Taiwan is not known for its diving, but maybe it deserves to be?

It is a great stopover place if you are traveling from Europe or the US to Asia. This is Luxury travel did two dives near Taipei and loved it.

Read on for more information on what to expect and how to do it.

 

How to get there to Taipei

As China Airlines and Eva Air are offering very competitively priced flights, Taiwan is becoming a frequent stopping place for many people flying from the US and Europe.

I flew China Airlines from Los Angeles, and I had a good experience. The plane was new and the crew very friendly.

TIP: In Taipei airport, there is a massage place near gate 4 in terminal 1. The massage is done by blind people. I tried it, and it was great so check it out if you have sore muscles from your previous flight

Immigration was very efficient as I was through in less than 5 minutes. Most nationalities do not need a visa to enter Taiwan.

Taipei city is about 40 minutes from the airport. There is an airport train that makes the journey very convenient. There is wifi on that train so you can get things done during the 40 minutes airport train journey to Taipei central.

On the way back, there is a check-in counter at the train station in downtown Taipei, so you don’t have to carry your luggage on the train. If you want to check-in at the train station, it needs to be at least 3 hours before the departure time of your flight.

The best dive sites in the North are a mere 40 minutes drive from Taipei city, and dive operators from Taipei will drive you there. It is all straightforward.

I dove with Fun Divers Taiwan. They picked me up near my hotel at 7:45 am, and within 60 minutes, we were in the water. The 40 minutes road is quite scenic through forested hills and is an excellent way to see a bit of the countryside.

There are also good dive sites in the south of the island, but you will need more time as those are 4 hours drive one way.

How long to stay in Taiwan for your stopover?

If you want to dive, you will need to spend at least 1 night in Taipei but 2 nights is probably more comfortable and allows you to see the rest of the city.

See below my recommended list of things to do in Taiwan beyond diving

 

Secret garden dive site in Taiwan

Only 40 minutes after leaving Taipei, we arrived in Keelung. A small coastal town with dramatic vistas of the surrounding mountain.

Our first dive of the day was the secret garden, which is a shore dive. We parked the car by the sea and geared up in the parking lot.

We took about 50 steps to go down the stairs, and that was a bit challenging. I made sure to walk very slowly.

Tip: if you have a mobility issue, this site is not for you as it was not easy navigating all the steps with the tank and diving equipment.

The secret garden is a huge dive site, but we could only cover a small part. It is one of the most popular sites in north Taiwan. It can get jam-packed. We saw at least 40 divers gearing up, but as the site is so big, we didn’t see anyone underwater.

The site is a sloping rock formation mixed with a sandy bottom. There are good hard, and soft corals. The hard corals have many different shapes and colors but are not that big which might be due to the frequent typhoons hitting Taipei on a regular basis. The soft corals were stunning in some part ( they reminded me a bit of Triton Bay in Indonesia)

There was a large number of fishes, mostly small ones. Plenty of porcupines fishes. I love exploring diving destinations as fishes and creatures are often different from what we are used to.

This place is excellent for Macro as we found plenty of nudibranchs and other critters.

Unfortunately, my camera died mid-dive ( just as I had seen a fantastic huge nudibranch) so my pictures don’t do this site justice.

 

Bat cave dive site in North Taiwan

The Bat cave dive site is also a shore dive. It gots his name because it is located opposite a bat cave. It is located 5 minutes drive from the secret garden.  Fortunately, there are fewer steps to get into the water.

The rock formations start from the shore and have plenty of wholes for wildlife to hide. Blue ring octopuses have been seen in the shallow water so watch out.

We started the dive with a surface swim for about 5 minutes.

Tip: bring a snorkel so that you can enjoy the view during your surface swim.

The rock formations are very scenics. The rocks split into multiple canyons.  The first canyon starts at about 12 meters to a sandy bottom at 22 meters. The canyons are quite long and about 1.5 meters large, so you can swim through them.

It is awe-inspiring. The walls of the canyons are covered with soft corals and full of nudibranchs and critters. We saw at least 15 nudibranchs in this dive. My camera died during the dive so the pictures of Nudibranchs below are those of Billy, the divemaster for the day.

Tip: bring a torch as it can get dark at the bottom of the canyons.

When to dive in Taiwan?

The season for the diving sites in the north of Taipei is from April until mid-October. Early in the season, you see more cuttlefishes and squids that hang out with you during the dive.

The rest of the year, the temperature gets down to 18 to 20, and the sea gets very rough so it is unlikely you can go out and dive.

Watch the weather forecast because even during the season, diving will be canceled if there is a typhoon’s coming and Taiwan tends to get a few typhoons every year.

Tip: if you can avoid diving on the weekends as this is when the people from Taipei go diving, so the dive sites get really busy.

Who to dive with?

I dove with Taiwan fun diver. They are one of the most professional dive shops in Taiwan. Billy, my divemaster for the day is American, so there were no language difficulties. He knows the sites very well and is super friendly.

I used their dive gears, and it was good quality with integrate weight pockets in the BCD.

They also have an agreement with a local tank supplier, so it is possible to shower and rinse the equipment just after the dive before getting back into Taiwan. Very convenient!

For more info and booking, check their website 

 

What else to do during your Taipei stopover?

Beyond diving, Taipei is a fun city to discover. Taiwanese people are friendly and welcoming. Many people speak English, so it was easy to get around.

Reaching the top of Taipei 101

Taipei 101 used to be the tallest building in the world until the completion of Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

It is still an imposing building, and the views from the top over Taipei are stunning.

My visit was, however, quite painful. It started with a 20 minutes queue to get into the lift going up. The list is super cool. It is the fastest in the world with a record speed of 60.6 kilometers per hour!

I spent about 20 minutes upstairs looking at the views. Then you have to walk through a vast gemstones shop. Then I had to queue another 20 minutes for the lift down. And there is, of course, another shop you have to walk through on the way out.

It felt a bit like a tourist trap, and I am not sure the 40 minutes of queueing is worth the views, but I let you decide for yourself.

Sampling Taiwan food and the night markets

Taiwan is famous for its food.

Din Tai Fung has a few dumplings outlets in the city, and that is always my favorite.

Night markets are also a great place to sample the street food. The most popular ones are the Ningxia night market  ( opens at 17:30) and the Shilin night market (opens at 4 pm)

 

Getting lost in Taipei’s small streets

What I like when discovering a city is to get lost in the small streets. And beyond the big boulevards, Taipei is full of small atmospheric streets. From mechanical workshops to trendy fashion store, you never know what you will find in the next corner.

I walked in the neighborhood between Taipei central station and Zhongshan, and it was full of cute little streets

Tip: download the Taipei map on google map before your trip so that you don’t get too lost 🙂

Visiting the national palace museum

The national palace museum has one of the most extensive collections in the world of ancient Chinese art. So if you are into Chinese antiques, don’t miss this one.

 

Conclusion

If you can spare 1 or 2 days, do a stopover in Taipei. I had low expectations about diving in Taiwan, and I was pleasantly surprised.

Don’t go diving in Taiwan, expecting sites like Komodo or Raja Ampat, but the dive sites in Taiwan are well worth exploring for a few dives. Especially if you love macro and nudibranchs. Go out and explore,  it is a natural stopover, and you won’t regret it.