Advice please

I have been debating all day to post or not, so please be gentle.

I am in the middle of my PADI open water class, so all of this is advice for the future. I am fortunate that I have the opportunity to travel a bit both for fun as well as for work. My DH does not dive, nor do I always travel with a "buddy". This leads to my question:

Everyone has to go thought dives 1-10 dives to get to 1,000. I live 2 hours away from any dive site in the Northeast, so although I will be diving and getting experience at home somewhat, most of my diving unfortunately/fortunately will be while I am traveling. As every place I visit will be a new site, how does one find a reputable dive outfit and DM, and know whether they have your best interest at heart, and a DM that you can hire to guide the dive and act as a buddy (since I will almost never have my own). I know that at some point I will feel comfortable enough to buddy with another single on the trip, but until I have more skills, I don't feel that it would be fair to them just yet. After reading a lot of threads on this board, I don't know who to trust anymore. Online reviews aren't always helpful either.

How did you start away from home, and what if any suggestions are there? Thanks for the help.

Dutch Springs!!!!

Thanks! That is the place 2 hours away (well, in all fairness, an hour and a half). That is where I will probably dive the most.

Good divemasters are hard to find in some cases. I started out like you with no dive buddies and most Dive Masters I ran into were of the type that God himself blessed them and their position. (I even find them on here) your best bet is to find someone who is a dive master and talk to them casually and get a feel of how they are.

Me myself I kind of fell in to dive mastering because it matched what I loved best and that was diving mainly with new divers. A good dive master wont brag about his experiences but instead encourage you to build yours.

Good luck!

it doesnt seem that far from you

im in ny and its legit 2 hrs

Most of my early dives (1-200) were in SE Asia and in Honduras where shops provided DM guides.

Try to research the shops before you travel, check with other locals here on scubaboard about the safety reputation, chat with the DM before diving. ask detailed questions & make sure you feel comfortable with them. Remember, if you feel uncomfortable, you can always call a dive at any point.

Learn how to navigate, to plan your own dives and your own ascent profile. Pay close attention to the dives and learn how to become more independent -- make sure NOT to blindly follow DM’s .

Have Fun!!

No sarcasm intended here but theres this website called scubaboard.. If travelling you can ask for reccomendations on good dive operators wherever you are intending on going.You'll at least that way get the opinions and experiences of real people

Good! question:

It's a little confusing at first. Once you get self confidence you'll start trusting people and will be able to pin point between a good or not good DM.

You can ask around people on suggestions on destination your interested in diving. If your heading to Hawaii for instance ask some people about that place. It's easier that way.

Inform me where your headed and perhaps I can be of some assistance. Also in "scubaboard" there is a section for dive buddies. Check that out to see if it's of any help. Padi has on there website a " dive buddy" search that's recently introduced. Look in to that as well.

Any further inquiries don't hesitate to ask.

Have fun diving!!!

Good shore diving within a half day for a nice weekend trip or so for you includes Dutch (quarry), Cape Anne (awesome), St. Lawrence River (awesome), Willow Springs (Quarry), and more. Visit ShoreDiving.com - Your Shore Diving and Snorkeling Web Community! and I suggest a book titled "A Shore Diving Guide to New England" by Shine. Then you have boat dives as well in NY, NJ, and the rest of NE and even into the Carolinas if ya wanna go farther. Of course in two hours you can fly to "Lauderdale" as well where you have the entire SE coast of Fl and the Keys. Enjoy!

Starting out after OW can be tough. My first dives were at Vortex Spring, Fla. panhandle--solo. Don't advise that at all. Being a single diver is rough--my wife doesn't dive. Look for "benign" places and TRY to find a buddy. For charters, look for those that don't drop you in real deep water and that may have a DM you can hire. There are many in the U.S., though it's tough if you are anywhere but S. FL and it's winter! Good luck.