First dive, no dive buddy. ☹️

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Your local shops probably arrange dive trips internationally regularly - most do. Price may be a little higher but that often includes a shop employee along on the trip. Also many have a meet/greet before the trip to possibly find a buddy - or pair that you can team up with besides the shop rep who is usually also on the dives since on boat dives many times the operator provides a local dm also.

On Belize look for dive focused resort options - you'll likely find most of those on Ambergris Caye which is easy to get to from the airport also via short flight or ferry. (cab to the ferry) IDK any there except Ramon's which I assume has recovered by now from their fire.

Other places where it would be easy to find buddies are Bonaire - besides being the shore dive capital of the Caribbean all the resort shops offer 2-3 tank boat dives per day. At any of the dedicated dive resorts almost everyone there will be a diver or be with a diver - on the shore dives the standard vehicle is a 4 door pickup so most have room for one more if asked.

The bars at Buddy Dive, Habitat next door are prime buddy-finding locations after about 3pm. Possibly the Plaza Resort also but there will be more non-divers there. One downside to this plan is you will have to pay a single supplement at most on-water resorts on Bonaire - some of the other places in town may not be all divers. You can always buddy up with the DM there as well - they're used to it and go on every dive. Lastly there's a couple of private guide options - VIP Diving or Bas Diving - will take you shore diving privately or in a small group but it's more expensive.

Grand Cayman could be another option also. There's 2 dedicated dive resorts - Sunset House or Cobalt Coast (actually 3 but the Reef is 45 mins drive on the very quiet East End) and both offer boat and shore dive options. My Bar at Sunset House is going to be mostly full of divers and you'll see shore divers gearing up on the other side of the wall - walk over and ask to join them - most won't mind. There's a restataurant there also plus downtown Georgetown is either a walk or a short cab ride away - lots of food options along the waterfront there. An easy, good dive there is Stingray City - get mobbed by them in 14' of water for an hour. Also the Kittiwake is a diver cleaned wreck - they cut big holes in it before sinking it so shallow it got moved in the last storm - easy dive.

On Cayman CITA requires all operators to provide a DM per group of 8 divers in the water the whole time. Some like Ambassador Divers only take that size group on a boat designed for twice that. A standard practice there is a first dive deep down the wall followed by a 2nd dive in 40-60' but there's also 2 tank shallower options available - they literally have over 365 marked, buoyed dive sites around the island.One nice thing there would be to find cheaper accommodations slightly off the water - Comfort Suites or there's a B&B in West Bay - almost all the dive operations have a free van shuttle to their marinas. Ambassador Divers has an office at Comfort Suites also or Divetech provides a shuttle from the Holiday Inn. Cayman is among the priciest of locations also.

Two other options - you might consider a liveaboard. On our last one we met a single diver at the airport, had lunch with him and by the time we got to the boat agreed to triple-buddy all week. I actually worked out btter for us since he dove with my buddy while I solo'ed a few days - I film specific things and it's a little boring for my buddy. Also on the same trip a woman from Canada was solo - she was "adopted" by a doctor/wife/son all week and a couple times we dove as a big group together. Included in the price of those trips (except the cheap ones like Blackbeards) is a DM ready to accompany you on any dive if asked. Actually most of them are actually instructors because it's a way to get paid to dive weekly. If there is a downside, it's that you'll usually be asked if you want to share a cabin with one other person of the same sex - or the single supplement is basically double the rate since most liveaboards only have 10-20 cabins or so. I've always brought my buddy but he's gone solo twice - once didn't work out so well, the 2nd time they had a light load so all the single divers were offered their own cabins at no extra charge.

Last but not least there's www,singledivers.com - they have a website with details and do a lot of trips. And in your area there's a lot of active divers - besides Peter Guy get in touch with Bob - nwgratefuldiver here on SB.
 
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Your local shops probably arrange dive trips internationally regularly - most do. Price may be a little higher but that often includes a shop employee along on the trip. Also many have a meet/greet before the trip to possibly find a buddy - or pair that you can team up with besides the shop rep who is usually also on the dives since on boat dives many times the operator provides a local dm also.

On Belize look for dive focused resort options - you'll likely find most of those on Ambergris Caye which is easy to get to from the airport also via short flight or ferry. (cab to the ferry) IDK any there except Ramon's which I assume has recovered by now from their fire.

Other places where it would be easy to find buddies are Bonaire - besides being the shore dive capital of the Caribbean all the resort shops offer 2-3 tank boat dives per day. At any of the dedicated dive resorts almost everyone there will be a diver or be with a diver - on the shore dives the standard vehicle is a 4 door pickup so most have room for one more if asked.

The bars at Buddy Dive, Habitat next door are prime buddy-finding locations after about 3pm. Possibly the Plaza Resort also but there will be more non-divers there. One downside to this plan is you will have to pay a single supplement at most on-water resorts on Bonaire - some of the other places in town may not be all divers. You can always buddy up with the DM there as well - they're used to it and go on every dive. Lastly there's a couple of private guide options - VIP Diving or Bas Diving - will take you shore diving privately or in a small group but it's more expensive.

Grand Cayman could be another option also. There's 2 dedicated dive resorts - Sunset House or Cobalt Coast (actually 3 but the Reef is 45 mins drive on the very quiet East End) and both offer boat and shore dive options. My Bar at Sunset House is going to be mostly full of divers and you'll see shore divers gearing up on the other side of the wall - walk over and ask to join them - most won't mind. There's a restataurant there also plus downtown Georgetown is either a walk or a short cab ride away - lots of food options along the waterfront there. An easy, good dive there is Stingray City - get mobbed by them in 14' of water for an hour. Also the Kittiwake is a diver cleaned wreck - they cut big holes in it before sinking it so shallow it got moved in the last storm - easy dive.

