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Our liveaboard holiday on the Red Sea in September 2017, was another complete and utter run away success! But don’t listen to me! We had so much fun we had to create two whole videos!
Check out the two awesome videos plus reviews from fellow divers Lynne, Paul, Adam, Helen, Brad, Henry, Russell, Jana and Pash!
Find out what everyone thought of their Liveaboard Holiday!
I decided to book the Red Sea liveaboard trip because of the combination of being able to scuba dive and try freediving and do some yoga and generally be relaxed and chill out.
I didn’t appreciate that with freediving you can keep doing it for longer, so I kind of perceived that you wouldn’t see as much doing that as you would doing scuba, but you can!
And I think with things you have seen actually it depends more where you are, the time and place and so I don’t think scuba divers have seen more than freedivers. It just depends on where people have been. And I have been anxious about some of the scuba dives and thinking about things, and the yoga and relaxation actually is quite useful. So when we were doing the static breath holds I was just singing to myself because I got bored looking at the sand. And then when we did Thistlegorm this morning I was like ‘Oh that was quite relaxing’ so I just thought of some songs and sang to myself when I was diving.
I’ve liked everything. I liked to try freediving – I’d like to do more of that. And I like conquering my fears on Thistlegorm this morning.
The benefits of this trip is integrating different things and learning about different things. I think my impression of doing a liveaboard ……… when you’re on a dive boat just with scuba divers it’s very regimented and dive heavy, so if you don’t actually want to do a dive it’s almost like ‘why not?’ On this trip there have been scuba divers who haven’t dived and people have just gone at different times. And it’s really nice because you guys have got less kit so there is more room on deck for the rest of us!
I thought the freediving course was good. I’d like to do more of the dynamic stuff and practice with different kit. I knew I could hold my breath for quite a long time, but didn’t expect to do it for nearly two and a half minutes! I’d like to do more of the dynamic – I guess it’s about going on another course.
I would recommend this holiday because even if you’re not interested in freediving, the scuba diving is still good. Lynne Dixon
I wanted to spend a lot of time freediving because normally I only get the chance to practice one or two times a year so it is nice to be able to spend the whole week diving a couple of times a day.
I chose you because obviously you are the best instructor in the UK, I knew that the diving would be absolutely safe and well organised and I knew it would be very relaxing.
I’ve learned how to fin better – it’s definitely improved. I’ve not really pushed myself on any depth but that wasn’t really what I wanted to achieve, it was about becoming more comfortable in the water and just a few technique improvements.
It was good to be able to have lots of different opportunities to dive, different types of diving, so you could go depth, reefs, snorkeling, wrecks – lots of variety. There were great buddies, lots of different buddies to dive with so you get to see different styles.
The benefits of this holiday are improving technique, relaxing and making new friends.
It’s been great and would recommend a Red Sea liveaboard for all reasons I’ve mentioned. Anyone who wants to freedive it is a great opportunity to get in the water and see some really cool stuff. Paul Grew
Helen booked the holiday. She said we’re going to go to the Red Sea, and I said yeah! There was this Red Sea Relaxed holiday and I thought yes, we don’t want to go anywhere too deep as we haven’t dived for a long time, just wanted a few shallow dives and see some fish and chill out, so this sounded ideal.
We got what we expected out this trip which was the relaxing holiday we wanted. Compared to other dive holidays I’ve been on I do like the idea of the open deck policy. You can take yourself off and there is a little bit more. It’s not quite so military, you’re not belled dinner or belled dive. You can say, actually I don’t fancy it right now, I’ll jump in in half an hour’s time. It’s a nice option to have.
I enjoyed the try freediving course. We do snorkeling at home where we dive down and a lot of people around us do spearfishing so it was nice to get some techniques that will help us do that a little bit better.
The benefits of this trip are that you can try something different – the freediving was good, the yoga was good, and just being able to go in when you want is nice Adam Knight
I booked this holiday because it was a relaxed itinerary – Adam has practically rebuilt a house over the last few years, and I have a horribly stressful job. We’ve been on scuba travel tours before but they are pretty full on with divers and we just wanted something that was a little bit more chilled out and not so rushed. The itinerary looked good, and the fact it was a little more chilled out, and also we do a lot of snorkelling at home so we thought it might be nice to do the try freediving course, which would be useful, so they were the main reasons.
This trip has made me realise I have lost my passion for scuba diving. I’ve been really fortunate to dive in some brilliant locations and I have ear problems so I do have to push through the pain and I get really frustrated, but once I’ve cleared 5 – 6 metres I’m fine, but to me the diving has not been as good as I’d hoped, so I haven’t wanted to push myself through that pain to go down, but for me it’s just been really nice to get away. I really enjoyed snorkelling around the lagoon I enjoyed the try freediving course and enjoyed the dynamic – it was an enjoyable experience, but I’m not very good at keeping still and I’m not good at switching off so I found the static hard.
The open deck policy is good, because you don’t have that ‘if you don’t dive now, you don’t dive at all’ so there aren’t 20 of you jumping off the boat at the same time and it’s a crowded house, so that is a definite benefit. A good idea. You here, you’ve got the offer of a freediving course, do it! Even if you are not interested in it, even if you’re a diver it is still a useful tip to have. Certainly where we snorkel, the rescue scenarios has been useful even in our very safe couple of metres snorkeling at the edge of the coast that actually if something went wrong you know what to do. And it’s been lovely to be away and been in the sun.
