4 Great Liveaboard Destinations for Yoga Lovers

Yoga is great for health and wellbeing, and has some impressive benefits for scuba divers. Take up this ancient practice and you can enjoy:

• A relaxed mind
• Greater strength and flexibility
• Improved lung capacity
• Better breath control
• Lower blood pressure
• Anxiety management

All of the above can help you lower your air consumption, enjoy longer dives, reduce injury from carrying heavy dive gear, and maintain better buoyancy. It is the perfect exercise to combine with scuba diving, for true relaxation on holiday and at home. If you’re a regular yogi or keen to try yoga, check out our top liveaboard destinations for yogis.

The Maldives

The Maldives is an iconic dive destination with an abundance of white-sand beaches and atolls dotted across the Indian Ocean. It’s hard to picture a better place to unwind and experience the benefits of yoga.

The different atolls each have their own dive site highlights and offer everything from atoll walls to channels, caves, swim-throughs, drift dives and lagoon diving. Many people visit to experience ocean giants such as whale sharks and manta rays, but there is also plenty of macro life on offer. The sheer variety of dive sites and marine life means there is something for all dive experience levels and interests.

Diving is available all year, with plenty of sunshine and warm water on offer. Liveaboards move with the monsoon seasons to find the best dive sites and calm waters, and there are vessels for all budgets.

Yoga fans should consider joining the Scubaspa Fleet for the ultimate in luxurious liveaboard diving. The Scubaspa Ying and Scubaspa Yang offer daily morning yoga sessions with a yoga instructor and both have an onboard luxury spa. Other great Maldives liveaboards for yoga include the Emperor Virgo and Conte Max. The Conte Max combines wellness and dive cruises, offering the chance to enjoy yoga and an Ayurvedic spa.

Indonesia

This scuba diving mecca holds four times more ocean than land and has around 11,000 islands to explore. With over 2000 fish species, more than 500 species of coral, and a variety of dive areas, there is plenty of keep you enthralled underwater. Yoga has been practised in Indonesia for thousands of years and it is a great place to disconnect from the world of work and reconnect through yoga and meditation.

Raja Ampat is one of the top Indonesia dive destinations and is best explored by liveaboard diving as there are numerous islands to explore. You can experience numerous whale sharks at Cenderawasih Bay and large groups of manta rays at Manta Ridge. There are also coral bommies and dive sites teeming with macro life and large pelagics. Raja Ampat can be dived almost all year, but most dive cruises visit the islands from October to April. It is best to experience Raja Ampat as an advanced diver as many dives are drift dives.

The Gili Islands are well worth visiting to experience secluded beaches and beautiful reefs with abundant marine life. There is no motorised transport allowed on the Gili islands, making them ideal for a peaceful dive vacation where you can cruise the islands and sink into a daily yoga practice.

The Mikumba II is ideal for combining scuba diving with yoga whilst cruising Raja Ampat. This recently renovated phinisi has healthy superfoods on offer, a ‘barefoot luxury’ theme and plenty of space for yoga. The private balconies are also perfect for taking time out to relax and meditate.

The Philippines

The Philippines is a world-class dive destination home to one of the New Seven Wonders of the World and a UNESCO World Heritage Site; the Tubbataha National Park. Go liveaboard diving among the many islands of the Philippines and you can discover truly remote dive sites, plus plenty of shark and macro action.

Malapascua is the place to visit to experience thresher shark diving at Monad Shoal and schools of up to 200 hammerhead sharks at Kimud Shoal. The Visayas offer huge schools of pelagic fish at Moalboal and diverse muck critters at Dauin. The Tubbataha National Park is very remote and has peaceful dive sites and abundant marine life.

Tubbataha can only be dived from March to June, whilst Malapascua is best visited from October to March and the Visayas can be dived all year. There is something for all dive experience levels at the Philippines.

The purpose-built Infiniti liveaboard offers safaris to the Visayas, including Malapascua and Bohol, plus Tubbataha safaris. There is plenty of space to practice yoga on the massive sundeck if you can tear yourself away from diving.

Honduras

The beautiful Bay Islands offer diving on the underwater mountain range of Roatan, Utila and Guanaja. There are dramatic walls and vibrant reefs to explore, with dives from 5m to 60m depth. The Cayman Trench off Roatan has numerous canyons and trenches to discover and there are few liveaboards operating in this special area.

Mary’s Place is one of Roatan’s best dive sites. This deep crack was formed by volcanic activity and is a must-see; covered in corals, sea fans and sponges, with plentiful critters. If you visit Utila’s north side you can dive sheer walls and drop-offs, whilst the south side offers healthy reef diving. Guanaja has shallow reefs, wrecks and walls and Mestizo Reef features two life size statues of Christopher Columbus and local chief Lempira.

There is truly something for everyone to enjoy all year long at Honduras. The Zeppelin liveaboard offers Honduras liveaboard safaris and is planning a Women Only yoga, dive and sail week in February 2019. This 7-night package will be available for 3 guests only and will be a unique yoga retreat. Keep your eyes on this liveaboard for when full details are released.

This article was written by divers and writers at LiveAboard.com