Can you become certified in SCUBA diving by yourself, or do you need to have a partner?

Question

I am wanting to become certified for SCUBA diving but I don't have anyone to take classes with, all my friends are scared of SCUBA diving. So will dive shops still certify you if you are solo?

Answer 1

You'll more than likely take a class with many other folks.  You will be paired with another student for classes.  So your basic certification will be no problem.  

There is a solo certification, SSI offers it, to "certify" you to dive alone.

Answer 2

yes as long as they have a class and you have the money they will teach you. you can use their gear as well.

Answer 3

Sign up to take a group class.  In my weekly class, I will usually have about 10-20% of the students are taking the class by themselves, and they don't have any diving friends/family.

I put off becoming certified for a long time because I didn't have that "dedicated buddy".  I was in a group class.  Now that it is about 10 years later, many of my closest friends were met through scuba diving.

By the way, I would avoid the term "solo diver".  There are certification levels for experienced divers that will let them dive without a buddy; however, this is well beyond the scope of recreational diving.  Some people in the industry don't like the idea of "solo diving".

Answer 4

Yes, perhaps they will just charge you more. It's all about marketing and business. Most of the time, instructors don't like to teach only one person. They like a lot of students in their programm which they can earn more in one time.

You don't need to have any partner to take the class with you. Not neccessary at all. However, you never know if they are willing to have only in the class or what.

Answer 5

absolutely it all depends in the dive shop you try they might charge more for single classes or they will hook you up with another class

if you are in NY you can try www.primescuba.com they have all kinds of classes for the cheapest prices