Elegante Liveaboard, Djibouti

Excellent food and drinks

“We spent an incredible week on the Elegante. The crew was adorable and we really had fun with them. The food was delicious (qualit…”

Simon H, France France
Read 11 more reviews

Highlights

    • Dive with whale sharks and manta rays
    • Intimate setting with only 14 guests
    • Witness unique marine life migrations

The beautiful Elegante is a traditional wooden schooner offering diving trips in Djibouti from November - January each year. During this special time of the year, the seas are full of plankton-rich nutrients, and whale sharks stop off in Djibouti as part of their annual migration to feed in these waters. Besides whale sharks, divers may also encounter manta rays and diving spectacular reefs and wrecks far from the Red Sea crowds.

Topside, the Elegante caters to just 14 guests in 7 cabins. Each cabin features double or twin beds, private bathrooms, and AC. Communal areas include the indoor lounge with an entertainment area, and a covered outdoor lounge and dining area, a great place to relax and enjoy the sea breeze and amazing views.

Join the Elegante liveaboard for a fantastic diving trip in Djibouti. Book online today to reserve your space.


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Included: VAT, Airport Transfer, Drinking Water, Tea & Coffee, Full-Board Meal Plan (All meals), Snacks, Diving Package, Beach Towels, Cabin Towels.

Required Extras: Fuel Surcharge (40 EUR), Visas and Fees (100 EUR per trip).

Optional Extras: Dive Insurance, Gratuities, Alcoholic Beverages, Soft drinks, Rental Gear, Scuba Diving Courses, Snorkel Gear.

Book now, pay later: You can easily place your booking online. We will then hold the spaces for you and you can confirm with a payment later.

* Extra fees are shown per person.

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Boat features

  • Camera Station
  • Daily housekeeping
  • Audio & video entertainment
  • Library
  • Air Conditioned saloon
  • Aircon Cabins
  • Sun Deck
  • Indoor Saloon
  • Non-Diver (Snorkeler) Friendly
  • Warm Water Showers
  • Outdoor Dining
  • Custom built for diving
  • Charging stations
  • En-Suite bathrooms
  • Non-Smoking Rooms
  • Outside Showers
  • Family Cabins
  • Seaview Cabins
  • Separate Rinse for u/w Camera
  • Naturalist Itineraries
  • Naturalist Guide
  • Leisure Deck
  • Observation Deck
  • Bar
  • Naturalist Guide
  • Fishing

Food & Drinks

  • Vegetarian Options
  • Beer available
  • Wine Available
  • Fine Cuisine

If you have any specific dietary requirements whilst on-board your cruise, you can add this to your special requests on step 2 of the booking form. We advise limiting these requests to religious beliefs or food allergies.


Diving

  • DIN Adaptors
  • Tenders for diving

The crew speaks English.


Gear Rental

There is diving gear available on this boat. Please provide your rental needs on the booking form. See below for further details on inclusions and pricing. Show prices.


Boat Specifications

  • Year renovated 2009
  • Length 25 meters
  • Top speed 10 knots cruise
  • Engines Fiat Iveco AIFO HP 260 diesel
  • Max guests 14
  • Number of cabins 7
  • Number of bathrooms 7
  • Tenders 2 Rubber dinghy Marshall with 55 Hp outboard engine Yamaha
  • Water capacity 4000 liters
  • Fuel capacity 2500 liters
  • Freshwater maker 200 liters per hour

Boat Navigation and Safety

  • Radar
  • Depth Sounder
  • GPS
  • Radio VHF/DSC/SSB
  • Emergency Rafts
  • Life Vests
  • Fire Alarm & Fire Extinguishers
  • Oxygen
  • First Aid Kits
  • Satellite & mobile phones
  • Bilge pump alarm
  • Search light
  • Engine room CCTV

Elegante Reviews

  • 8.1 Very good
  1. Vessel
    7.8
  2. Crew
    8.7
  3. Food
    9.5
  4. Diving
    6.5
  5. Value
    8.2
  • 10 Exceptional
  • Simon H
  • France France
A unique experience

We spent an incredible week on the Elegante. The crew was adorable and we really had fun with them. The food was delicious (quality and quantity) with various menus. Dives were various as well and the underwater life there is rich (many pods, big fishes, turtles, rays, dolphins...). We had the chance to swim with whale sharks while snorkelling AND diving which will remain quite a great memory. We also really appreciated the vintage style of the boat which contrasts with the now usual big white yachts. We definitely want to come back to discover sudanese waters ! Thanks for these precious moments. Marine & Simon

