Solo diving on Bonaire

[Diver Dave1]

I thought I would post this so people don't get surprised.

Bonaire is sometimes referred to as the home of diving freedom. One context is with respect to solo diving. One of the larger firms on the island is now discouraging / preventing solo diving unless you have a TEC cert or a solo diving cert. You then have to sign a solo diver waiver.

It was really disheartening to see a young woman whose significant other could not or would not dive, be told that she could not dive by herself. She looked very upset. We offered to have her dive with us, but she declined.

Solo diving is not for everyone, but if anyone does want to do it, perhaps they should do it in the safest possible manner. So, I can understand any dive op not wanting people to go solo without appropriate training or certification.

This hit home enough for me to get solo diver instructor certified once I got back so our people who want to dive solo don't run into this situation.

I avoided this issue or needing to find a stranger to be my partner by hiring a private guide when recently on Bonaire. It was not cheap but it was great!

 

[nath36]

Not OP, but Scuba Do Bonaire told me they wouldn’t even rent me gear if I didn’t have a dive buddy. I was booking boat dives with another shop and my buddy is coming a couple days later, but it was very weird. Just went to another dive shop.

 

[Charred]

Checked with Buddy Dive and they confirmed they won't support solo diving even if you have the solo certification card.

That's wild. They don't trust people to dive their certification level?

It explains why they have dont have solo/self reliant training listed on their site. I was going to get trained on my next trip.

Can anyone recommend a solo/self reliant instructor on the island?

 

[tkaelin]

I got mine (SSI Solo Cert) from Walt at Rek Tek which was based at Capt Dons but this was years ago.

 

[scuba127]

That's wild. They don't trust people to dive their certification level?

It explains why they have dont have solo/self reliant training listed on their site. I was going to get trained on my next trip.

Can anyone recommend a solo/self reliant instructor on the island

Recommend Kevin at VIP Diving.