Traveling solo is always an exciting experience as it brings a whole new layer of having to manage everything by yourself – right from deciding a destination to nailing down an itinerary for the trip. What’s better than traveling solo? Taking a solo diving trip! (Note: please solo travel only up until the destination – never dive alone!) I promise it will be an experience of your lifetime, and one that you will always share as your best travel story. You will definitely want every other travel escapade to be like it. Here are my top four reasons to go on your next dive trip solo as inspired by my own solo dive trip to the Andaman Islands.
1. It’s the Best Opportunity for Soul-Searching
The best part about diving is that you do it in water, and dive sites are always set in the most serene natural landscapes, often uninterrupted by the madness of city life. Being amidst nature and water filled with marine life gives you the best opportunity to introspect about your life. You could think about something as small as where you plan to work for the next month or something as deep as your purpose in life. I remember being overwhelmed right after a deep dive as I sat on the corner of the boat with tears rolling down my starry eyes. It only helps that you hear your every breath and heartbeat as you dive in the water, bringing in so much peace and calm that you are naturally transported to a world of soul-searching.
2. It Creates Great Bonds with Fellow Divers
You don’t come across people who dive every day, but when you go on a diving trip, you are surrounded by fellow divers, each with an interesting story of their own. As a dive group, you learn together, dive together, look out for each other and celebrate every dive together. During my Advanced Open Water Diver certification course in Andaman, I was diving with an underwater photographer, a freediver, and a psychologist, all of us instantly bound by the same passion for water and diving. It’s also a great chance to connect with the diving community and make long lasting friendships.
3. You’ll Experience Feelings of Triumph
As fun and exciting as diving is, it is also not an easy activity. You must dedicate hours of learning and commitment, you must follow the right procedures before, during and after the dive, and these require resilience and discipline to achieve. A diving trip is also physically intense and requires that you maintain good fitness and determination. Naturally, once you complete your dives, you emerge with a feeling of triumph, and a longing to take up new challenges in life. For me, the next adventure is to go on wreck diving trips. I don’t know when, but I certainly dream of it and plan for it every so often.
4. You’ll Learn to Organize and Plan Trips Efficiently
There is a certain level of planning before you take a diving trip. It is important to choose a destination that matches your preferences and budget; select dates during the right weather for diving; factor in costs of purchasing or renting your dive gear and equipment; book flights; and other logistics – all of which need to be organized beforehand. Planning your own dive trips can instill discipline and teach you to organize and manage travel finances. Personally, I set aside some money every month for my diving trips and invest this amount in short-term or long-term funds based on my travel timeline.
Have we convinced you to make your next solo trip a dive trip? If so, click the buttons below to learn more about the best dive resorts and liveaboards for solo travelers on PADI Travel.
Author Biography – Poorvaja Arun Kumar
This article was written by guest blogger Poorvaja Arun Kumar, PADI Advanced Open Water Diver and Impact Enthusiast.
Poorvaja is a graduate from Delhi University and works in the Climate and Sustainability space. Prior to this, she has had experience in co-founding a social impact venture during her college days that has gone on to win recognition on international platforms. After discovering her love for scuba diving she got herself certified by PADI, in India and as a certified diver, she now wants to explore wreck dive sites and participate in ocean conservation as a PADI Torchbearer.
