Hello, future freedivers! To take a freediving course in Taiwan from me, click here for more details.

Though accounting for nearly one third of the population of Taiwan, greater Taipei area choices are limited. VD Freediving, run by French national Anthony and his Taiwanese wife Jiayin have been based in Taipei for many years though they have recently split their time between Taipei and Xiaoliuqiu.

I recently met Joanna at Soulfree Freediving who teaches PADI courses in the city as well. You can find her at @soulfreedive on Instagram.

UPDATE - surfing through Instagram I found another instructor who teaches in English, Elizabeth of Leve-Leve Freediving.

Though I am based in Xiaoliuqiu, I do travel to Taipei regularly to conduct requisite part of the course training in a pool in Taipei so you can then come to Xiaoliuqiu to do the open water session over a weekend. To find out more, click here or you can watch my quick video on it here

Learn Freediving on Xiaoliuqiu

It is by far the most popular place to learn to freedive in Taiwan, as well as the easiest outlying island to access. With its abundant and friendly sea turtle population, you are sure to snap a photo with them. You also have reasonably easy access to dive spots from shore and thus do not require a boat. It’s also the only one of two areas in Taiwan that have year-round diving.

On Xiaoliuqiu you have the biggest concentration of English-speaking freedive instructors. First there is Freedive Taiwan where I took my first two levels, AIDA 2 and AIDA 3, of freediving. As stated earlier, VD Freediving, who can certify in AIDA and Molchanovs,  is also based here. As well as Salty Mind. These two are who I know best and can highly recommend.

To learn more about Xiaoliuqiu as a visitor, visit my blog post  Complete Guide to Xiaoliuqiu.

To find out more about freediving on Xiaoliuqiu, check out my Xiaoliuqiu Freedive Guide on my other website.

Freediving Divecube (Taichung) – Most Ideal for the Timid



 Divecube is a wonderful place to learn freediving, and I see on Instagram many freedive instructors teaching courses there. And if you have even the slightest bit of anxiety about diving in the open ocean, Divecube would be THE MOST ideal place for you to take your first freedive course given in the pool instead of the ocean, and the environment is more controlled.

The downside is there is currently, to my knowledge, English-speaking freedive instructors that teach here, but I can offer customized courses at Divecube - contact me if you are interested.

Check out my guide to freediving at Divecube or check out my YouTube video here.

UPDATE - As of June 2023, Divecube now has an English-speaking freedive instructor, Ronald. You can contact them at hotel@divecube.com.tw.

Freedive Schools in the Kenting/Hengchun Area



If I didn’t love small island life so much, the Kenting/Hengchun area is probably where I would live instead. And other than Xiaoliuqiu, it is the only other area in Taiwan that can offer year-round diving.

Your only option is Weirdo Freediving run by Wayne, who is one of the more experienced freedive instructors in Taiwan.

Green Island and Orchid Island (Lanyu)



Despite having the most beautiful diving in Taiwan, unfortunately, these two islands have a few disadvantages.

First, conditions in the winter are unsuitable for diving for many months.

The second is that it’s frankly a pain in the ass to get to. If coming from Taipei, you’ll have to spend most of the day traveling there and another full day traveling back. Probably in the pre-COVID area it's more convenient to fly overseas.

Third, there are no English-speaking freedive instructors who are permanently based there. There are local Taiwanese instructors who regularly hold courses there, though.

I hope you found this blog article helpful in researching your options for freedive training courses in Taiwan. If you have any questions, please feel free to drop me a line.

Also, if you are interested in getting training from me and the Taipei/Xiaoliuqiu package doesn’t quite fit with your schedule, please contact me at ray@freedivenomad.com or click here, I pride myself on being flexible around my students’ schedules.

Click here if you are interested in taking my free online "Intro to Freediving" course.

If you are a school or instructor that offers courses in English in Taiwan, please reach out to me, and I'll include you above.

Dive safe, and never dive alone!

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