How to find dive buddies

[Jay Adams]

You would be amazed how many dive buddies you would have if you owned a boat!

It's true, ask any diver that owns a boat...

 

[Jay Adams]

I found a great one on divebuddy.com. It was a fluke really, we were the only two people on Kauai looking for dive buddies at that time. We ended up being very compatible and have 100+ dives below us now.

I had zero luck getting a buddy here, Facebook had the best results. I also live in new england most divers here are vacation divers, they have no idea what they're missing. cold green water is awesome (when that's all you have to dive)

 

[formernuke]

I had zero luck getting a buddy here, Facebook had the best results. I also live in new england most divers here are vacation divers, they have no idea what they're missing. cold green water is awesome (when that's all you have to dive)

Not totally zero, your on my list just the winds haven't favored going up north.

 

[wnissen]

I'm wary of finding buddies on the Internet with no prior knowledge. It worked out for me once but the quality is highly variable. Better to find a stable group of people who dive regularly. Unfortunately you're going to be the least attractive buddy until you yourself are diving regularly, but that's just the way it is. Experienced folks understand that every new diver is going to have some rough spots, so don't worry about it. Plus, having a group means that you can more easily find buddies when someone moves, stops diving, etc. Just from a scheduling perspective I have three buddies and I only dive once a month. Good luck!

 

[TMHeimer]

I'm wary of finding buddies on the Internet with no prior knowledge. It worked out for me once but the quality is highly variable. Better to find a stable group of people who dive regularly. Unfortunately you're going to be the least attractive buddy until you yourself are diving regularly, but that's just the way it is. Experienced folks understand that every new diver is going to have some rough spots, so don't worry about it. Plus, having a group means that you can more easily find buddies when someone moves, stops diving, etc. Just from a scheduling perspective I have three buddies and I only dive once a month. Good luck!

Agree. Of course you have the same odds with finding a good "instabuddy" on a charter that you do finding one online. So I haven't shied away from online. Good idea to tell a prospective online buddy of your experience & training ahead of time.

 

[Mark Newland]

You would be amazed how many dive buddies you would have if you owned a boat!

I don't have a boat, but my daughter does. However, I think she would get mad if I took it out of the bathtub.

 

[Scuba Lawyer]

To the OP: If you are in Los Angeles, I'm just a short freeway drive south of you in Laguna Beach. I'll dive with you once you get certified.

 

[Jay Adams]

Not totally zero, your on my list just the winds haven't favored going up north.

I had zero dive buddies from divebuddy.com...

 

[Jay Adams]

Actually I never came to scubaboard looking for dive buddies, I came for the articles

 

[Hethen57]

I think your quantity of dive buddies will be a direct corollary to how enthusiastic you are about diving once certified and how frequently you dive. There are several Facebook in LA that dive nearly every weekend in Redondo, Malibu, Laguna or over in Catalina (either by boat or ferry). If you hang around divers in the dive shop and sign up for a few of their chartered boat dives, connect through FB groups and join on dives, continuing to improve skills and prove yourself a competent dive buddy, I can pretty much guarantee you will have dive opportunities every weekend in Southern California. However, I think the opposite is also true... if you find you only have the time and interest to dive very infrequently, you probably won't find many dive buddies.