The diving part of diving is a small part of the dive trip.
Even a dive day does not have much diving. You spend about 4-5 hours in the water per day... and the rest?
A dive vacation is a logistical problem that is constantly throwing things at you.
Which brings me to the topic "Should you look for a Good diver or a Good-Natured diver for your next trip buddy?"
A good buddy is not necessarily a better diver than you with instructional ratings for Trimix Cave sidemount rebreaters.
I prefer an open water diver with a good attitude and other redeeming qualities. You will not be invited to the next trip if you are annoying and a general menace, I don't care how great of a diver you are.
One of the worst experiences I had was with a diver who was fine in the water but would walk off in some direction and then wonder why everyone was hot and bothered when the ferry was leaving in 5 minutes. This trip ended our decade long relationship.
The workaholic on their phone all day was the most reliable person, antisocial but reliable. Showed up on time to everything, always volunteered to stay with the gear/car/whatever. Never wandered off.
Anecdotes like these exist in every group traveling together.
Tantrums over lost luggage and late flights and dirty hotels and unavailable rental cars and bad food...etc are normal for any group travel. Add diving on top of that and everything becomes harder.
I prefer someone good natured and good traveler (that can get along with me) to an excellent diver. And it can be difficult to know ahead of time what kind of "friend" you are traveling with.
Some of us are "Type A" on trips, Some of us are different alone than as "Husband-Wife" team, Some are "always late" or "always hungry"...etc. And you would have no idea until you are traveling together.
Priority #1 is to find someone that can do the whole trip, not just the diving portion. Finding a good dive travel buddy is like winning the lottery. Invest in the relationship and foster their dive capabilities.
Because if they are beginner divers now, next trip they improve.
If you are the newbie diver
As you advance to technical and specialized diving, a good buddy is harder to find.
The ideal situation is to foster a group through your local dive shop and grow the talent organically.
Organized travel like liveaboards and resorts take most of the stress out of it.
- Packing gear,
- Getting to the airport
- Checking in,
- Flight,
- Arrival,
- Baggage claim and losses,
- Passport controls,
- Car rental,
- Hotel.
Even a dive day does not have much diving. You spend about 4-5 hours in the water per day... and the rest?
A dive vacation is a logistical problem that is constantly throwing things at you.
Which brings me to the topic "Should you look for a Good diver or a Good-Natured diver for your next trip buddy?"
A good buddy is not necessarily a better diver than you with instructional ratings for Trimix Cave sidemount rebreaters.
I prefer an open water diver with a good attitude and other redeeming qualities. You will not be invited to the next trip if you are annoying and a general menace, I don't care how great of a diver you are.
One of the worst experiences I had was with a diver who was fine in the water but would walk off in some direction and then wonder why everyone was hot and bothered when the ferry was leaving in 5 minutes. This trip ended our decade long relationship.
The workaholic on their phone all day was the most reliable person, antisocial but reliable. Showed up on time to everything, always volunteered to stay with the gear/car/whatever. Never wandered off.
Anecdotes like these exist in every group traveling together.
Tantrums over lost luggage and late flights and dirty hotels and unavailable rental cars and bad food...etc are normal for any group travel. Add diving on top of that and everything becomes harder.
I prefer someone good natured and good traveler (that can get along with me) to an excellent diver. And it can be difficult to know ahead of time what kind of "friend" you are traveling with.
Some of us are "Type A" on trips, Some of us are different alone than as "Husband-Wife" team, Some are "always late" or "always hungry"...etc. And you would have no idea until you are traveling together.
Priority #1 is to find someone that can do the whole trip, not just the diving portion. Finding a good dive travel buddy is like winning the lottery. Invest in the relationship and foster their dive capabilities.
Because if they are beginner divers now, next trip they improve.
If you are the newbie diver
- be awesome outside the water.
- Be solution oriented to problems.
- Be on time.
- Sort your paperwork.
- Be coach-able.
- Listen and contribute.
- Tell jokes.
- Make food.
- Stand up for yourself.
- Ask for help.
- Be on time.
- Be responsive.
- Keep track of your stuff.
- De-escalate.
- Don't try to be strong, throw out your back on day 2 and be bedridden for the rest of the week.
- Dive the plan.
- Don't berate others when the mess up.
- Be on time
- Safety check
- Gear checks
- Dive planning
- Exhibit and demonstrate proper Buoyancy trim and propulsion techniques
- Deco, gas and depth monitoring
- Computers and slates setup
- SMB deployments if needed
- Extra weights
- Offer spare gear
- Quick fixes
- Nitrox analyzing
As you advance to technical and specialized diving, a good buddy is harder to find.
The ideal situation is to foster a group through your local dive shop and grow the talent organically.
Organized travel like liveaboards and resorts take most of the stress out of it.