live aboards and the buddyless diver

[basham54]

Hey guys,

I'm a newly certified ow diver looking to gain diving exp. Been researching live a boards, but they seem to be more geared towards couples, and , as I have no buddy or significant other, I was wondering if anyone know which ones would benefit the. single diver..been on boats all my life, so being on the water away from land no problem. Any ideas or comments greatly appreciated.

 

[sjwhite26]

Hi

I don't have a regular dive buddy, but often join liveaboards. It is a great way to get a lot of diving done in a short period of time and improve your skills.

You will also be with (within reason) like minded people who are interested in diving (otherwise why be there?).

I normally take a share of a cabin and sometimes you win - its all for you, others you have to share!

As for a buddy if there isn't enough people, then just dive with the guide.

I would definitely look again at liveaboards and if you state where you want to go someone will be along to give you more detailed info.

Also some trips have minimum number of logged dives requirements eg the Red Sea.

Enjoy!


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[ScubaBB]

I know live-aboards where it is absolutely no problem when you come alone. Probably I'm not allowed to put a link here and I don't want to PM you unasked, but if you send me a PM, I'll return you the link.

Keep on diving :cool2::cool2::cool2:

 

[tstormdiver]

Even tougher for a single female diver. I've been on Blackbeard's twice. It runs out of Nassau Bahamas & cruises along the Northern Exuma Islands. Never had ANY problems finding a buddy & the way the boats are set up, it is not geared just towards couples. It is a bit on the primitive side compared to other live aboards. They claim it is like camping at sea & that is the truth. Not much room or privacy (curtain over your bunk), especially if the boat is filled to capacity. Still lots of fun, you juts have to be able to accommodate a lot of people on a smallish sail boat. It is typically a non- issue to find a buddy on any of these live aboards, though on some of the boats that have double occupancy cabins, you may wind up having to room with a stranger or pay a single supplement.

 

[Quero]

Liveaboards here in Thailand have a good share of solo travelers coming to dive. We just put you in a cabin with another solo traveler and place you in a dive group according to your dive history (at least to start with). The more upscale boats do tend to attract couples or dive buddies traveling together, though even those do get some solo travelers. If you have any interest in diving in this part of the world, I'm certain you'd be happy with one of our many lveaboards.

 

[chinacat46]

I've done over 30 live aboards and all but 4 I did as a solo traveler. I like it because you avoid the single supplement if you are willing to share a room. On a live aboard I spend very little time in my room when not sleeping. Easy to find somebody to dive with or as somebody mentioned dive with the DM.

 

[Mossman]

I'd much rather buddy with a stranger than share a room with one, so that would be my primary concern. I've done that plenty of times, and done the bunk bit as well on lots of local weekend "liveaboards", but am much happier when I'm sharing the room with the person I normally live with. Otherwise, "follow the guide"-type liveaboards are really easy for independent divers because you can just tag along with the group and not have a designated buddy. That, however, isn't the optimal recommendation even for seasoned divers, and for a newbie I'd definitely recommend hooking with someone that you can stick close to, whether that be another independent diver (best case scenario), another buddy team (less optimal), or the guide/DM (least optimal since he'll be busy spotting critters, navigating, and keeping tabs on the rest of the group). In any case, don't sweat the diving aspect, and make sure you bring earplugs for the room share

 

[ScubaBB]

If you want a room alone and not wanna pay the single surplus, wait for a last minute on a not fully occupied live-aboard. With some negotiation, they'll be happy to give you a double for the normal price p.p.

 

[Shasta_man]

Liveaboards are not geared toward couples. You can go on any boat you want as a single diver. You just have to be willing to share a room with a stranger or pay like 1.5x to get the room to yourself. Liveaboards are a great way to get experience, but definitely don't take everyone you meet as an expert regardless of what they say. You are better to learn from the dive guides, not doing exactly what they do because they have a habit of staying down the longest and going places you shouldn't as a novice but learning tips from them like handling current, etc.

 

[ElChe]

As an organizer sometimes I had to find a roommate/buddy for single travellers and never had any problems. When you book your trip it's useful to ask the organizer about the group, the possible buddies, etc. In my opinion it shouldn't be a problem so I recommend to join liveaboard trips. I've been to several liveaboard trips to the Red Sea and Adriatic and it was always nice to meet new people even when I traveled with my regular buddy. Sometimes happened I wanted to dive but she didn't so I had to find a new buddy, or when I caught a cold she joined another divers. All of us are divers, like to be under water so we easily find a solution.