by I know many solo divers out their just enjoy the serenity of the sea by themselves. The peace of listening to only your bubbles as you move at your own pace enjoying the activities of the creatures of our great underwater world. But for me, scuba is totally a social activity and I enjoy nothing more than diving with my friends, whether locally or on some spectacular international adventure together.
I started leading group trips for my husband’s dive shop, our dive club, and now for my travel company, a few years back now (time flies when you’re having fun), and I have had a great time doing it. I’ve led several groups to destinations in the Caribbean and the Pacific, and loved every minute of it.
It is so fun to come back from a day of diving, kick back over a nice drink and a good meal, and share all our fish tales of the day with each other. Then at breakfast you meet again, smiles on your face, and everyone ready to go for another fun day of diving. Sharing the experience is half the fun. You may not have been great friends at the beginning of the trip, in fact you may have been complete strangers, but by the end of this amazing bonding experience you are friends & dive buddies for life.
Become your own group leader
I want to share with you how to become your own group leader so that you can look like a hero to your dive group, as you lead them on a fantastic journey.
Did you know that SCUBA resorts and liveaboards often offer discounts for groups? Do you want to learn how take advantage of these discounts yourself? Well, here’s the scoop.
You don’t have to be a dive shop owner or a dive club president to take advantage of group specials. The most common discount offered is for a group of 11 travelers – “10 Paid/1 Free”. This generally means both accommodations and diving will be free for the group leader, not including taxes and service charges. Sometimes there are other added incentives like a free night dive or free NITROX (for qualified divers) for the group leader. Other times, the group requirements may be smaller to get that free spot. It all depends on the resort, the season and the availability.
So how does this work for you?
Say you and a few friends are planning your next SCUBA adventure together and you have a destination or two in mind. Call your friendly dive travel specialist to find out what resorts or liveaboards in those areas offer group specials and how many people you need to make a group. Once you’ve got the details, then go out and recruit more friends to join you on the adventure. It’s that easy.
Then it is up to you how you want to use that free spot. 1) You can take the value of the free spot and share it with everyone in the group as a discount on the regular retail price, or 2) If you are the one keeping in contact with your dive travel specialist, organizing everyone and everything, you can keep the free spot for yourself. You’re doing the work – you deserve it.
Make dive buddies for life
Group travel is great for keeping dive buddies together by sharing awesome experiences, as well as family reunions and work retreats. And guess what – Not everyone in the group needs to be a diver to take advantage of these savings. So now that you know the basics of what to do to take advantage of group savings, go out there and form your own scuba travel group. It’s pretty easy, and the right dive travel specialist will be there to book the travel and help you sort out the details – No Sweat!
For tips on being your own group leader, click here:
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