5 Things to Do During Your Surface Interval Between Dives

Surface intervals are an essential part of every scuba diving day, but that does not mean you have to spend them simply sitting around and waiting for your next dive!

When you are on a liveaboard in the Andaman Sea, you can easily complete several dives a day, and your surface intervals become valuable moments to relax, recharge, explore your surroundings or even look back at what you discovered underwater.

So, what should you do between two dives? Here are five of our favourite ways to make the most of your surface interval aboard the MV Smiling Seahorse.

1. Drink Plenty of Water — Not Alcohol!

As you may remember from your Open Water course, staying properly hydrated is an important part of looking after yourself while diving. Dehydration is commonly discussed as one of the factors that may contribute to decompression sickness, so drinking regularly throughout your diving day is a very good habit to develop.

And when you are diving several times a day in a tropical climate, it is easy to underestimate how much fluid you are losing. Warm temperatures, sunshine, physical activity and simply spending hours at sea all make regular hydration particularly important.

Our advice is simple:

• When you wake up, drink!
• When you are thirsty, drink!
• And when you are not thirsty… drink again!

On board the MV Smiling Seahorse, drinking water and soft drinks are available throughout the day, together with hot drinks such as tea and coffee and refreshing juices. Coconut water is another delicious option when you want something different.

A little caffeine is fine for most people, but remember that coffee and tea should not replace your regular water intake. The easiest solution is to keep a bottle or glass of water nearby and make drinking regularly part of your diving routine.

And, of course, save the alcoholic drinks for after your diving day is finished. During your surface intervals, water is definitely the better choice!

2. Play Games and Have Some Fun

Not every surface interval needs to be about diving. Sometimes the best thing you can do between two underwater adventures is simply have fun with your fellow divers.

At the MV Smiling Seahorse, we love playing games on board. A surface interval is the perfect opportunity to challenge your dive buddy to a game of chess, roll the dice or pick up a pack of cards.

These little moments are also a great way to get to know the other guests. On a liveaboard, you spend several days together, sharing dives, meals, stories and memorable encounters underwater. A quick game between dives can easily turn into a friendly competition that continues throughout the cruise!

So, what is your game of choice? Chess, cards or dice?

3. Visit a Dream Beach

One of the biggest advantages of travelling on a liveaboard is that your accommodation moves with you. Instead of spending your surface interval at the same beach or swimming pool every day, you can wake up surrounded by remote islands and explore places that are difficult to reach from land.

During our cruises through the Mergui Archipelago in Myanmar and the islands of the Andaman Sea in Thailand, we often have the opportunity to visit beautiful, quiet beaches between dives.

After spending time underwater, there is something wonderfully simple about stepping onto a beach, taking off your dive gear and feeling fine white sand beneath your feet. You can stretch your legs, enjoy the scenery, take a few photographs or simply sit down and listen to the sea.

And if you feel like exploring a little further, you can take our sea kayak out for a paddle and discover the coastline from a different perspective.

This is one of the pleasures of liveaboard diving: your surface interval can be more than just waiting for the next dive. Depending on the itinerary and conditions, it can become a small adventure of its own.

4. Review, Sort and Edit Your Diving Photos

If you are an underwater photographer, you already know that taking the photograph is only half the job. Once you are back on board, the real work can begin!

Sorting through photographs from the previous dive can be surprisingly time-consuming. Which image is the sharpest? Which composition works best? Did you photograph that tiny nudibranch from the right angle? Is that manta ray shot actually in focus?

With so many photo opportunities on every dive, it is often difficult to choose your favourites. That is why your surface interval is the perfect time to start sorting your images while the memories of the dive are still fresh.

You can delete the obvious mistakes, select your favourite shots, add notes to your dive log and even begin editing a few photographs before heading back into the water.

For photographers joining our cruises, the MV Smiling Seahorse has a dedicated photo room with plenty of workspace and power sockets, giving you somewhere practical to look after your camera equipment and work on your favourite editing software.

If you enjoy underwater photography in Thailand, making good use of your surface intervals can make a huge difference. By the end of the cruise, you will not only have a memory card full of photographs, but also a much more organised collection of your best images.

5. Take a Nap!

And finally, sometimes the best thing to do during a surface interval is… absolutely nothing!

In everyday life, finding time to stop, relax and take a proper nap is not always easy. When you are on a diving holiday, however, you have a perfect excuse to slow down.

After a dive, a good meal and a little time in the fresh sea air, there is nothing wrong with finding a comfortable spot and closing your eyes for a while. You do not need to be productive during every minute of your holiday.

On board the MV Smiling Seahorse, one of our favourite places for a relaxing surface interval is the hammock under the shade of the upper deck. With a fresh sea breeze, the sound of the ocean and beautiful scenery all around you, it is a pretty good place to catch up on some sleep!

Make the Most of Every Surface Interval

After a few days of liveaboard diving, you quickly realise that surface intervals are part of the experience. They are the moments when you can recharge your batteries, stay hydrated, spend time with your dive buddies and enjoy everything that happens above the water as much as below it.

Whether you prefer playing cards, exploring a deserted beach, editing your latest underwater photographs or simply taking a nap in the hammock, there is no shortage of ways to enjoy your time between dives.

And when your surface interval is finally over, it is time to grab your dive gear, check your buddy and get ready for the next adventure underwater!

Does it feel like your surface interval has lasted long enough?

Join us from mid-October until mid-May for a scuba diving adventure in the Andaman Sea, exploring some of the most exciting dive sites and remote islands of Thailand and Myanmar aboard the MV Smiling Seahorse.