overwhelming choice for an uninformed solo diver

[Vicko]

Greece, Croatia and Italy fit the bill for Europe, cheep(ish) with good dives and not much of a risk factor for solo travelers.

 

[Schwob]

Can't speak to diving in Europe... I'll check back in this thread (and others) so for answers as some years I end up with a week if diving to sneak in while in Europe.
Egypt: A liveaboard in the Red Sea can be a decent deal these days (make sure to read somewhat recent reviews). Can't speak to "security- risks" anywhere really... Would one be safer on a liveaboard than in a "resort town"? I may have thought so, but I think those are all personal considerations... (and you never know - I may have had some worries about Egypt just to then be "surprised" by what happened in Turkey - preconceived or "read up on" ideas aren't always right at all). While I was with my son as buddy on the liveaboard about a third of the people on board came w/o "their buddy". (No idea if that's a normal ratio) It was no problem at all. Following the DM or budding up with someone else are the official options. Those very experienced divers that hang back to look at things undisturbed soon found that to be a workable option too. Newer divers likely would have been called out on that by the DM...

 

[TMHeimer]

I've taken one tropical week long dive vacation (Panama), taken charters in 4 states, and numerous shore dives "alone". No real problems worth talking about. Solo diving without a buddy is, as mentioned, another topic.

 

[Land Fish]

For various reasons, I usually end up doing half of my diving trips alone and getting an instant buddy when I get there. Sometimes the instant buddies worked out great, and other times I stuck closer to dive guides.

You'll get used to travelling solo

 

[DevonDiver]

Travelling solo is something you can swiftly learn to love. It's a comfort zone thing.

It's a quick hop from the UK to warm water destinations like Malta, Cyprus and Croatia... all have magnificent diving.

The Red Sea is where the action hot up... truly world-class diving. Somewhere like Dahab can offer a great venue for the solo traveller... laid-back and easy to mingle. Don't stress too much on media reports that hype the dangers of such places... It's pretty much BS....and in reality, the visitor wont be effected by whatever horror stories they're seeing on the news.

Or consider getting a bargain long-haul flight to SE Asia. There's a thriving backpacker scene across Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines etc.... dream diving destinations, super cheap budgeting once there.... and it's super easy to mix and befriend other solo travellers.

 

[billt4sf]

Find and join a dive club.

 

[Diver0001]

Join a club, go diving, network. Swap details with people you end up diving with and arrange to do it again.

Local to you there is Brighton BSAC 007 who ran probably the most famous trip to Malta recently.

Uk clubs often run warm trips. We have a week in Egypt and probably another in the Med this year. In the past 5 years we have had trips to Truk, Mexico, Malta, Gozo, the Maldives, and of course Egypt.

^^ This.

Networking is the key. In the course of years I have several "regular" dive buddies. Several of them have stopped diving over the years for one reason or another but because I'm well connected it never takes me long to find a new groep of people to dive with.

When I first moved to the Netherlands I didn't know anybody here so what I did then was to find a club to dive with. Once you know 2 people, and they know 2 people and so on, then the ball starts rolling. The important thing to me is to keep shopping around until you find someone who you click with both under water and above water.

As for trips, I'm not personally a big fan of going on a vacation with a bunch of other people. I usually go on vacation to get AWAY and have some down time either alone or with one other person. On such trips I often dive with "instabuddies" and I have had very VERY few problems over the years with that. That said, I'm usually one of the stronger divers in a group and I give lessons to beginners so it doesn't matter to me at all who you put in the water with me, I'll find a way to make it an interesting dive.

R..

 

[Antmany2k]

thanks for all the replies. i did my open water qualification in Hurghada and by far its the most colorful place i have dived and i would love to go back but the safety thing worries me.

a live aboard is tempting and something i see mentioned a lot but i am a bit wary as i don't know much about them. presumably i have to share a cabin with 1 or more people? pros - lots of diving, sunbathing on deck, a pirates life for me,
cons - i start to snore and the people in my cabin get sleep deprivation mania and smother my head with a pillow and bury me at sea lol

insta buddying doesn't bother me at all and i have done it before where solo travelers have been paired with our group before. we do have a local dive club or 2 around where i am (half hour away from Brighton itself) and have used them for my refresher course and to buy most of my equipment but have yet to sign up for an annual membership seems a bit pointless until it gets warmer) also the trips they do are all to indonesia, red sea or maldives and are between 2k and 6k

@KenGordon mentioned BSAC 007 running the most famous trip to Malta (i'm intrigued, why so famous?) also how does BSAC work? if i am PADI qualified and want to do further courses should i stick to 1 company or can i get qualifications from different places?

