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From an affordable South Andaman escape to mantas in the Maldives and a full-blown Galápagos expedition, these six limited-time liveaboard departures caught our attention.
There are dive destinations we talk about visiting someday, and then there are moments when the price makes us stop talking and actually look at the calendar.
This could be one of those moments.
We have been looking through the latest liveaboard offers and picked out six departures covering Thailand, Tubbataha, the Maldives, Komodo, the Bahamas and Galápagos.
At one end is a South Andaman liveaboard currently advertised from the equivalent of around $660. At the other is a serious Galápagos expedition costing more than $5,000.
They aren’t comparable holidays, nor are they supposed to be.
Instead, this is a snapshot of what is currently available across several different liveaboard budgets, from an accessible week of diving to the kind of expedition many divers plan for years.
And several of these destinations are very firmly in bucket-list territory.
Thailand: A Liveaboard From Around $660
Let’s start with the price that made us look twice.
Seatopia departs Coco Pier on May 18, 2027 for a South Andaman itinerary, with the limited-time offer currently starting from €563, approximately $660 at the time of writing.
That puts a liveaboard diving holiday into a very different price bracket from destinations such as Galápagos.
Thailand has long offered divers the opportunity to combine good diving with a relatively affordable wider vacation, and this departure could be particularly interesting for anyone who has assumed liveaboards automatically mean spending several thousand dollars.
Take a closer look at the Seatopia South Andaman departure.
Tubbataha: Remote Philippine Diving From Around $1,970
Now things get considerably more adventurous.
Narayana departs Puerto Princesa on June 22, 2027 for a Tubbataha Reefs itinerary currently advertised from €1,680, approximately $1,970.
Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park sits remotely in the Sulu Sea, making liveaboard diving the natural way to experience it.
Its isolation and limited diving season have helped make Tubbataha one of Southeast Asia’s most desirable diving expeditions, particularly for divers looking for healthy reefs and the possibility of larger marine life encounters.
June 2027 might sound a long way off, but destinations with limited operating seasons are precisely the trips worth thinking about well ahead.
Check the Narayana Tubbataha departure and current availability.
Maldives: Hanifaru Bay Manta Season From Around $2,050
If manta rays are high on your diving wish list, this may be one of the most interesting departures of the six.
Horizon 3 departs on September 13, 2026 on a Hanifaru Bay Manta Madness itinerary, travelling from Malé and returning to Malé.
The departure is currently advertised from €1,746, approximately $2,050, with free Nitrox included.
The timing is particularly interesting because September falls within the period associated with manta activity around Hanifaru Bay.
For divers looking for a big-animal experience without stepping into Galápagos pricing, this could be the sweet spot in our selection.
See the Horizon 3 Hanifaru Bay offer.
Komodo: Indonesia From Around $2,060
Indonesia has an almost unfair number of world-class diving possibilities, but Komodo remains one of its headline destinations.
Blue Lotus departs Labuan Bajo on February 24, 2027, returning to Labuan Bajo following its Komodo itinerary.
The limited-time departure is currently advertised from €1,758, approximately $2,060.
Komodo combines colourful reefs and dramatic underwater landscapes with the potential for mantas, sharks, turtles and extraordinarily rich smaller marine life. Currents can make some sites challenging, which is also part of what gives the region its reputation among experienced divers.
With the departure still several months away, there is also considerably more time to plan than with the September and October 2026 departures.
Explore the Blue Lotus Komodo departure.
Bahamas: Exuma Cays and Eleuthera From Around $2,785
For North American divers in particular, this one deserves attention.
Bahamas Aggressor II departs Nassau on October 17, 2026 for an itinerary exploring the Exuma Cays and Southwest Eleuthera before returning to Nassau.
The departure is currently advertised from €2,374, approximately $2,785, as part of a limited-time Travel the World Special.
The Bahamas offers the kind of diving that suits the liveaboard format particularly well, allowing divers to move through different sites while making the most of warm Caribbean waters, reefs, walls and encounters with larger marine life.
For US divers, the other attraction is obvious. You can reach a serious liveaboard destination without first flying halfway around the world.
Check the Bahamas Aggressor II October departure.
Galápagos: The Big One From Around $5,380
And finally, we arrive at the trip occupying an entirely different end of the liveaboard spectrum.
Galápagos.
For many experienced divers, it is one of the destinations they hope to experience at least once.
Galapagos Master departs San Cristobal on November 30, 2026 on its Master the Galapagos itinerary, currently advertised from €4,587, approximately $5,380.
The Monthly Special also includes free Nitrox.
Galápagos has earned its reputation through extraordinary big-animal diving, with the possibility of encounters including schooling hammerheads, rays, turtles, sea lions and other Pacific marine life depending on site, itinerary and conditions.
At more than $5,000, this isn’t an impulse purchase.
But that’s missing the point.
If Galápagos is already the trip you’ve promised yourself you’ll make one day, a promotional departure with Nitrox included is precisely the kind of opportunity worth investigating.
Check the Galapagos Master November departure.
Six Trips, Six Very Different Budgets
What makes this selection interesting isn’t simply that some of the prices are discounted.
It’s the range.
Around $660 gets you into the liveaboard market in Thailand.
Around $2,000 puts Tubbataha, the Maldives and Komodo into consideration.
The Bahamas sits higher at around $2,785, while Galápagos remains the serious bucket-list investment at approximately $5,380.
If we were choosing purely on price, Seatopia is impossible to ignore.
For the combination of destination, timing and price, Horizon 3 and its Hanifaru Bay itinerary looks particularly tempting.
Tubbataha at under $2,000 also deserves considerably more attention than its price position might initially suggest.
But the best liveaboard deal isn’t necessarily the cheapest one.
It’s a good price on the destination you genuinely wanted to dive anyway.
And if one of these six has been sitting on your diving wish list, this might be the excuse to finally start planning it.
Prices were advertised in euros and USD figures are approximate conversions at the time of publication. Currency exchange rates, promotional prices and availability may change. Always check the individual departure for the current booking price, itinerary, inclusions and applicable terms before booking.
