Rico's Wall
Also known as: Marine Sanctuary, The Sanctuary
A west-face wall in front of Balicasag's resort: shallow reef top, near-vertical drop, gentle current, finishing over giant clams in the no-take sanctuary.
Last updated October 2026
The dive
The wall begins at the lip of a reef top only three to five metres down, in front of the island's resort on the west face of Balicasag. Beyond the lip the face falls almost vertically, cut with small caverns, ledges and overhangs.
The guide chooses the direction on the day's current, and the choice decides where you finish. With the wall on your left going south the dive ends toward Rudy's Rock; with it on your right going north it ends toward the Cathedral. Either way the face is the same. Gorgonian sea fans stand off the rock, some described at more than two metres across, and frogfish sit in the soft coral clusters. Large groupers are reported near the foot of the wall at 20 to 30 metres and keep clear of divers. On a sunny day light comes down through the fissures and holes in the face.
The last stretch climbs back onto the reef top. The safety stop at about five metres is spent over coral and reef fish.
What makes it special
Most of the wall's interest sits high, around ten metres down, and the current is gentle enough to hover there and take the face slowly. Over the drop, large schools of bignose unicornfish and bigeye trevally turn together in tornado-like columns.
The dive ends in the Balicasag Island Fish Sanctuary, 3.44 hectares closed to all taking1. The giant clams are there, and the safety stop is made in the protected shallows beside them.
Know before you go
The reef top the dive ends on is snorkelling water as well, so the last minutes are spent at 3 to 5 metres under swimmers and the boats that brought them. Check overhead before the final metres.
The wall has no floor inside recreational range. Agree a hard depth on the boat before leaving the shelf and keep the dive on the upper face.
Why Dive Rico's Wall
What makes this dive site stand out.
- Finishes in the sanctuary
The last stretch and the safety stop run over protected shallows and giant clams
- Gentle current
Rated 0 to 1 on an operator scale that runs to 3
- Interest at 10 metres
The interest sits on the upper wall and fades below 30 metres
- Very shallow reef top
The shelf above the drop starts at 3 to 5 metres
- Sea fans and frogfish
Large gorgonians on the face, frogfish in the soft coral
Depth & Profile
Location
9.5175°N, 123.6807°E
Conditions & difficulty
December to April or May is the reliable window for clarity and sea state. October and November are the quieter shoulder. In the southwest monsoon, roughly June to October, swell pushes the fleet to the sheltered northeast side and this west face can drop off the day's plan.
Operators grade the dive Open Water or higher, and the Balicasag dives call for at least an Open Water licence. That covers the reef top and the upper wall, where the interest sits.
Summary
Operators grade it easy and the current is gentle. That describes the water; the face below the working band keeps falling.
Safety considerations
What can go wrong here, and what divers do about it. Conditions change - take the briefing from the operator on the day.
- Depth: A near-vertical face with no floor inside recreational range. The published 35 to 40 metres is a working band and the wall continues below it.Agree a hard depth on the boat, track no-decompression time on the deeper half, and keep the dive on the upper wall where the interest is.
- Surface and boat traffic: The dive ends at 3 to 5 metres over a reef top that is also snorkelling ground, and snorkelling here is not monitored the way diving is.Hold the shallow finish under the guide's line, stay over the reef, and check overhead before the last metres of the ascent.
- Remote location: Balicasag is a small island served by day boats, and the provincial hospital is across the water in Tagbilaran City. The nearest recompression chamber confirmed in service is on Cebu, about 90 kilometres north, so getting a casualty there means a crossing, by ferry or flight.Carry insurance with hyperbaric cover and know the numbers before the boat leaves: Gov. Celestino Gallares Memorial Medical Center in Tagbilaran City on (038) 411-4868 and 411-4869, and the coast guard station at Barangay Tawala on Panglao on 0927-350-5484.
Marine Life
Regulations
Balicasag Island Fish Sanctuary
The dive finishes inside the Balicasag Island Fish Sanctuary, a local fish sanctuary under Municipal Ordinance No. 08, Series of 1998: 3.44 hectares, no-take throughout, IUCN category VI. Nothing may be taken.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will my shop call this dive Rico's Wall or the Marine Sanctuary?▾
Either, and for anything you can book today it is the same dive: the west-face drop-off in front of the resort. A shop tends to use one name and not both. Marine Sanctuary began as a label for the stretch of coast in front of the sanctuary rather than for a single entry point, which is why some older operator schemes attach it to the neighbouring stretch instead. 'Balicasag Island Fish Sanctuary' is the formal name of the protected area, not of a dive site.
Does Rico's Wall reward going deep?▾
Not much. The interest sits around 10 metres on the upper wall and fades below 30. The one draw lower down is the large, shy groupers near the foot of the wall at 20 to 30 metres, which keep clear of divers. How far down you go is set by your certification and the guide's plan for the day, and the wall offers no floor to stop you.
References
- 1.Coral Triangle Atlas (CTI-CFF) — MPA record 4007000: Balicasag Island Fish Sanctuary
Every dive has a story. Share yours.
Log your dives - notes, photos, conditions and the marine life you saw - and share them as one public diver profile. What you share helps the next diver, too.
Log every detail
Depth, duration, conditions, gear, buddy, notes — all in one place. Import from Suunto and other dive computers.
Track marine life
Record species sightings on each dive. Build a personal catalogue of everything you've seen underwater.
Your public dive profile
Share your dive history, stats, and experiences with a profile page you control. Show the world where you've been.