Weeks before you leave
Check your passport. Many countries require it to be valid for at least six months after you arrive, and some need a visa or an electronic travel authorization arranged in advance.
Confirm your dive insurance covers the dates, the country and the kind of diving you plan, including the maximum depth. If you are going on a liveaboard or diving remote sites, check that evacuation is included.
Book servicing early. If your regulator or BCD is due for service, or your computer needs a battery, do it a few weeks before the trip so there is time to fix anything the technician finds. Then do a short local dive, or at least a pool test, with the serviced gear.
If you have not dived for a while, consider a refresher. And if your trip includes a course or dives that need a specialty, such as nitrox or deep, make sure you have the card or have booked the course.
Documents to carry
Your certification cards, physical or digital, including any specialty cards you will need. Your logbook, because some dive centers ask to see recent experience before certain dives. Your insurance policy number and emergency phone number. A medical statement if your health history requires one.
Keep copies of all of these somewhere you can reach without your luggage, such as your phone, in case a bag goes missing.
Packing your gear
Carry on the items that are hardest to replace or rent: your dive computer, mask, and regulator if you own one. Lithium batteries, including those in computers, torches and cameras, usually have to travel in the cabin, so check your airline's rules.
Weights are almost always provided by the dive center, so leave them at home. Tanks travel empty and with the valve open or removed, if at all, and most divers simply rent them.
Pack a small save-a-dive kit: spare O-rings, a mask strap and a fin strap, a small multi-tool, silicone grease, cable ties and a spare battery for your computer if you can change it yourself. These cost little and save a lot of missed dives.
Add reef-safe sunscreen, seasickness tablets if you need them, a dry bag for the boat and a light windproof jacket for between dives.
The last day
Plan the final dive with your flight in mind. Common guidelines recommend at least 12 hours between a single no-decompression dive and flying, and at least 18 hours after several dives or days of diving. Many divers leave a full day free before the flight, which is also a good time to rinse and dry gear properly before packing.
Log your last dives before you leave. Details fade quickly once you are home, and dive centers will often confirm dives for you while you are still there.
How Frey Dive helps
In Frey Dive, each trip has its own packing checklist, with essentials marked so the app can remind you about anything still unchecked as the date gets closer. Your passport, insurance, certifications and gear service dates live in the same place, and Frey reminds you before a passport or policy expires or a service is due.
During the trip, you log each dive in under a minute, with its photos, so nothing is left to remember once you are home.