How to find a dive buddy: 7 best ways

Diving alone is no fun at all. It can also pose a lot of risks if you don’t have anyone who can help you out in an underwater emergency.

Therefore, we emphasize the buddy system in diving which means we always dive together with a dive buddy and never by ourselves.

After all, our slogan at Social Diving is: Always dive with friends!

Unfortunately, many divers struggle to find a dive buddy and don’t know where to look for one. There is a reason the best pickup line for scuba divers is “Will you be my dive buddy?”.

Here, you will find 7 ways to find a dive buddy online or offline when you want to go diving.

How to find a dive buddy in real life

Of course, many people start looking online for anything and everything nowadays, however, finding a dive buddy in real life may be easier than online.

1 Ask your friends & family

The simplest way to find a dive buddy is to just ask your friends if they dive or whether they are interested in getting certified.

Who knows, maybe one of them is actually an avid diver and you just never talked about it, or they would like to do a diving course but did not have a dive buddy to do so, either.

2 Join a local dive club

A local dive club is a great place to meet other scuba divers and find a dive buddy.

Not only do most dive clubs regularly organize fun dives, but they also know the best dive spots in your area, can help you out when you don’t have all your dive equipment yet, and give you a place to talk about diving all day long.

And we know all divers love to do that…

In Munich, for example, we have the Social Diving Club Munich in which we organize fun diving events and get-togethers for local divers.

If you cannot find a local dive club through an online search, look on Facebook or Instagram for groups and accounts nearby.

3 Take a diving course

Taking a diving course is a great way to become a better diver, get to know the local diving environment and, of course, find a dive buddy. After all, by taking a particular course, you will have other divers around you interested in the same diving areas as you.

Look for a good dive center in your area and see if they offer any courses that you would be interested in. Even if they don’t, they might organize fun diving events, have a “find a dive buddy” section in their shop, or even offer their own dive club.

Check out my article on how to find the best dive center if you need some help.

4 Become a local rescue diver

Just like volunteer fire brigades, many cities have volunteer water rescue units that are often connected to the lifeguard teams along beaches, lakes, and rivers.

While this is definitely not “diving for fun”, it will introduce you to people who are very passionate about diving.

Moreover, volunteer community work by itself is incredibly fulfilling (I am a volunteer firefighter myself), and combining it with scuba diving gives you the best of both worlds.

However, be warned that rescue diving is not for everyone and yes, it may or may not involve the “recovery” of people rather than rescuing them.

5 Volunteer for a conservation project

If rescue diving is a little too harsh for your taste, the next best way to find a dive buddy and do something great for our planet at the same time is to join an ocean conservation project.

There are many different ones out there and you just need to see, what interests you most. This will also depend on where you are from, as certain projects, for example, coral reef conservation, require…a coral reef close by. 😉

Some global organizations with an above-average percentage of active divers are Sea Shepherd and Greenpeace.

You can also join one of the many beach clean-up projects or other volunteer projects out there. Just make sure they are trustworthy and recognized.

How to find a dive buddy online

Sometimes it just isn’t feasible to find a dive buddy offline or dedicate a lot of time to doing volunteer work. That’s okay.

Here are some proven ways to find a dive buddy online and on social media.

6 Join a local diving Facebook group

Nowadays, it is easier than ever to find a dive buddy online on social media.

There are countless scuba diving groups on Facebook, and many of them give you the chance to connect to other local divers in your area.

Just search for “scuba diving” + your location and you will probably find at least one or more groups like that.

7 Use a scuba diving forum

This is the oldest way that people used to find a dive buddy online back when the internet just started to become big. And it still works.

The biggest one to come to mind is scubaboard.com, which is also a great place to find some raw and uncensored user exchange on anything scuba diving.

It’s mainly geared towards the US, however, you will find people from all over the world on there.

Of course, there are many others, so the best way to find a good one is to search online for a forum in your local language and check it out.

The largest scuba forum in Germany, for example, is Taucher.net.

There might be a dedicated dive buddy section or you just need to start a new topic in the regional group.

Bonus tip: Join Social Diving

Of course, this wouldn’t be a true Social Diving post by me without shamelessly plucking our own offerings. 😁

I might be biased, but I think another great way to not only find a dive buddy but diving friends is to join Social Diving.

We dive, travel, meet up, and have a great time both online and offline, and I am sure you will find diving friends for life here!

Conclusion

These are the 7 best ways to find a dive buddy online and in real life. I hope it gave you some inspiration so you can always dive with friends in your life.

Did find a buddy by using one of these tips? Let us know in the comments what worked for you!

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Always dive with friends and happy bubbles. 😃

Cheers

Julius