Safety
How to Avoid Seasickness Diving
Practical, diver-tested ways to stop seasickness ruining your day on the boat, before, during and after the crossing.
To avoid seasickness, take a suitable motion-sickness remedy before you leave the dock, stay on deck in fresh air looking at the horizon, keep hydrated, and avoid alcohol and greasy food the night before. If you feel queasy on the boat, getting into the cool, still water as soon as you safely can often settles it completely.
- Take meds
- Before departure, not after
- Look at
- The horizon, not your gear
- Best seat
- Mid-boat, fresh air
- Quick fix
- Get in the water
Seasickness is miserable and it is common, even among experienced divers. The good news is that it is very manageable once you know the habits that prevent it. Here is what works.
Before you board
- Take a remedy in advance. Most motion-sickness tablets and patches need to be taken 30 to 60 minutes before departure to work. Taken once you already feel sick, they help far less.
- Eat lightly and avoid alcohol. A modest, plain meal beforehand is better than an empty stomach or a heavy, greasy one. Skip the night-before drinking.
- Hydrate. Dehydration makes nausea worse and is bad for diving anyway.
- Rest. Tiredness lowers your tolerance for motion.
Talk to a doctor or pharmacist about diving and seasickness medication. Some remedies cause drowsiness, which you do not want underwater. Ask specifically for an option suitable for diving, and try it on a non-dive day first to see how it affects you.
On the boat
- Stay on deck in fresh air: Going below or fiddling with gear in the cabin is the fastest way to feel ill. Stay outside where you can breathe fresh air.
- Fix your eyes on the horizon: Looking at a stable, distant point helps your eyes and inner ear agree on what's happening. Avoid reading or staring at your phone.
- Sit mid-boat: The middle of the boat moves least. Avoid the bow, which pitches the most.
- Gear up early: Prepare your kit before you leave the dock or early in the crossing, so you're not bent over your gear when the swell picks up.
If you start to feel sick
Do not fight it on a rocking deck. Get into the cool, level water as soon as it is safe and your guide allows: the steady support of the water usually calms nausea quickly. Ginger, in sweets, capsules or tea, helps many divers, and keeping your eyes on the horizon still matters. If you are being sick, keep your regulator in once you are in the water rather than removing your mask on a pitching boat.
Once you're diving
Most divers find seasickness vanishes underwater, where there is no horizon bobbing and no engine fumes. The challenge is the surface interval between dives, so apply the same habits, fresh air, horizon, hydration, during your break on the boat.
Make every dive day better
Plan your dives, log your trips and learn the habits that keep diving comfortable, with the free Diving Standard app.
Get the Diving Standard appFrequently asked questions
What is the best way to prevent seasickness when diving?
Take a suitable motion-sickness remedy before departure, stay on deck in fresh air, keep your eyes on the horizon, sit mid-boat, stay hydrated and avoid alcohol and heavy food beforehand.
Does seasickness medication affect diving?
Some remedies cause drowsiness, which is undesirable underwater. Ask a doctor or pharmacist for a diving-friendly option and test it on a non-dive day first to see how it affects you.
Does seasickness go away once you're underwater?
For most divers, yes. Underwater there is no bobbing horizon or engine fumes, so nausea usually settles. The harder part is the surface interval, so keep up fresh air, the horizon and hydration between dives.