Casual to the extreme. T-shirts, shorts, swimwear, light layers for evenings. One smart-casual outfit for the captain's farewell dinner is plenty.
Liveaboard dress code is the most relaxed of any travel format
You'll spend 80% of your trip in swimwear, dive gear, or lightweight casual clothes. Pack light — your luggage allowance is much better spent on dive gear than on outfits.
Daytime
Swimwear, rash guards, T-shirts, shorts, dive shorts, flip-flops or barefoot. The dive deck is wet most of the day — wear quick-dry clothes. Wear a hat and sunglasses on the sundeck (UV at sea is brutal). Sun shirts (UPF 50+ long-sleeve T-shirts) protect your shoulders better than sunscreen and reduce reef-damaging chemical loading.
Evening
After the last dive, most divers shower and change into light, comfortable clothes for dinner — T-shirt and shorts, light dress, comfortable trousers. Many boats have indoor air-conditioned dining rooms that get cool — bring a light fleece or hoodie for evenings, especially in destinations like Galápagos, Socorro, and the Red Sea in winter.
Captain's dinner / farewell night
Most trips include one slightly more formal dinner on the last full evening (the 'captain's dinner' or farewell dinner). Smart-casual is the standard — collared shirt and clean shorts/trousers, light dress. No suit, no tie, no formal wear required anywhere in liveaboard diving. One smart-casual outfit per person is plenty.
Footwear
Flip-flops or sandals around the boat. Closed shoes for the deck if you prefer (some dive deck floors are very hot in tropical sun). No formal shoes needed.
Cold-weather destinations
Galápagos, Socorro, Antarctica, the Red Sea in winter — bring a fleece or warm jacket for evenings on the sundeck and for cool air-conditioned dining rooms. Sub-Antarctic and Antarctic trips require full polar clothing for shore landings (wind shell, fleece layer, polar trousers, gloves, beanie).
Religious or culturally sensitive destinations
Maldives mainland and Saudi Arabia — modest dress is required when visiting inhabited islands or coast (long shorts/trousers, T-shirts covering shoulders, no swimwear in public). On the boat itself, swimwear and beachwear are fine.
What to leave at home
Suit/tie, formal shoes, fancy dresses, jewelry beyond a simple watch. Anything you'd wear to a wedding is too formal for a liveaboard.
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