I would recommend this trip to people who have never done a Red Sea liveaboard before because it is a bit more relaxed, but for people who just want to dive, dive, dive I probably wouldn’t. Helen Knight
I love freediving, I love being in the water and I wanted to do a Red Sea liveaboard. I wanted a diving holiday and this popped up and was absolutely perfect and meant I could do both scuba diving and freediving.
I’ve had a really good time – really enjoyed it. The thing I liked most was that first dive when we saw the dolphins! And then when me and Russ snorkeled back and found the Giannis D we kind of just stumbled across it. That was awesome! I thought it was just going to be reef but it was all these massive wrecks. It was really cool!
The benefits of this holiday is that you get to see loads, travel about, meet new people and have a good laugh and obviously do loads of really good diving. Thistlegorm was really good for scuba, but the freediving is so much better for the reefs – you get to see so much more. Anything from the surface to 20 metres you could do if for three hours if you are freediving, but with scuba diving you’re maybe limited to forty minutes and that’s you. Freediving you can find so much more, explore more.
The food’s been really good. I was pleasantly surprised. It’s been spot on. And the crew were really good, really accommodating. I think they’ve been really good.
I would definitely recommend this trip because it’s been great! You’ve been great, the crew’s been really good, the brief’s have been really good, so every time you jump in the water I’ve been fairly confident I know exactly what I’m doing. Brad Roerides
I came on this holiday because I thought it was going to be fun. I enjoy freediving and the Red Sea is supposed to be one of the best places.
I think this trip has given me new experiences in different conditions and different places, so more experience and more practice.
I think the first day was the best when we were at the Carnatic wreck and saw the dolphins. That was the best! I went to the Giannis D the following day that was good, and The Thistlegorm was really good. They were the three that were the best for me.
The benefits of coming on this Red Sea liveaboard is that It was a new experience, you see new places, meet new people, practice freediving. It’s a change of scenery a chance to relax.
The yoga in the morning was really good. I need to stretch my chest more so that was really good, and you did new stretches which I hadn’t done before, which was really good. I didn’t stay awake long enough to finish the yoga nidra though!
I would recommend this trip because if you like freediving or diving you get to do it every day. Henry Sage
I chose to come on this trip because of my previous experience on the other trip in May, you were running so I knew what it was all about. It was my cup of tea and all the other divers that were coming along.
The thing I liked most about the trip was how flexible it was. It was relaxing. There was no pressure to do anything.
Three benefits of this Red Sea liveaboard are that I’ve been able to the majority of my advanced course in warm water and nice water. Getting back into yoga on the boat as the sun rose was really good. It was nice – and a really good way to start the day. And doing the reverse packing.
I would recommend this holiday because it’s relaxed, you do a lot but there’s no pressure and you’re here with the best instructor. Dan Butler
I’ve been on a liveaboard before and it was amazing. It took me a while to come back because I’ve been doing too many other things, children, life, stuff…
I’ve discovered that it was more relaxing this time without doing the courses. I’ve really enjoyed spending plenty of time out on the reef. Giannis D was really good I liked the Carnatic, that was really cool. Anything with a good swim through that looks like a wreck really. And the reef inside the lagoon was really pretty.
Three benefits of coming on this course you meet new people, you get to dive in new places and it’s nice being on a liveaboard – it’s very relaxed.
I’d recommend this holiday because I think even if people don’t freedive it’s accessible whether you want to go down to 30 metres or just want to snorkel. Russell Thornton
I came on this holiday because I wanted to freedive and I’ve been before.
The benefits of this Red Sea L trip is that you can dive off the boat, so you are right there. It’s on your doorstep, and the reefs, and you are with like minded people
I would recommend the trip to people who want to spend a week on a boat. I think that is important because if you don’t want to be on the boat there is nothing to do, but if you want to dive and freedive it is the best place to do it.
I always suffer with seasickness, so I always feel seasick the first day, but I would say to anyone who might be worried about it, get on the tablets, it really helps. So get the right tablets that work for you. You are not going to feel sick all week, it’s just for the first day. You shouldn’t let it put you off, you should try it. Jana Middleton
I came in May and it was really good fun and I fancied a bit of sun and a bit of diving and time to practice and I thought this would be a good opportunity.
On this trip I’ve discovered thoracic stretching! I don’t think we covered that on the previous course but because I’ve been doing more yoga this time I’ve discovered that is helping with my breath hold, and I’ve discovered a new technique for breath hold which I was really struggling with. And I’ve discovered my new fins are amazing!
The highlight of the week for me was the dolphins on the Carnatic. That was just incredible. We were freediving on the Carnatic, the dolphins were with the divers, but as soon as they saw us they left the divers and came to play with us, stayed for several minutes, came really close. It was just lovely. An incredible experience.
The benefits of this trip are sustained freediving over a whole week, rather than weekend at Vobster, so you’re getting used to going in the water and practicing skills, I’m pretty certain my duck dive has improved over this holiday and my finning technique is improving. And it is really relaxing – a really relaxing holiday. You can do what you want, you can duck in and out when you want.
I’ve really enjoyed the yoga. I’ve done every session this time and I think it has really helped me. And yoga nidra, well, I just went off in my own little world!
I would absolutely recommend this trip because I think it is a relaxing trip, a chance to meet like-minded people, a chance to maybe find a new buddy and it’s great to see some of the amazing sights of the Red Sea, which you wouldn’t normally get to see on a normal scuba diving trip as they would not have the facilities for this type of diving. Pash Baker
Recommended reading:
Liveaboard Holidays – What are they?
Why should I Choose a Freediving and Yoga holiday
Danny Spitz photographer loves liveaboards
Lance Seagar photographer loves liveaboards
And you can read more testimonials here!
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