Should I travel in a group?

It is a question that I hear quite a lot when talking to divers - what is it like to travel with a group.

Well if you have never done a group scuba diving trip then it is certainly worth giving it a go for lots of reasons. It does offer many advantages and opportunities that you might miss out on if you were to travel as a couple or on your own.

Here are 5 reasons why you should be giving it a go.

1. Benefit from the groups experience
If you are wanting to head to a destination that you have not visited before you have no experience to draw on. Travelling with a group gives more experience to draw on and a better chance that someone will know the inside track. Group trips are normally organised by someone that knows the area, will know the best dive centre to dive with and the best dive sites to head to. In travel experience really does count.

2. Save money
We all want to save money on our dive trips, it just means that we can afford more trips! The larger the number of the group the cheaper it gets. That can mean just the travel part, but usually means the diving and kit rental too! As a group you should be able to negotiate on price even down to meals out.

3. Be the star of the show
When you travel on your own you usually end up with lots of pictures and videos of other people. Travel in a group and the cameras are turned on you and with social media it's so easy to share these images around. So soon your friends and family will see exactly what you get up to on these amazing dives.

4. Create long-lasting friendships
Travelling with new people is a great way of making new friends. We know of people that met on liveaboards years ago and now go on a dive holiday with them every year. The great thing is no matter how different the people are on the boat - you all have one thing in common - you love diving. It's always a good conversation starter and a fab way of finding new dive partners. Don't be shy, jump right in.

5. Learn from your peers
We all learn from watching others. So if you are doing 4 dives a day with 20 other divers you are bound to pick up a few tips. I've learned so much from other divers and not necessarily instructors who where there to teach me. Just other divers and friends that have said 'have you every thought about trying this?' and it's really helped me develop as a diver. I hope there are lots more tips out there for me too on group holidays. As they say 'every day's a school day'.