Beautiful Balicasag

If you are in the Philippines, more specifically Panglao (Bohol), a great stop on your trip is Balicasag Island.

Despite its small size, (less than one km in diameter) hidden underwater is one of the healthiest and most beautiful landscapes I´ve had the pleasure of enjoying.

One of the reasons the seabed is in such good condition, is because it´s a MPA (Marine Protected Area). This has called us divers in the sense that:

• Only two dives per day can be done.

• Each dive center can only go five days a week.

• There´s a maximum of 20 divers per center and per day.

• The number of dives is restricted to 300, which means every day no more than 150 divers can dive. Keep in mind you have to book in advance.

• You can only dive if you are a certified diver. Introductory dives and courses are not allowed.

If you meet the above requirements, you can book one of the daily trips to Balicasag with a dive center. Most of them are located on Alona Beach. A great place for this is SeaQuest Dive Center Bohol. The journey takes between 30 and 45 min.

The island has several dive sites, which are either a wall or sandy slope. Normally you´ll get to see both.

The visibility of wall sites is spectacular; you can usually see the bottom down at 40m. Normally they´re full of huge schools of jackfish forming balls or tornadoes. We know that in the ocean we cannot guarantee anything, but if you´re very lucky you can also find whale sharks. At the end of the dive, you will be amazed by the healthy reef during your safety stop.

The other type of dives we talked about earlier, gentle sandy slopes, are where you almost always see sea turtles. It´s very rare to come up from a dive without having seen at least one. The reef in this area consists mainly of soft corals and a mixture of spectacular colors.

All these factors make diving in Balicasag essential.

See you in the blue