Bluewater Travel

What Bluewater Travel does

Bluewater Travel, doing business as Bluewater Dive Travel, is a privately held scuba diving travel agency headquartered in Culver City, California, with a team of 1-10 employees. The company functions as a commission-based booking intermediary that connects certified scuba divers, snorkelers, underwater photographers, and nature/safari travelers with liveaboards, dive resorts, and guided group trips across more than 40 destinations spanning Southeast Asia, the South Pacific, Australia, the Caribbean, the Americas, the Indian Ocean, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Polar Regions. Its inventory includes more than 800 resorts, liveaboards, and guided trips, with a customer base of 10,000+ divers served cumulatively and 560+ five-star Google reviews. Adjacent verticals covered include African safaris, gorilla trekking, whale swimming, snorkel liveaboards, and specialized photography and video workshops.

The core platform is a website (bluewaterdivetravel.com) for browsing destinations, liveaboards, and resorts, supplemented by multi-channel advisor engagement: phone, WhatsApp, email, live chat, and Calendly-scheduled free consultations staffed 24/7. The technology stack is described as a standard travel agency website rather than a proprietary AI/ML system. Two affiliated sister companies—Underwater Photography Guide (educational content) and Bluewater Photo & Scuba (equipment retail)—extend the ecosystem into media and commerce for the underwater enthusiast community.

The business model is transaction-fee/commission-based: the service is free to consumers under a best-price guarantee, with revenue generated through commissions from third-party liveaboard operators, dive resorts, airlines, hotels, and tour operators. Go-to-market is advisor-led and content-driven, leveraging SEO-optimized destination guides, editorial blog content, a newsletter, and earned media (Google reviews) to drive top-of-funnel demand. Per-trip prices observed range from approximately $800 for budget liveaboards to over $10,400 for premium guided group trips, with a $500 per person deposit and full payment required 65 days before departure.

Name

Bluewater Travel

Legal name

Bluewater Travel

Website

https://bluewaterdivetravel.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Scuba Diving Travel Services

NAICS

Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water (4872), Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation (487)

SIC

Transportation Services (4700)

akta.pro primary industry

Diving Experiences (Scuba Dives, Dive Trips, PADI/SSI Courses) (THAJAJAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Snorkeling Tours & Reef Experiences (THAJAJAE), Water & Marine Guiding Services (Kayak, Canoe, Raft, SUP, Sailing) (THAAALAB)

Keywords

• Scuba diving travel
• Liveaboard bookings
• Dive resort packages
• Guided dive trips
• Underwater photography tours

Headquarters

HQ city

Culver City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Travel Agency Commissions: Bluewater Travel acts as a booking agent for third-party travel suppliers including liveaboards, dive resorts, airlines, hotels, and tour operators. They earn commissions on bookings made through their platform. The service is described as 100% free to customers with a best price guarantee, meaning they likely earn revenue through commissions from suppliers rather than charging customers directly.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Bluewater Travel is a scuba diving travel agency that connects individual divers with liveaboards, dive resorts, and guided group trips across 40+ global destinations. The company provides personalized trip planning and 24/7 concierge support from experienced diver-advisors who have personally visited the destinations, with service offered free to customers via supplier commissions.

Product overview

Bluewater Dive Travel operates as a scuba diving travel agency offering a unified platform for booking dive vacations worldwide. The core offering consists of liveaboard bookings, dive resort reservations, and guided group trips (including photography workshops and African safaris). The company serves as an intermediary between divers and over 800 resort and liveaboard partners across 40+ destinations, providing personalized trip planning with 24/7 concierge support. Sister companies include the Underwater Photography Guide (educational content) and Bluewater Photo & Scuba (gear retail). The company promotes special offers and packages while providing free consultation services via phone, WhatsApp, live chat, and scheduled consultations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Liveaboard Booking Service Facilitates bookings for diving liveaboards across 40+ destinations worldwide, including cabin selection, trip dates, and itinerary planning, targeted at certified scuba divers.
• Dive Resort Booking Service Connects divers with dive resorts across the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, South Pacific, and other diving destinations with package deals and special offers.
• Guided Group Trips Organized group travel experiences including Group Dive Trips, Snorkel Trips, African Safaris, Photo Workshops, Video Workshops, and Whale Swimming encounters led by expert trip leaders.
• Photography Workshops Specialized underwater photography workshops led by expert photographers, offered at dive destinations including Fiji, Lembeh, Anilao, Galapagos, and Socorro.
• African Safaris Wildlife safari experiences including Tanzania Big Game Safari and Borneo Orangutan expeditions, offered as extensions or standalone trips.
• Special Offers & Packages Exclusive deals, discounts, and special packages for liveaboards, resorts, dive operators, and guided group trips across various destinations.

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Underwater Photography GuideminorOthersRelated sister company operating the Underwater Photography Guide website (uwphotographyguide.com). This is not a formal business partnership but rather an affiliated entity under the same ownership/group, serving the same target community of underwater enthusiasts.
• Bluewater Photo & ScubaminorOthersRelated sister company operating the Bluewater Photo & Scuba store (bluewaterphotostore.com). An affiliated entity under the same ownership serving the underwater photography and scuba equipment community.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Tripadvisor: A large online travel platform with reviews and booking across experiences, hotels, and attractions. Comparable as a broad incumbent that lists dive excursions and liveaboards in its marketplace and could route potential Bluewater customers through its own funnel.
• Aggressor Adventures: Operates a fleet of liveaboards and a global dive yacht schedule, while also booking guests directly through their own platform. Comparable as a dominant incumbent in the dive liveaboard category with overlapping product and the ability to disintermediate third-party agents like Bluewater.
• Expedia: A major online travel agency offering flights, hotels, packages, and increasingly curated experiences. Comparable as a broad incumbent whose platform and supplier relationships could encroach on niche diving inventory, although it does not specialize in diving.

Regional players

• Pelorus (Scuba Diving Travel): A bespoke experiential travel company that curates luxury scuba diving trips and yacht charters worldwide. Comparable as a high-end dive-specialist booking agent with advisor-led personalization, though serving a more luxury tier and a primarily non-US base.

Direct peers

• Master Liveaboards: A liveaboard-focused dive travel agency offering bookings across the Caribbean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific. Closely comparable as a specialist agent with advisor-led service and a global liveaboard catalog.
• Dive In (Scuba Diver Travel): A specialist dive travel agency arranging group trips and liveaboard bookings for certified divers. Comparable in product scope, advisor-led model, and global destination coverage.
• Dive The World: A long-running scuba diving travel agency that books liveaboards and dive resorts worldwide. Directly comparable as a specialist dive booking intermediary with global inventory and personalized advisor-led service, competing for the same niche customer.
• PADI Travel: PADI's official dive travel platform offering liveaboard, resort, and dive experience bookings to certified divers globally. Directly comparable as a specialized dive booking intermediary with deep supplier relationships across the same destinations as Bluewater.
• Liveaboard.com: A liveaboard-focused booking platform listing hundreds of vessels across multiple regions with price comparison. Comparable as a specialist intermediary in the liveaboard booking category that Bluewater competes against for the same dive-travel customer.
• World Dive & Travel: A US-based dive travel agency arranging guided group trips, resort stays, and liveaboard bookings internationally. Comparable as a small, advisor-led dive travel specialist targeting the same North American customer base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bwdivetravel
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@bluewatertravel
• Facebookfacebook.com/bluewatertravel
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bluewater-travel

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bluewater Travel