Solo Traveller Plans

[Charred]

Hello,

I am recently divorced and have lost my built in dive buddy. As I rebuild my friends circle, I am wondering how to visit Bonaire or if I should go somewhere else. My thoughts on Bonaire.

History. I am a competent diver and could easily lead dives at Bonaire. i.e. Plan the dive and navigate us back to the truck. I know my way around the island and the major dive sites. And maybe I should consider getting a dive master cert just for this purpose (future proofing).

I've always stayed at Buddy and that works for me. I've got breakfast built in along with Blennies and the pool to socialize at.

My plan is to do boat dives early in the trip to make friends on the boat. If I can find people that are interested in shore diving, I can offer to lead some shore dives with them.

Anyone tried this or see pitfalls?

 

[tursiops]

Sounds like you will do fine.
I would not push that dive-planning capability, however....preferred insta/new buddies are often ;preferred if they are chill rather than pushy.

 

[wwguy]

I'm not familiar with the Competent Diver certification. Does that come before or after Advanced Open Water in the scuba training hierarchy?

Seriously though, if you're already competent, capable, and comfortable navigating and leading dives with fellow recreational divers, you don't technically need any additional certifications beyond recreational Open Water to do so.

Dive Master is the entry-level professional certification typically pursued by divers who aspire to lead tours, assist with scuba instruction, and perform refresher course etc. for compensation. There are elements of professional legal responsibility and liability associated with these activities which I'm pretty sure are beyond the scope of the activities and goals you've described.

It's also worth noting that the prerequisites for DM certification are Advanced Open Water certification and only 40 logged dives. I'm generally much more impressed by AOW and Rescue divers with hundreds of dives than I am with freshly minted DMs still working on their water skills while they progress through professional training programs as quickly as possible.

As a 25+ year instructor I'm still humbled when I inevitably encounter recreational divers with more experience and better skills than I'll likely ever have.

Bonaire's easy shore access, high visibility underwater, gentle sloping reefs, minimal currents, and easy underwater navigation make it an ideal destination for solo diving for those that have the confidence, skills, and training to do so. If you haven't done so already, you might consider Self-Reliant Diver certification.

 

[Living4Experiences]

Sounds like you are more than capable to scuba dive as a single diver wherever you go. As a competent single diver myself, I'm content with my AOW and Nitrox certs and don't feel the need to feed the cash register of PADI for unnecessary courses. Unless you're going professional, nobody cares about added certifications except AOW and Nitrox.

 

[tursiops]

I'm content with my AOW and Nitrox certs

Fine...but no need to disparage any divers or agencies who are not content with just those.

don't feel the need to feed the cash register of PADI for unnecessary courses.

PADI bashing. Silly.

Unless you're going professional, nobody cares about added certifications except Nitrox.

Definitely wrong. Many places you can't get on a boat without AOW, nor dive solo without a solo cert.

 

[Living4Experiences]

Definitely wrong. Many places you can't get on a boat without AOW, nor dive solo without a solo cert.

I meant to say AOW and Nitrox. I edited my post to include AOW.