On Cayman CITA requires all operators to provide a DM per group of 8 divers in the water the whole time. Some like Ambassador Divers only take that size group on a boat designed for twice that. A standard practice there is a first dive deep down the wall followed by a 2nd dive in 40-60' but there's also 2 tank shallower options available - they literally have over 365 marked, buoyed dive sites around the island.One nice thing there would be to find cheaper accommodations slightly off the water - Comfort Suites or there's a B&B in West Bay - almost all the dive operations have a free van shuttle to their marinas. Ambassador Divers has an office at Comfort Suites also or Divetech provides a shuttle from the Holiday Inn. Cayman is among the priciest of locations also.

Two other options - you might consider a liveaboard. On our last one we met a single diver at the airport, had lunch with him and by the time we got to the boat agreed to triple-buddy all week. I actually worked out btter for us since he dove with my buddy while I solo'ed a few days - I film specific things and it's a little boring for my buddy. Also on the same trip a woman from Canada was solo - she was "adopted" by a doctor/wife/son all week and a couple times we dove as a big group together. Included in the price of those trips (except the cheap ones like Blackbeards) is a DM ready to accompany you on any dive if asked. Actually most of them are actually instructors because it's a way to get paid to dive weekly. If there is a downside, it's that you'll usually be asked if you want to share a cabin with one other person of the same sex - or the single supplement is basically double the rate since most liveaboards only have 10-20 cabins or so. I've always brought my buddy but he's gone solo twice - once didn't work out so well, the 2nd time they had a light load so all the single divers were offered their own cabins at no extra charge.

Last but not least there's www,singledivers.com - they have a website with details and do a lot of trips. And in your area there's a lot of active divers - besides Peter Guy get in touch with Bob - nwgratefuldiver here on SB.

Wow, thank you so much for such great info and recommendations!
 
We go to Cozumel a few times a year. I can't think of a single trip that there has not been a single diver on the boat at one time or another. Off the top of my head...an Engineer from Mexico, a Nurse from Maine, a family lawyer from Dallas, etc. The Good thing about Cozumel is the warm, friendly people and friendly atmosphere are contagious. Any dive ops with multiple boats will be able to make sure that you are on a boat appropriate to your skill level. Spend an hour or so on the Cozumel forum on this site and you will have a lot of ideas on where to stay, where to eat, what the favorite reefs are, who the favorite dive ops are, and about anything else you would like to know.

If you go once, I promise you will be back. The feel and the people are nothing like mainland Mexico. The other great thing is you can spend as little, or as much as you want. A weeks diving, with air fare, for me and my wife usually runs right around $2000.

Best thing about diving in warm water is you can actually see all the other fish in the sea!! They are out there....you just have to catch the right one.

Sorry for the "all people in the Pacific NW love coffee" stereotype, but the best coffee I've ever had is at El Coffee Cozumel!! If you don't love it, I'll buy your cup!!!! Maybe it's the location....,

Good luck and safe travels.
Jay
Best stereotype of the PNW and particularly Portland is that we all love our "craft" everything-- especially beer and spirits :wink:
By the way @Jayfarmlaw - it just dawned on me that you are from Tuttle, OK- my family roots are in El Reno, OK - I hope you have had the opportunity to get a world famous grilled onion burger from Johnnie's Grill. I spent many a summer cutting up onions for the burgers and potatoes for the french fries at the original Johnnie's while on annual summer vacations to visit my uncle who owned Johnnie's. Circa 1960's and 1970's.
 
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I have always gone on charters by myself and have had no real problems buddy-wise--though I've read that's not always the case (ie. you don't know the "instabuddy" who may not be up to par skill or safety-wise). Again, I basically have been paired with buddies who are good enough. I did one week long trip to Panama and it went well. As far as local diving, or places you may be that don't involve flying, I have on occasion found a buddy by posting on the sub forums where and when I plan to dive. SB has a sub forum for just about anywhere. ie.: "I'll be in Destin, FL in Jan. and look for a buddy". Good luck if you go that route.
 
Highly recommend a liveaboard as a solo traveler. No single supplement provided you don't mind rooming with a same sex stranger. 20+ dives during the week, food is usually great. I just did the Belize Aggressor IV this past Sept and had an awesome time. I got along great with 2 other couples and we had a bunch of great dives. It was my 2nd dive trip post OW&AOW cert, the first being a week in Bonaire.
 
I got certed with Seven Seas in Vancouver WA. They have a really cool trip to Palau but not until September 2018. I want to go sooner.

Fin Life Diving is a group in Portland Metro that organizes trips abroad and up to Hood Canal and Puget Sound regularly. You can join their group for free online- Users - If needed, let them know that Greg Bruce recommended you.

Also, the PADI dive shop in Aloha (Portland suburb) is really awesome and active in organizing trips locally and abroad. You should get on their mailing list. Pacific Watersports: Pacific Watersports Inc.

Lastly, Thunder Reef in Vancouver, WA also might be a good contact for local trips: http://www.thunderreef.com/dive-travel/
 
Check out singledivers.com their site is focused on doing trips for the buddy less diver.
 
I am always looking for someone to dive with in Oregon! I'm down in Eugene, but if you're ever interested in diving Oregon, shoot me a message!
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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