Wantonmien
Contributor
Sheilamo,
I've copied your note from PHP forum - into this Taiwan forum, as there's a few of us diving around Taiwan who may chip in with some advise about diving Taiwan, but generally -
Say August through to September we get typhoons (not monsoons !) every few weeks, stirring up the waters, and making diving a no no sometimes, but if typhoon free, which will 99 % sure be the case in Feb/March -
- up North/East Coast, an hour from Taipei, May~October generally best time when water warms to say 28 C, there are some great dive sites if you get some local advice, whereas outside those months it gets a bit chilly and unpredictable, last weekend it was down to 23 C - so scaring away most of the warm weather divers we see up there, and Dec~March very very few diving up there.
- down South Coast at Kenting, water similar in summer month up at 28 ~ 29 C, (and stays warmer than up North) dropping s to say 20~23 C for a couple of winter months, though if sun is shining and weather is kind, can dive pretty much all year round, and last year I was diving in Kenting in November and January, in a full 3mm with great visibility, with decent sites.
- by ferry from South (Kenting) you can also get to Green island, and Orchid Island, where main business on the islands is diving.
For diving in Kenting, best bet is to drop Andy Gray (ambertiger) a line, he's an instructor diving in Kenting pretty much every weekend, and if fancying a dive in the South he'll sort you out. Andy also arranges dive trips with local groups out to the islands, Chinese New Year (Feb ?) I am booked on a trip to Green with him and a bunch.
Cheers
I've copied your note from PHP forum - into this Taiwan forum, as there's a few of us diving around Taiwan who may chip in with some advise about diving Taiwan, but generally -
Say August through to September we get typhoons (not monsoons !) every few weeks, stirring up the waters, and making diving a no no sometimes, but if typhoon free, which will 99 % sure be the case in Feb/March -
- up North/East Coast, an hour from Taipei, May~October generally best time when water warms to say 28 C, there are some great dive sites if you get some local advice, whereas outside those months it gets a bit chilly and unpredictable, last weekend it was down to 23 C - so scaring away most of the warm weather divers we see up there, and Dec~March very very few diving up there.
- down South Coast at Kenting, water similar in summer month up at 28 ~ 29 C, (and stays warmer than up North) dropping s to say 20~23 C for a couple of winter months, though if sun is shining and weather is kind, can dive pretty much all year round, and last year I was diving in Kenting in November and January, in a full 3mm with great visibility, with decent sites.
- by ferry from South (Kenting) you can also get to Green island, and Orchid Island, where main business on the islands is diving.
For diving in Kenting, best bet is to drop Andy Gray (ambertiger) a line, he's an instructor diving in Kenting pretty much every weekend, and if fancying a dive in the South he'll sort you out. Andy also arranges dive trips with local groups out to the islands, Chinese New Year (Feb ?) I am booked on a trip to Green with him and a bunch.
Cheers
Wantonmien - thanks for all the ideas! I actually wanted to dive Taiwan but a colleague from Singapore said it's monsoon season and not likely to be good diving (but then again, Philippines isn't far so maybe equally challenging). I will be back in Taiwan in Feb or Mar; how are conditions then?
Really appreciate the ideas; need to book my flights to Taiwan this week so wanted to get my return location finalized. I'll check flights back to the US from Manila. Appreciate it!
Lastly - does Philippines require a visa for entry? Taiwan does not.