Woman Traveling Alone

[DonBPGM]

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I'm just wondering if any of us women divers have gone to dive locales, whether they be Florida or the Caribbean or Mexico, ALONE on a trip? I have finally come to the realization that if I want to go somewhere I'll be going alone, especially if it is somewhere to dive. I'm just wondering if many people do this and if so, did you feel safe and did you have any trouble finding a dive buddy once you got there?

Hi there. I'm a Dive Travel Wholesaler just joining this site and was looking around and found your message. I know I send many ladies (and guys) single to many destinations. They have never, to my knowlegde, had a problem finding someone capable to dive with. I have a group (lots of single ladies signed up) going to Wakatobi, Indonesia, in November, and for you to join a group would be the best way to travel as you instantly meet other divers and get the group rates as well.... Have you ever dived the wonderful Indonesia?
Don

 

[Snowbear]

I recently returned from a dive trip. I drove from Alaska to the Puget Sound area (~2200 miles) and had about a week's worth of dives. I dove with buddies I had met there before via ScubaBoard as well as a local Pacific NW board. A group of 10 of us then drove to British Columbia for 3 days of diving in Barkley Sound and stayed at a remote lodge accessible by boat (or float plane). My roommate was a woman I had met before, but didn't know very well.
Dove a few more days in the Sound before another road trip of ~2800 miles to Ontario, Canada for a class. Stayed in a skanky motel near the dive shop. After class, I hung out for a "Mooring Day" before the return drive back to OrcaBait territory for another week or so of dives. While there I bought a used horse trailer and filled it with lumber for the house I'm trying to build, then drove the 2200 miles home.
As an adventurous single woman, I've learned to be pretty independent. I've also learned to be pretty careful. I've met some wonderful people in my various travels, but I've had a few pretty disconcerting encounters as well! Lining up contacts before the trip is better than arriving, then trying to hook up with people. Meeting people via the 'net requires a bit of care, but can be done relatively safely and so far has produced some good friendships and awesome dive buddies! Hopefully some of those buddies will someday decide Alaska would be a cool place to visit and dive and I'll get to play hostess!
Someday I may try a warm water destination or liveaboard, but the buddy of circumstance probability is a bit of a turnoff and for the $$ and time I would need to commit to such a trip, I would rather do it with someone I know and trust.

 

[DiverDebbie]

Hey, this has been a great thread to read through. It sounds like many of you have already had some amazing experiences travelling and diving solo.
I travelled alone to Australia earlier this year and backpacked the East coast and stayed in hostels. I don't know why I waited so long to do this. I had such a fabulous time and met so many terrific people I know I wouldn't have met if I travelled with someone and hotelled it. It was great to go wherever I wanted at my own speed and do whatever I wanted
I'd pre-booked to do my OW by referral, solo, on the GBR on a liveaboard. My brother thought that was a great idea, however, so he did come up and join me (flew up from Melbourne where he is for a year... lucky dog). It was a lot of fun to have him there, but afterwards, back on my own, I dove and never had trouble finding someone to dive with, be it a group or when I was the only cert. amongst first time resort divers, a private tour by a DM.
I'd travel alone again in a heartbeat, and certainly to dive. There are a lot of advantages to it. I admit I certainly couldn't imagine taking a holiday now with a ..."non-diver" !

 

[puffer]

I just got back from a dive trip to the Florida Keys-Key Largo actually. I decided to extended a business trip a few days and go diving in part because of this thread and the many women who shared there stories here. I had a great time. I never felt alone. Buddy pairs invited me to dive with them and I a relatively new diver. I stayed at a small dive resort and meet lots of nice people. Going to a small dive resort was good because I knew that every one was there for the same reason as I was to dive and there weren't too many people there, so after awhile people started to become familar and hang out more. Tommorow I am leaving for French Polynesia going to extend my vacation again so that I can have a few days of diving by myself. I'll let you all know how that goes. Maybe Florida was a freak experience but I don't think so.

