Solo diver travel - How to find buddies & dive with strangers SAFELY

[@AzulUnlimited]

Share your resources here! How do you find dive buddies and stay safe diving with strangers? ✅ Join the Azul scuba community: www.patreon.com/azulunlimited Dive with me in Baja December, 2023: azulunlimited.com/baja-dive-expedition-2023/

[@darthknowl9222]

I’m going to Mexico 🇲🇽 in April for a few Dives! Maybe you’ll pull up

[@AzulUnlimited]

@@darthknowl9222 I won't be there, but have a great time!! If you're looking for an operator, Dive Ninja Expeditions will take great care of you.

[@troop1026]

Great video with a great subject. You really nailed the subject material. When I book all inclusive trips from my shops we do two to three meet and greets. Makes the trip much more fun. The trip becomes more of a catching up than meet for the first time. Thanks for sharing your life. Stay silly would want you any other way.

[@AzulUnlimited]

Thanks for watching! And love the meet up idea. That’s what I’m hoping my expeditions will become. Just a bunch of bad ass people who like to travel together🤙

[@kjelpeterson5236]

As a solo diver my 2 ways of diving are 1. Group destination trips through my local dive shops which really keep you in a supportive atmosphere with the same new friends all week and 2. Booking on to a dive with a dive operator in whatever corner of the world I'm traveling to. Both options entails being paired with a stranger for a dive buddy. For every dive I ask myself 2 questions about 2 people, my dive partner and the person leading the group. Question 1, based on my observations of the person demeanor, maturity and size- if something happens to me do I trust that that person can rescue me? If not I dive more conservative and stay in self rescue mode. 2. If the other person is in distress will they kill me if I try to rescue them? If so extra caution and try and keep us closer to the divemaster during the dive so that there is additional and more experienced help close by. Always dive safe 😉

[@AzulUnlimited]

Great points! Thanks for sharing🙏

[@timgosling6189]

What a great summary. And talking to new buddies to gauge how things are going to go is so important. As you say it is wise to dig a bit to check that if someone says "I've been diving for 15 years", it doesn't actually mean "I did 8 dives when I qualified 15 years ago and haven't even got wet since". If someone is inexperienced you know to look out for them; if they are at a higher level you can see what you might learn. But I just love that you can meet such a diverse bunch of people, perhaps who you never ordinarily cross paths with, enjoy your sport together and share the fun. Stay safe.

[@AzulUnlimited]

Thank you! Omg yes to the 8 dives, 15 years ago 😅

[@darthknowl9222]

That’s the beauty of Diving. I was at the Hoover Dam in April and I met a Canadian Guy who also Dove. We spoke for about twenty minutes

[@AzulUnlimited]

@@darthknowl9222 Instant friends! :)

[@stevemellor7989]

Thanks for this video. I'm also a solo traveler, and hence a solo diver for a few years now. However, when you find someone to dive with, I find it best just to be flexible and accommodating. Come up with a dive plan that everyone is comfortable with and enjoy the experience.

[@AzulUnlimited]

Absolutely. Every dive can be enjoyable as long as you check your expectations and stay in the moment

[@billendres3115]

It seems like I comment the same to every video so I guess ill keep going. Great, fun, informative and smart! p.s. I was talking to my tv saying "you forgot the bolt snap!" 😂 Mexico awaits your return 😊

[@AzulUnlimited]

I get easily distracted 🤣 thank you! I’ll be in the Riviera Maya in January 😎

[@vannerdherd]

I agree, society has become more introverted due to being stuck to their phones all day everyday. It's annoying as hell to me. Whenever I will go to a restaurant I will always sit at the bar for some nice chatter with the bartender/servers/customers...but most of the time they are heads down into their phone, gawhhhh...what is wrong with these ppl?? LOL! I mean, I have worked in restaurant biz for about 10yrs and that has helped me become more extroverted person and that has helped me in my current IT career with dealing with clients/customers. Anywho, great tips on being safe and vetting out your dive buddies beforehand...I have a BS detector as well and I will get dafuk away from someone if some shady chit is happening. BTW, we need more karaoke from you in your videos, LMAO! Cheers!

[@AzulUnlimited]

hahaha, it's a party in this van every time I drive. I make traffic jams fun 😉 I hear you on the phone thing. It's one of my biggest pet peeves when I'm out with people (behind being rude to wait staff).

[@NorCalRecon]

Great advice for diving and for life in general!!!👍 Never be afraid to say, "No". And probably a worthwhile sign, if you're uncomfortable telling someone no, that's probably someone you shouldn't be hang'n out with. BRILLIANT!! HELPFUL!!🤙

[@AzulUnlimited]

For real though. Anyone with your time will respect a NO. Thanks for watching💙

[@christophercarder1828]

Fantastic video, ton of great info in here and answered a lot of questions I had. Thank you so much!

[@AzulUnlimited]

Awesome! So glad I could help💙

[@christophercarder1828]

I just signed up for a dive trip to Costa Rica in 2024 with a local dive shop but I don't know anyone from there so this was excellent timing

[@AzulUnlimited]

@@christophercarder1828 nice! Have fun!

