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Taiwan is known as a place that offers the tourist an amazing experience, whether it is a mix of old and new architecture, natural charms, national parks or unique cuisines.  However, one of the growing attractions the country has to offer is its amazing diving holidays.  These hidden underwater gems are not on the world dive circuit and are suitable for beginners to advanced divers.

The sea beneath Xiao Liquiu is one of the areas with the highest density of sea turtles in the world, with a record of more than a hundred dwelling there. Their daily life activities like eating, self-cleaning, resting, even mating, laying eggs and hatching can all be observed on this island.  Located 15km southwest of Pingtung County’s Donggang Township, it is one of the few coral islands in Taiwan

Sixty metres offshore and 11.5 metres under the sea of Shilang Diving area stands the world’s deepest underwater postbox shaped in the form of a white Coleman’s pygmy seahorse.  Divers can purchase waterproof postcards designed by local schoolchildren and mail them here.  The postbox also works as a garbage bin so if divers find any rubbish while diving, they can place it into a net.  Local diving operators collect the letters and rubbish regularly.

Kenting is located on Hengchun Peninsula in Pingtung County, in the southern tip of the Taiwan main island.  With over 500 species of coral and one thousand fish species, accounting for 1/30 of the discovered species on earth, the waters of Kenting have the most diverse coral reef ecosystem in Taiwan’s main island.

Taiwan’s northeast coast, located just 40 minutes by car from Taipei, has a myriad of tiny creatures and hundreds of species of sea slugs, shrimps and crabs.  One major attraction is the “delivery room” for bigfin reef squids set up by the conservationists. This coast has been crowned “Macro-organisms Heaven”!

Penghu is composed of 90 islands and islets situated off the west coast of Taiwan and was selected as one of the “Top 10 Secret Islands” by the renowned travel guidebook – Lonely Planet. Located 150 metres off shore and 6 metres under the sea stands another postbox.  This one is an aquatic art installation that also helps conserve corals.

These are only some of the extraordinary destinations to be featured at the upcoming Australia International Dive Expo to be held between 1-5 August at the International Convention Centre Sydney.

The Expo has become the one stop centre platform for divers and non-divers alike to discover and learn about scuba diving and all things related to the fascinating world of diving. Last year the show welcomed close to 60,000 visitors, with a recorded 23.5% increase in interest in scuba diving and other underwater-related sports and activities.

Representatives from the recently launched Taiwan Tourism Visitor Information in Sydney will be on hand to showcase the best Taiwan has to offer.