If no one in your family or friends is crazy about scuba diving the way you are, finding a dive buddy can quickly become a problem. Whenever you feel like going on new underwater adventures, locally or internationally, knowing where to find one is the key. Even if you think you know nobody, it is a lot easier to meet like-minded people who love scuba diving.
The good news is, whether you look online or in real life, there are tons of dive groups you can get in touch with. Nowadays, thanks to social media, it’s a lot easier to find dive buddies wherever you are.
(1) Find a dive buddy online
Social media now offers a new and more flexible way to connect with people around the world by sharing content about the things we love, like scuba diving. Recently, all the people who started blogging also created opportunities to get in touch with fellow divers.
Scuba diving online communities take today many different forms such as:
- Scuba diving forums
- Facebook groups
- Diving blog communities
(2) Find a dive buddy at any local diving clubs
You can find a dive buddy usually in large cities or even smaller towns sometimes, where there is a swimming pool there is a dive club. With so many of them and cheaper costs due to their non-profit associative status, they are the natural answer to anyone wondering where to find dive buddies near home.
However, it isn’t made for everyone. If you are a beginner diver, it makes sense to start looking for a local dive club in the meantime. Practicing skills with experienced divers in a pool or a local quarry (which are both protected environments) is nothing but a waste of time to gain more experience and confidence.
(3) Find a dive buddy at a popular diving destination around the globe
Traveling alone remains to be the #1 way of meeting new dive buddies. Today, more and more enthusiastic divers whose family or friends can’t travel internationally at the same time, decide to go on solo scuba diving trips.
Generally speaking, checking the best diving destinations around the world will help you identify places where most scuba divers flock to. However, some world-class diving destinations are too expensive and do not necessarily offer a good setting to meet new people or divers. A good way to know is to look if there are any cheap hostels or guesthouses around the area. If you can only mostly find luxury resorts, this is usually a red flag as the kind of crowd they bring would be more about couples or families which are less likely to mingle.
By going to popular backpackers’ destinations which are usually the cheapest option, you increase the odds of meeting solo travelers also eager to meet new people. Besides, you will get the chance to potentially make friends internationally, which can lead to exciting opportunities soon.
(4) Find a dive buddy while becoming a professional diver
When you embrace the path of becoming a professional diver, it means going through an extensive period of training with equally hooked divers like you. As the divemaster training is much longer than the instructor training, it usually gives more opportunities to meet scuba diving people who may become some of the best dive buddies in your life.
(5) Find a dive buddy during any ocean conservation volunteering acts
Try to imagine that beyond the bond created by scuba diving, the passion for protecting the ocean might be even stronger. The popular option these days is to help out on ocean conservation volunteering acts. These programs and experiences are rarely free. While we could call out voluntourism, paid activities are usually one of the rare sources of funding these projects get. Do your due diligence accordingly to check how serious and reliable the organization is and what kind of output they already got.
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