[@janinacooper4199]

A video dedicated to international solo travel would be amazing and super helpful!

[@AzulUnlimited]

Great idea!

[@SeattleRingHunter]

6:08 Great point Sarah getting Rescue Diver certification is a major accomplishment and so beneficial for all divers. It will absolutely help a diver become more empowered to see potential risk and issues before they even become real emergencies and provide additional skill sets for your tool box when the emergencies do come. Yes the fire man haul out over the shoulder on a sandy shore is a real bitch! 🤣 Cheers, #SeattleRingHunter

[@AzulUnlimited]

Oh Lordy, that fireman rescue🤣😅

[@darthknowl9222]

Rescue Diver is on my list. I want to do:Sidemount, Tec, rescue and eventually Divemaster

[@AzulUnlimited]

@@darthknowl9222 Nice!

[@OrenNoah]

Solid info and advice.

[@AzulUnlimited]

Thank you! I appreciate you watching and commenting🙏

[@Teampegleg]

My suggestion is to always do a fairly sedate dive first. If you are an open water diver maybe a 30ft reef bumble before you do that 100ft wreck dive. For tech divers maybe a few light deco or mainline cave dives before you do a 200ft Trimix or a silty SM only dive.

[@AzulUnlimited]

Very good points! 🙏

[@TheSmartodd]

Excellent advise. Meeting a new buddy today for a shore dive.

[@AzulUnlimited]

How did it gooooooooo???

[@TheSmartodd]

@@AzulUnlimited It was worse and better than I expected. I started diving again this year after a long hiatus. I was a complete noob with new equipment and my first outings were messy. I've since upgraded some key pieces of gear and feel very comfortable now. So when I met up with new buddy, she was in a similar state that I started in this year. I took my time, offered help where needed and explained our dive plan and environment. After getting her a few more pounds of lead and resetting the dive when she had ear pain. I literally held her hand as we drifted past the wreck. Checking on her regularly I could see her comfort level increasing. It ended up being a great learning experience for both us. In large part to your advise !

[@AzulUnlimited]

@@TheSmartodd I'm so happy to hear that!!! What a great experience for you two :) Thank you for sharing.

[@tanabobbi]

I’m so seriously bummed that we can’t make it to your trips. We have two dive trips booked already at the end of the year and May of 2024. But the end of 2024 and 2025, I’m all yours!

[@AzulUnlimited]

Sounds like a plan!

[@darthknowl9222]

This is good!!! I’m going to the Philippines 🇵🇭 in November. I’m going to be without my Dive buddies for the first time.

[@AzulUnlimited]

Have SO MUCH FUN! The diving in the Philippines is insane. And I bet you're going to make a bunch of new friends :)

[@ahmadkaddoura7060]

thanks for choosing this topic..it's interesting and useful.. please let's have a video about how to clip gear to BCD. like air hoses , SPG , inflator ..thanks

[@AzulUnlimited]

Thanks for watching! I’ll add that to my long list of video topics☺️ I prioritize my patreon requests so it might be a while🤙

[@ahmadkaddoura7060]

@@AzulUnlimited can't wait to watch it.. thanks again

[@gbsailing9436]

👍👍👍 great advice. I can only add, the real experienced divers who are paired with someone else will expect questions regarding their diving experience, and where they have dived recently. They will be ready to pro offer that information as well as asking the same questions of you. So quite often pro offering this information first can lead to a good exchange of the information right from the outset. As an instructor, I'm always asking these questions of those who I'm diving with. However, my personal slant is to take a more genuine approach - as if you don't know where these people are from, and don't know where they have been diving. You can ask the most leading question, where do you come from, and what is the diving like there? Following this, you can say "oh yes, I have dive there, or no I have not been there, so can you tell me what it's like because I'm interested in going there". Follow up questions can be: "Are there any local dives from the shore or is it all boat Diving? What is the type of diving do you do in that at that location or are all your dives travel dives?" These questions lead to, "what are the currents like there, if any? How do you go about dealing with them in that location? Or if there are no currents what's the best time of year to dive there? What are the typical depths and dive times that you have a log in that region? What is the local dive shops name? How do you find them for information typically?" Their answers to these questions will give you a good idea of the types of diving that they do how often they do it, and what are the conditions that they typically experience at that location the plus side of asking them about their hometown and Diving experience there is that you gain a lot of knowledge in case you ever get to go there. Asking them if they would be keen to exchange emails (and for this you would have a burn email just in case they seem a little bit strange) and you can then use this to communicate with them after the current trip, if you were really interested in maintaining the contact and meeting up with them in their hometown. People willing to exchange emails are more likely to pro offer information that is more accurate and correct. Keep up the good work.

[@AzulUnlimited]

Great info! Thanks for sharing🙏

[@davidb5195]

I enjoy being a patreon member.

[@AzulUnlimited]

Thank you!!! Grateful to have you in the group🙏

[@eprohoda]

thanks~ that is pro edition! I'll be back!🤝

[@AzulUnlimited]

Thank you! Appreciate you watching and commenting 😊 WELCOME TO THE PARTY! 💙

[@j3o5h8n5j5a3y8]

No worries about the background noise ... unless it's Reggaeton. :) The noises just make your videos real.

