Dive trips with strangers/new friends?

[wgw04024]

So, I seem to be in a position where the few people I know around me that do dive, schedules never line up for diving to go somewhere. Either with work, family obligations, they just took/are taking another tip around then, etc.

Myself, I am pretty flexible time wise, and like shopping based on price, time of year for good weather, book, and go.

Is there anyone else in this type of position, and if so, how are/did you deal with finding more people to travel with?

I guess I could simply go alone, but I do like renting an airbnb/house on local rather than a single room. That's not so much cost effective doing singularly.

Thoughts?

 

[Damselfish]

Look for dive shops that run group trips. Doesn’t even have to be your local shop. These trips usually have a fair number of folks in the same situation.

There are also people out there that organize private group trips. These are harder to find and get on, usually its because you met someone someplace and got to chatting. Or know someone who knows someone. Or maybe did an individual booking someplace where there was also a group and you met people. Takes more time and luck to find these, but nice if you can.

 

[The Chairman]

ScubaBoard Invasions and Surges are a great way to travel and have a fairly known quantity when it comes to safety. If you don't dive like us, you will soon enough! There's usually a "I need a roomie" thread in the various event subforums for them. I've never had so much fun and felt so safe even in sketchy countries.

Other than that, post in the various destination sub-forums here on SB. I can't guarantee it will be perfect, but it's a start.

 

[O-ring]

This sounds like a similar position to the one I was in so I can tell you what worked for me. I started doing LOBs solo. Given the LOB dynamic of being thrown on a boat for a week or two with a bunch of other people that like diving enough to be on a LOB and I can pretty much guarantee that you won't go home without a list of future dive buddies. I do book single cabins which can add to the cost, but you don't have to do that if you are comfortable with the operator pairing you with a roommate. Now that I have a known group of people that I like, trust and can call actual friends I don't mind sharing cabins with them when our plans align.

Two of the LOBs I am going on this year are with people I met on previous LOBs. One group is very active and we all stay in touch via an email chain. From this group we probably launch 4-8 dive trips a year with varying attendance across the membership depending on people's preferences, availability, etc. It's really exciting to look forward to catching up with everyone since we're all scattered around the world. One of the trips has a long crossing (Cocos) and I am actually looking forward to the crossing as much if not more than the diving so I can catch up with friends I haven't seen in a while.

I also do non-LOB land-based dive trips solo, but more often than not when not diving I end up hanging out by myself on a beach chair with a good book. I enjoy these types of trips just as much since being alone and cutoff from family, work, etc. with no agenda other than dive a few times, eat, nap on beach, read, enjoy a scotch or three is a great way to unplug and relax. The last one of these I rented a villa which was a cool little standalone house with a kitchen, separate bedroom, and a great porch for relaxing. The sides of the villa all cranked open so the breeze coming off the ocean just wafted through the entire place. I dunno...maybe I am just a weird loner, but the presence of another person there would probably have just as high a chance of spoiling it as it would adding to the experience. Was it the most cost-effective lodging option? No, of course not. Was it worth every penny? 1000x yes...and then some.

 

[wgw04024]

ScubaBoard Invasions and Surges are a great way to travel and have a fairly known quantity when it comes to safety. If you don't dive like us, you will soon enough! There's usually a "I need a roomie" thread in the various event subforums for them. I've never had so much fun and felt so safe even in sketchy countries.

Other than that, post in the various destination sub-forums here on SB. I can't guarantee it will be perfect, but it's a start.

Ironically, I hadn't thought of this. One way to meet a bunch of people.

 

[Damselfish]

I agree, doing a LOB solo will generally get you people to dive with besides a DM. There’s usually some individual divers on LOBs, or sometimes people traveling with a non-diver. Maybe a greater chance of finding a better diver and actual buddy on a LOB where the divers tend to be more serious and you’re with the same people for the duration, vs more instabuddies for a day on land. And LOB has higher likelyhood that you will make friends that you might try to meet for future trips. That can happen land-based too but probably less likely.

 

[drrich2]

Unless I'm taking the wife, kid and maybe mother-in-law with me for a 'dive trip disguised as a family vacation' (per my wife), then I go alone. I tend to favor liveaboards or other situations with high dive counts (e.g.: CocoView Resort in Roatan, or Tres Pelicanos in Cozumel), or Bonaire where I can solo shore dive to my heart's content.

If I'm alone and diving 4+ times/day, a single room (that I'm not in a lot) is fine. There's no point to having a house.

I did start with dive group trips to Bonaire, and I think that's a fine way to go starting out dive tourism trips. It was fun, but once I felt confident I knew the ropes well enough to plan and go my own way, I did.

One problem you might encounter with land-based group trips is they often have a package deal with accommodations included.

 

[wgw04024]

Is the vaccination still a 'thing'??

 

[O-ring]

I agree, doing a LOB solo will generally get you people to dive with besides a DM. There’s usually some individual divers on LOBs, or sometimes people traveling with a non-diver. Maybe a greater chance of finding a better diver and actual buddy on a LOB where the divers tend to be more serious and you’re with the same people for the duration, vs more instabuddies for a day on land. And LOB has higher likelyhood that you will make friends that you might try to meet for future trips. That can happen land-based too but probably less likely.

That has been exactly my experience. I have met some cool people on land based dive boats, but most of them are traveling together and there isn't a ton of quiet space/time to get to know each other on a standard 2 tank dive charter on a tiny boat bouncing around for half a day. Most of the time we chat (or shout in some cases) about diving, etc. and it doesn't progress beyond that. I did end up meeting a really cool one legged Italian diver on Barbados about 10 years ago and we hung out the entire week, but that was a weird circumstance where we were the only divers booked for the entire week on a six pack so were kind of thrown together.

I think you hit the nail on the head about the LOB environment. It's a very special circumstance where a small group of people who are serious about diving are thrown together in tight quarters for an extended length of time. You share meals, leisure time, dive together, etc. It's really the perfect framework for making friends who are serious about diving. As a bonus, if you are a weirdo and blow your first impression with somebody you have a week to change their mind since they can't run away from you.

 

[Centrals]

It's really the perfect framework for making friends who are serious about diving. As a bonus, if you are a weirdo and blow your first impression with somebody you have a week to change their mind since they can't run away from you.

Trouble with LoB is that I cannot run away from those people that I found uncomfortable with. At least I can go somewhere else on land based trip ie. not sharing a dinner table. All inclusive land based package is as bad as LoB.
I prefer travelling solo.