My recent experience (yesterday). Dive Friends at Cliff asked if I was solo diving because I asked for a fill of my pony, and I don't like to lie, so I said yes. They said cert was required, so I'm glad I had just gotten it because I was worried that might be the case. Also had to sign a special form.
This was surprising to me because of an email back in Sept 2023 where I asked:
True, I didn't specifically asked if I needed a certification, but I was trying to be generic and cover any possible blocker, like some places have local regulations against it (yes, looking at you parts of California).
The response was:
Maybe their policy changed since Sept 2023, and like I said, I didn't specifically ask if certification was required, so I'm not upset with them, just sharing as FYI for others. It would really suck to get here and not be able to dive. In my case, I'm here for 3 months, and maybe could have gotten certified while here, but I imagine that could have been some weeks without diving waiting for an available instructor. No fun.
I do find it odd that a PADI Self-Reliant certification is what is required to dive alone in Bonaire or anywhere, since the course literature specifically states that the training isn't so you can dive alone. It probably reads something like "you should not" but I don't remember the exact words. I think some other agency(s) still call the class "solo diver", but not PADI.
The real shocker was the 15 tank card is $210 instead of $180 now, that hurts a little, maybe enough that I'll go see if Buddy Dive prices also increased.
