You've learned to dive and you've been diving regularly with your friends or local dive club. What next? Well, how about exploring further afield?

Dive travel can be as simple as a weekend away, or as exotic as an overseas holiday. It can be done on a strict budget, or you can go all out and make it the trip of a lifetime. The options are endless.

For overseas travel bookings and great personal service catering for individual or group bookings contact Samantha on mailto:samantha@diveadventures.com.au

Land-based vs a Liveaboard Boat.

With land-based trips, you stay in a hotel room and go out on a boat each day for one or several dives. Due to the limited range of day boats, these trips concentrate on sites easily accessible from shore. Depending on what you've arranged, you might dive every day, or you may choose to dive only occasionally.

Land-based trips are ideal for divers travelling with non-diving companions. You can enjoy some diving, but also have time to spend with your non-diving family or friends.

A liveaboard boat offers accommodation, meals and virtually unlimited diving. Liveaboards can cruise much further afield and generally explore areas not available to day boats. Life on liveaboards is fulltime diving with most passengers doing between three and five dives a day. Unsuitable for non-divers, the rhythm of the day is 'Dive, Eat, Sleep, Repeat'! Non-divers would get bored quickly.

Another option is a cruise ship which offers scuba diving as one of their activities. This is also a good choice for divers travelling with non-diving companions. Between the entertainment available on a cruise ship, plus land excursions, a diver might be able to dive three or four times on a one-week cruise.

Learn to dive on holiday!

A dive holiday is also a good opportunity for non-diving friends or family to learn to dive. Perhaps a warm, exotic location is all they need to finally take the plunge!

How can I find out about dive trips?

Have a chat with the friendly folks at your closest Apollo Dive Centre. Most shops organise several group trips a year. These could be as simple as a weekend away, or it could be to an overseas destination. Group trips will always be cheaper than booking independently, plus it’s a great opportunity to meet new divers.

You can find the Apollo Dive Centre in your area here

Alternatively, you could contact one of the many professional dive travel agents here in Australia.

Click here for one of Australia's leading Dive Travel Company  http://www.diveadventures.com.au

Can I read up on the subject?

Yes! Check out your local newsagent for Australian dive publications such as Sportdiving or Scuba Diver. There’s also a monthly newspaper called DIVE Log which is available FREE in most dive shops. These publications are always full of dive travel articles.

Also, check out Becca Saunders' great new book, Top Dive Sites of Australia. This 170 page large format coffee table book features 24 of Australia's top dive destinations. The entertaining text describes what you'll see at each spot and why you should go there. The book also has a great travel tip section which lists water temperatures, best time to go, operator contact details and much more.

Available for purchase here

All the professional Apollo Dive Centres pride themselves on their level of commitment and professionalism when it comes to dive travel.

You can find the closest Apollo Dive Centre in your area by clicking here