Job Discussion Forums

makhno · Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 11:22 am Post subject: scuba diving in Taiwan

Greetings,

Any ESL/EFL teachers who are divers? If so, I'm interested in how frequently you find yourselves able to do a couple of dives and the logistical ease (or difficulty) of doing so.

I'm tentatively planning to move to Taiwan within the next couple of months. I've never been there before, but from what I've been able to gather from the internet, the most popular areas for diving are Kenting National Park, Penghu Islands, Green Island, and Orchid Island. Do teachers living in Kaohsiung find it easy to get away to Kenting on days off to go diving? Any decent shore diving closer to Kaohsiung? Is it feasible to do shore diving with a buddy (or solo, if equipped and trained for that) without paying a dive center for divemaster/boat services?

Is it cheap and easy to get nitrox fills? Any deep wrecks around for deco/technical divers (by deep, I mean between 35 and 55/60 meters ... I don't dive trimix so wrecks deeper than about 55/60 meters are beyond my training and experience)?

I assume that, except while on vacation, it is much more difficult to get away from Taichung (than from Kaohsiung) for diving -- do I assume correctly?

I've been unable to find very much pertinent info online in English, so I'd be much obliged for whatever knowledge you can pass along to me.

BJ · Joined: 03 Dec 2003 Posts: 173

Another popular dive area is Kelung, NE corner of Taiwan, which was quite popular with the community of Divers around Taipei/Taoyuen some years back,
There were places to refill in Ta Nan, but would think you need to know the places and people.
Unfortuantely I can no longer help as most people I knew who did it have long since gone.

blackmagicABC · Joined: 03 Mar 2008 Posts: 68 Location: Taipei

I have a few friends here who dive but I can't give you accurate info. As much as I would love to dive I just don't have the time.
I know there are places that offer courses and then you can go out and dive and I know the dives exceed 30 metres in depth but that is all I know.

mandalayroad · Joined: 11 Mar 2008 Posts: 115

You're probably best off getting a job in Kaohsuing so you can head down to Kenting when you have time off. I've heard the diving down there is pretty nice though I never tried it myself when I was living in Taiwan. I'd recommend the south of Taiwan as a nicer place to live than the north in any case, though Taipei is best for making money and learning Mandarin Chinese.

makhno · Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 8:37 am Post subject:

Thanks for your replies. I'm planning on Kaohsiung rather than Taipei or Taichung (or a smaller burg), so I'll look into it further when I get there.