Information about travel, finding dive shops, dive guides & buddies?

[Rob9876]

If Kraken Springs is still closed to the public (and you are not taking classes) then I'm not sure but I believe the closest similar spot is Dive Land Park in Alabama, about 1.5 hours away from Cartersville, GA. You'd need to contact them to find out about any rental gear (including tanks and weights) that you might need.

About 2 hours to quarries in Athens, Tennessee (Loch Lo Minn, has paddlefish, quite expensive to rent gear -- even $1/lb. to rent weights!!) and Philadelphia, TN (Philadelphia Quarry, nice setup, very reasonable pricing to rent gear -- used to be $60 total for entry fee, wetsuit, full gear, and unlimited tanks, but that was in 2019, believe admission alone is $15).

And about 2.5 hours to Pelham, AL (Blue Water Park, near Birmingham, have not been there, $30 admission, gear prices >>here<<).

There may be others, but those are what I'm aware of.

 

[Mr. Ed]

Just want to get dives in while I am able. Thought if I am going to Ga anyway perhaps I can see my brothers and do some diving?

 

[Marie13]

Just want to get dives in while I am able. Thought if I am going to Ga anyway perhaps I can see my brothers and do some diving?

If want to get some dives in, go to Key Largo. You’ll get dives in with a guide and won’t have to search for a quarry diving buddy. Nice easy dives.

 

[drrich2]

How do I find buddies to dive with me if I am traveling alone? Do I contact local dive shops for guides or buddies?

A lot depends on the region you go to dive. Some places cater to a lot of vacation divers who don't dive often, and they are likely to provide a 'free' guide, perhaps buddy people up on the boat, etc... I saw this on a dive trip to Key Largo, Florida.

Some places, on the other hand, don't provide free guides, and may not pay attention to whether you have a buddy or not. You're an adult. And some divers don't like being assigned an 'instabuddy.'

Somewhere in between is what I've seen most common; a guide is provided and the group follows the guide. Boat staff may or may not pay attention to whether all the divers are formally 'buddied.' Even if you are paired with someone, the other person might dive 'group style,' perhaps looking over to see where you are occasionally.

 

[Rob9876]

Just want to get dives in while I am able. Thought if I am going to Ga anyway perhaps I can see my brothers and do some diving?

For the Alabama quarries that I mentioned, they may have information about possible buddies or Facebook pages to find buddies, I'm not sure.

If you decide to come up to the Tennessee quarries I mentioned let me know -- there's both a Knoxville area dive buddies Facebook page and a Tennessee dive buddies Facebook page. Possible I might be able to dive with you, but I believe your dates are on weekdays, so that might not work out for me.

 

[Mr. Ed]

I'll be in Cartersville 09/12-15, not much time to travel. Hoping to find local dive site and cylinder rental. Perhaps another time?

 

[SandyRobinson]

You may want to check out Lake Jocassee in SC. Looks like 2.5 hours from Atlanta so maybe 3+ hours from Cartersville.

 

[Alaskan Scuba Dude]

Email the diveshop and see if they can arrange a guide. As for dive sites, you'll need to do your home work, and whether you are trained for those conditions.