Italy does sound tempting as does Croatia, i had never thought of there

being a history nut i looked at the scuttled U boat off of Porto but i think id need a drysuit as its the Atlantic

 

[Edward3c]

thanks for all the replies. i did my open water qualification in Hurghada and by far its the most colorful place i have dived and i would love to go back but the safety thing worries me.

a live aboard is tempting and something i see mentioned a lot but i am a bit wary as i don't know much about them. presumably i have to share a cabin with 1 or more people? pros - lots of diving, sunbathing on deck, a pirates life for me,
cons - i start to snore and the people in my cabin get sleep deprivation mania and smother my head with a pillow and bury me at sea lol

insta buddying doesn't bother me at all and i have done it before where solo travelers have been paired with our group before. we do have a local dive club or 2 around where i am (half hour away from Brighton itself) and have used them for my refresher course and to buy most of my equipment but have yet to sign up for an annual membership seems a bit pointless until it gets warmer) also the trips they do are all to indonesia, red sea or maldives and are between 2k and 6k

@KenGordon mentioned BSAC 007 running the most famous trip to Malta (i'm intrigued, why so famous?) also how does BSAC work? if i am PADI qualified and want to do further courses should i stick to 1 company or can i get qualifications from different places?

Italy does sound tempting as does Croatia, i had never thought of there

being a history nut i looked at the scuttled U boat off of Porto but i think id need a drysuit as its the Atlantic

BSAC clubs are an autonomous collection of like minded divers, none commercial. Usually diving the coast nearest to them, but can and do travel further to dive.

With a BSAC club you can dive on your current PADI qualification and it's entirely up to you whether you continue training with PADI, BSAC or someone else.

You might want to consider Thailand or the Philippines as the cost of flights makes them quite attractive.

 

[KenGordon]

thanks for all the replies. i did my open water qualification in Hurghada and by far its the most colorful place i have dived and i would love to go back but the safety thing worries me.

a live aboard is tempting and something i see mentioned a lot but i am a bit wary as i don't know much about them. presumably i have to share a cabin with 1 or more people? pros - lots of diving, sunbathing on deck, a pirates life for me,
cons - i start to snore and the people in my cabin get sleep deprivation mania and smother my head with a pillow and bury me at sea lol

insta buddying doesn't bother me at all and i have done it before where solo travelers have been paired with our group before. we do have a local dive club or 2 around where i am (half hour away from Brighton itself) and have used them for my refresher course and to buy most of my equipment but have yet to sign up for an annual membership seems a bit pointless until it gets warmer) also the trips they do are all to indonesia, red sea or maldives and are between 2k and 6k

@KenGordon mentioned BSAC 007 running the most famous trip to Malta (i'm intrigued, why so famous?) also how does BSAC work? if i am PADI qualified and want to do further courses should i stick to 1 company or can i get qualifications from different places?

Italy does sound tempting as does Croatia, i had never thought of there

being a history nut i looked at the scuttled U boat off of Porto but i think id need a drysuit as its the Atlantic

Famous for all the worst reasons including a European arrest warrant.

A livaboard in Egypt would be excellent even if you have to get a buddy on the boat. Note that the style there involves less hand holding than in some places. There may be a DM or two in the water but they expect the actual buddy pairs to dive independently.

It is usually possible to do courses from whichever agency you want based on qualifications with others. If you were to join a BSAC club you could dive with them in the basis of your existing qualification or train to the next level, probably Sports Diver. Whatever, it is about expanding the group of people to dive with.

There are lots of good wrecks off Brighton. See Individuals Dive List, Midweek Diving Most of the stuff on the south coast needs AOW or Sports Diver.