Kristina

 

[hubbly]

I'm just wondering if any of us women divers have gone to dive locales, whether they be Florida or the Caribbean or Mexico, ALONE on a trip? I have finally come to the realization that if I want to go somewhere I'll be going alone, especially if it is somewhere to dive. I'm just wondering if many people do this and if so, did you feel safe and did you have any trouble finding a dive buddy once you got there?

Hello RooLuvs, I dive in Malta and dive on my own. I have dived with buddies for a long time. Well, I know that diving alone is not the best thing to do in the world , however I still do it. When I dived with a buddy I spent nearly half of my dives checking and giving OK signals. Diving alone makes you more cautious and you see things you have never seen before. I mean you concentrate more on your dive. I know a lot of people does not share my idea, but this is how I think. I dived nearly 1000 dives alone in 6 years. Ths God I'm here writing to you. Goodluck.

 

[6Gill]

Hello RooLuvs, I dive in Malta and dive on my own. I have dived with buddies for a long time. Well, I know that diving alone is not the best thing to do in the world , however I still do it. When I dived with a buddy I spent nearly half of my dives checking and giving OK signals. Diving alone makes you more cautious and you see things you have never seen before. I mean you concentrate more on your dive. I know a lot of people does not share my idea, but this is how I think. I dived nearly 1000 dives alone in 6 years. Ths God I'm here writing to you. Goodluck.

I don't think the first post in this tread was about solo diving. As I read the post, it was more about travelling on dive trips alone. Most divers that travel alone on dive trips, will be paired with another buddy diver on actual dives.

Solo diving is a entire other issue. :11:

 

[Oxygen Guru]

I love independant diving and I also agree with many of the posts above. Like minded people always tend to meet and hang out, when you are all diving it is easier to meet those like minded people. I am amazed at how much I have learnt because many divers are on the boat alone, one spouse doesn't dive etc and you end up talking about bouyance, previous dive experiences, gear etc, I'm not sure if I would have had the same individual experiences if I had my spouse with me, I would have spent alot of time just chatting with him where as alone you are almost forced to get out of your comfort zone and be a part of what is happening around you.

At first I think my lack of confidence in my abilities and the fact that I am a married woman in a strange country caused me to miss out on some fun, but it sure didn't take long and now its fun, easy, educational and the experiences are amazing. I have met the most incredible people other women, men and couples who always want to ensure I am not sitting alone in my hotel room or by the pool. I have also never met anyone who has thought I was out looking for recreation other than diving, LOL.

I am no model, but I haven't been hit with the ugly stick either, your average everyday gal, lol, and worried about travelling alone. I agree with a previous post you need boundries and flirting is a no no, if you are going to spend days on a prepaid dive trip you don't want to create a problem.

I have seen where this has become a bit of a problem and ended up changing buddies because of a woman who had not followed the rules, and she was not the best buddy. I would never change a good buddy again to help someone who was silly enough to create an issue with a group of strangers on a dive vacation. You are paying for your incredible experience and if you are a concious, aware and able individual diver you will reap the rewards.

Research is key and I always ask my Hotel Desk staff areas to stay away from as I am a married but travelling alone female diver and if it is safe to wander on my own during the day and night. I am a bit of an explorer and often try and locate those empty out of the way hikes and beaches wether I'm with my hubby and boys or alone on my off dive days. The hotel or resort staff are often very helpful and honest about what or where to stay away from.

Just back from a individual trip to the Turks and Caicos, South of Bahamas North of the Dominican Republic. Stayed at the Comfort Suites and Caicos Adventures for my diving (Asa is a fantastic DM) 15' Hammerhead and so much more, beautiful catamaran with fresh h2o and gatorade as well as great interval energy food, oh my gosh!!!. What an experience, met a group of people there and now in 10 days we are meeting in the Florida Keys to do 3 days of diving in Largo and some fun in West.

Dive Deep and Experience every second as though it was your last.

 

[Queen]

I've been a lot of places solo and the only place I've been that wasn't fun was Jamaica. A single woman there seems to be a fair target for every guy who wandered by. No one was threatening just overly intrusive which got old really fast.