Recommended for
Dives, Kindness of the crew and whale sharks
  • 6.8 Review score
  • Petter Kvinge T
  • Norway Norway
Great whale sharks

Whale sharks

Recommended for
Whale sharks, guitar sharks, healthy corals
  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • Yuchen W
  • Canada Canada
Great liveaboard for swimming with whale sharks

We had basically a private liveboard for just 3 people (myself solo and another couple). The crew was very friendly and catered to all our needs, especially with regards to the delicious food! Often for dinner we'd eat whatever fish we freshly caught during the day. The highlight of the trip was swimming with whale sharks. We didn't consistently find them everyday, but on one day we had two excursions where we encountered 10+ whale sharks feeding. The experience was incredible, especially during the week, when there weren't any day boats from Djibouti City and we were able to enjoy these magical animals alone. The diving itself was also good and its tranquility balanced out the tiring effort of swimming with whale sharks. There were lots of colourful fish and coral, but it did get a little repetitive after a while, although I suppose that's because the focus was staying at the best spots where whale sharks feed. Overall, highly recommended trip especially if you're looking for a good value-for-money liveboard for whale sharks.

Recommended for
whale sharks, food, crew friendliness
  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • Dieter V
  • Belgium Belgium
World class whale shark experience

Great diving on unspoiled reefs. We've been lucky to find whale shark on every attempt, thanks to the amazing crew who were very experienced in finding them. Apart from the the whale sharks, we've seen turtles, rays (including manta ray), an much much more. Good food, relaxed atmosphere, and truly astonishing encounters with the whale sharks.

Recommended for
Whale sharks, Unspoiled coral reefs, great helpful crew
  • 6.0 Review score
  • Helle Bro S
  • Denmark Denmark
Great atmosphere on a lovely boat with good dives.

The giant groupers at 'Passe Ghoubet' and to manage the strong currents same place. Whale sharks while diving

Recommended for
Diving the strait 'Passe Ghoubet', Good company of the co-divers, Warm weather and sunshine.
  • 8.4 Very good
  • Jente G
  • Netherlands Netherlands
Very nice boat and great crew!

Whalesharks, beautiful coral (very untouched) and the boat is very nice. Somehow the staff on the boat wasn't aware that we were renting equipment, which resulted in poor fitting fins for me (had to wear three pairs of socks to make them fit). Not the staff's fault but somewhere in communication it went wrong... The equipment itself is quite pricy for the quality, I even had one dive where one of my hoses exploded so I had to share a tank with the dive master...

Recommended for
Beautiful dives, helpful staff and comfortable boat
  • 7.6 Good
  • Ignas U
  • Lithuania Lithuania
Very nice

Friendly crew, relaxed atmosphere

Recommended for
scienery, sun, relaxation
  • 6.8 Review score
  • Elyes A
  • France France
Bateau atypique et sympa

Session snorkling très sympa avec requin baleines. Malheureusement une semaine avec une visibilité très pauvre et seulement un dive Master pour 10... Encadrement sous marin décevant. Staff du bateau très présent et serviable.

Recommended for
Équipage- repas- bateau
  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • Elisabeth U
  • Austria Austria
Bescheidenes Tauchen mit netter Crew in Djibouti

Freundliche Divemaster,Kapitän,Crew, hilfsbereit, Interessanter Ausflug zu Lac Assal und Djibouti Town Mehrmalige Versuche Walhaie zu finden, leider nur 2 kurz gesehn Essen wirklich sehr abwechslungsreich und nett angerichtet Probleme und Wünsche werden sofort gelöst oder versucht Lösung zufinden. Aber--- In die Jahre gekommenes Segelschiff, Probleme in der Kabine- defekte Türschnalle,WCSpülung werden aber von Crew repariert Nur 15l Stahlflaschen! Damit über Leiter zum Zodiak sehr beschwerlich, Equipment ständig in der Sonne, Tauchplätze bescheiden, fast alle Taucher an Magendarmbeschwerden erkrankt

Recommended for
Freundliche Crew,gute Essen, beeindruckende Landschaft
  • 8.4 Very good
  • Nadine F
  • Germany Germany
intakte, artenreiche Unterwasserwelt

sehr freundliche Crew, immer bemüht dass es einem gut geht leckeres, abwechslungsreiches Essen super Erfahrung mit den Walhaien sehr schöne Tauchplätze, intakte Riffe mit vielen Fischen/ große Fischschwärme und sehr schönen teils riesigen Korallen

Recommended for
Walhaie, intakte riesige Korallen, Artenreichtum unterwasser