[@AzulUnlimited]

We love real moments on this channel!

[@scottd4563]

I show up on boats by myself on most dives around US. Works for me, but wouldn't recommend for someone who isn't confident and experienced enough. Buddies vary wildly in ability and common sense. If they brag how good they are, leave.

[@AzulUnlimited]

The bragging is a TOP red flag. BYE

[@stucorbett]

I'm so far behind on your videos I'm going to go on Patreon and binge...with beer!

[@AzulUnlimited]

Hahaha be safe! 🤣

[@MikeDodds]

Humming birds sound like giant bees!!! Do you have an opinion on solo diving certifications? Personally I would never dive solo but I do like the idea of adding that skillset to my “diving skills toolbox”.

[@AzulUnlimited]

I think it’s great to take the self reliant diver course simply for the experience. You’ll feel very confident in the water and be more prepared for incidents.

[@MikeDodds]

@@AzulUnlimited My wife and I passed our SSI Diver Stress and Rescue course last year. It was a great experience for both of us. We’re slowly working towards becoming SSI dive pros. We’re definitely doing for the money!!!! 😜

[@AzulUnlimited]

@@MikeDodds hahaha that's why we're all here, right? :)

[@robertrandydenniston2455]

Thanks for the great video. I have on occasion made long term dive buds with an insta-buddy on a charter boat. Suggestion, get a pair of trauma scissors.

[@AzulUnlimited]

Oooo yes, trauma scissors are excellent tools

[@WeiseGuy91]

Top tips/resources for locating dive shops before you travel?

[@AzulUnlimited]

I’ll add it to my list of video topics. I do prioritize patreon requests so it might take some time for me to get to it🙏

[@davidressler9316]

the problem with diving is that its a rather expensive up-front hobby that a lot of people don't do. i live in Michigan and dive the great lakes. that brings its own issues as people don't want to dive cold water. however, there are a lot of shallow wreck sites less than 100 feet deep. i met a person to dive with me in Lake Superior off the coast of Bayfield, Wisconsin. i had never met her in person. we communicated by phone and on face book. she was renting gear and told me she was having trouble finding a wet suit. i told her i would ask at my dive shop if they had one her size. well, come to find out she was 6'4' and was about 300 pounds. i am 5'6" and 180. she was a great dive partner and i am going back to Wisconsin this September and she is unavailable to dive with me. now i am back to square one of trying to find a dive partner. i just met her on a solo divers' page of Facebook. it turned out okay for me. perhaps it's because i was a guy and she was much larger than me??? there is always the chance things can go wrong. i also must add that we had a another male diver that was with us that acted as the guide and supplied the tanks.

[@AzulUnlimited]

Thanks for sharing this. Every experience gives us new tools and information. Totally understand the issue with being in a place where not many people dive. I’m still a fan of solo diving when you have the experience and understand the risks, but it’s always nice to build your diver network😌

[@davidb5195]

I am interested in hearing the full story.

[@AzulUnlimited]

Which one? 😅

[@davidb5195]

yes@@AzulUnlimited

[@IndianHeathen1982]

Great video. As a fairly newb AOW diver with 40 dives under his belt, I feel intimidated by all the experienced divers I will meet on the trips I intend to take. They wouldn't want to buddy up with a relative novice like myself right? I see, from this video, that most people are kind to newer divers.

[@AzulUnlimited]

It can be a mixed bag sometimes. But in general, divers are happy to take newer divers under their wings (backplate and wing 🤣). Of course there may be certain sites or conditions that more seasoned divers would discourage newer divers from attempting. I and the people I usually dive with are more than happy to dive with newer divers. Just keep looking, you will find them!

[@IndianHeathen1982]

@@AzulUnlimited thank you. About how many dives would you suggest before trying a liveaboard? My experience has just been in warm, tropical waters like The Maldives, Andaman Islands and Thailand. So, a liveaboard in tropical waters for now..

[@AzulUnlimited]

It really just depends on where you're going. You can do a liveaboard as a brand new diver as long as the conditions are appropriate for your skill level. For example, you may need to have the adventure deep dive or Advanced Open Water certification to go to specific places. You can search a location and ask the dive shop directly about requirements and they should be able to guide you to the correct option for you. Good luck and if you want to do a beginner friendly trip with me (but not a liveaboard) you can always join me in Baja! @@IndianHeathen1982

[@IndianHeathen1982]

@@AzulUnlimited i am down!

[@IndianHeathen1982]

@@AzulUnlimited I signed up! I am intimidated though to be honest because I am used to the metric system. I do have a deep dive specialty.

[@tanabobbi]

Abby! You traitor!!! That’s ok, I know how to win you back to my side…the dark side…HAM & EGGS!! Can’t wait to see you again! Hi Jon!

[@AzulUnlimited]

Oh she is very excited to see you (as am I) 😁

[@Mikesworld777]

You wouldn’t be working your way towards Florida for winter would ya?

[@AzulUnlimited]

I'm heading back to Baja for the winter, but I'm thinking I might go towards Florida for late winter/early spring 2024!