Underwater is a marketplace: the trip page shows departures, cabin availability and the requirements, and the boat operator runs the trip. Start from all liveaboards and filter by region, or check regional pages for Indonesia, the Maldives and the Red Sea.

FAQ: Liveaboard Diving for Beginners