Packing for a Scuba Diving Vacation

I frequent a couple of online dive forums, one question I see frequently repeated is “What should I pack for a dive vacation?” the answer is, it depends. What you take on a dive vacation will depend on several factors:

1. How much tolerance do you have for wearing items that other people have been intimate with?

2. How much tolerance do you have for rental fees?

3. How much tolerance do you have for overweight luggage fees?

Let’s examine each of these.

How much tolerance do you have for wearing items that other people have been intimate with?

Wetsuits: It has been said there are two types of divers, those that pee in a wetsuit and those that lie about it. Most rental wetsuits will have seen more traffic than a stoplight in New York city and will have had more than seawater pass through them. Good dive operators will rinse and shampoo the wetsuits between uses, not so good dive operators will rinse the suits with fresh water and hand them up to dry, not so good dive operators will rinse the suits with saltwater and hang them up to dry. With any other form of dive operator, good luck!

In addition to the health issues with rental wetsuits there is also the used part of the equation. As a wetsuit is used the gas bubbles that give it insulating qualities break down, so after a while it may expose you to things you never knew existed in nature, but it won’t help keep you warm at depth.

Masks and snorkels: What can I say, these are designed to be breathed through, hold the excretions from mouths and noses and in general be plague carriers. The rinsing and cleaning options are much the same as for wetsuits.

Buoyancy compensation devices or BCDs: These are life support devices, if they are poorly maintained then you are risking your life. Enough said.

Regulators: (see BCDs, masks and snorkels above)

Tanks and Weights: These are almost foolproof (as long as the tank is aluminum) and are about the only thing I would rent on a regular basis.

Fins: Fins are usually not a health concern; rental fins are safe and usually you can use them with no concerns other than fees. That being said, they usually don’t weigh too much and can be laid flat in the bag, so I usually pack mine.

So, as related to health and welfare concerns, I would say take along exposure suits, regulators and BCDs and mask and snorkel, if you have room and aren’t overweight (luggage wise) then take your fins.

How much tolerance do you have for rental fees?

Rental fees for a full kit run about $50-60 US dollars per day. Tanks and weights are usually included in the dive price. I hate to shell out dough for something I don’t get to keep. I also hate paying for something that might introduce me to the next flu or COVID strain that decimates the world or any of the mildly debilitating illnesses that can be passed by contact with dried saliva, urine or other less savory excretions. At the above rate within 10 to 15 days of rental diving you could easily pay for your own gear.

How much tolerance do you have for overweight luggage fees?

Overweight fees usually run from $50 to $75 dollars. I can pack both my wife’s and my BCDs, masks, fins and exposure suits (wetsuits usually) and make it under the weight restrictions. I carry my regulators as carry on, along with my cameras and if needed my laptop. I pack my camera housings and strobes in a hard case and it is usually below weight restrictions. Of course some puddle jump airlines may have lower weight restrictions. If you have no tolerance for these fees, then rent equipment, otherwise they may be something you just have to put up with.

Of course, most people really over pack for a trip, most dive locations are really laid back and don’t require much more than shorts, tee shirts and flip flops. I usually take one nice pair of pants and shirt but not much more. Give me enough tee shirts, clean underwear and some shorts and I am set.

So, to get back to our question…

What should you pack for a dive vacation? You are going to dive, pack your needed dive gear, for me that is my: regulator, mask, fins, snorkel, wetsuit (or drysuit), BCD (or back plate and wing). For you it might be just mask, snorkel and regulator. Base what you pack on your level of risk aversion. I prefer my diving to be as safe and communicable disease free as possible. If someone said I could only take the absolute minimum I would say that it would be the Mask, BCD (or back plate and wing) and regulator that way I have reduced my direct exposure to disease and have my life support gear.

Non-gear related, take as casual and as little clothes as you can. Pack suntan lotion, bug screen and toiletries. I only take a laptop if I absolutely have to, you can wait to edit photos or check email, believe me after having my laptop crap out because of the heat and humidity (and sugar ants that like electronics) I only take mine to the tropics when I absolutely have to.

So far, with over 250 dives to my credit and half of them in tropical locations I can honestly say I have never had a respiratory infection, or a skin disease caused by dive gear. Now fire coral, jellyfish and sea lice, that is another story.