Diving in Balicasag

A column of bigeye trevally turning over a wall is the picture Balicasag sells, and operators place it at several of the island's five dive sites. A fringing shelf rings the island and breaks away on every side, so nearly every dive starts shallow and carries on past recreational depth.

Black Forest is the signature slope, started against the current and finished as a drift, with a black coral stand on the deep part that most divers will not reach. Cathedral holds the north point, with overhangs and gaps lit from above on a bright day. Rico's Wall runs along the west side in front of the sanctuary, with giant clams in the shallows. Diver's Heaven is the seagrass edge where green turtles graze, and Rudy's Rock is the southwest drop-off. Hawksbills turn up beside the greens.

A 1978 presidential proclamation listed Balicasag as a tourist zone and marine reserve, in an entry of its own beside Panglao and Cabilao1. Silliman University ran a conservation programme on the island in 1985 and 19862, and the Balicasag Island Fish Sanctuary, 3.44 hectares of west-side reef where nothing may be taken, was established in 1998 under Municipal Ordinance No. 083.

Your shop books Balicasag and the slot comes before the boat; every dive is a day trip out of Panglao. Operators describe a municipal limit of 150 divers a day on two dives each, shared by every centre, which makes 300 dives a day, or 60 at each of the five sites. The 60-dive ceiling began as a 2014 provincial board recommendation to the Municipality of Panglao, made alongside an advance reservation system and a no ticket, no dive policy4. The same recommendation proposed barring introductory and training dives except at the island resort, and shops sell Balicasag to certified divers only.

You cannot turn up. Your shop applies to the town for you with a copy of your certification card, reservations on the day are refused, and a boat without bookings does not sail. Shops say they can secure tickets only about three months ahead, so anything booked earlier stays provisional. The booking system is described as assigning a dive site at a set date and time5, so you ask your shop which dive your slot carries and do not choose it.

An environmental fee is reported at 250 pesos per diver per day since 2015, while one operator's 2026 price list shows a 400 peso sea entry fee. Confirm the amount and ask what the trip price covers.

Operators sell the island to Open Water divers, and the walls drop well past that level, so agree a maximum depth with your guide. From about June to October the southwest monsoon is reported to confine diving to the sheltered northeast sites, Cathedral and Diver's Heaven, and boats are reported to crowd onto them. Ask your shop what the day's plan is before you pay for the trip.

Only three hyperbaric chambers were operating in the Philippines in February 2025, so do not count on one being near Bohol. Carry insurance with hyperbaric cover.