Exploring Panglao: Dolphin Watching - Balicasag Snorkeling - Virgin Island

By Sarah Aterrado - July 30, 2015

Sun, sand, and the sea. What else can make me more excited?

Virgin Island. Where the water meets the heavens.

Dolphins.

Yes, dolphins.

I've always wanted to go swimming with the dolphins *points at the bucket list at the bottom right side of this blog*. No, I haven't swam with one. Not yet. But dolphin watching is the closest it can get. :)

I suppose this would be the highlight of our Cebu-Bohol trip. I've already missed taking The Plunge at Danao Adventure Park because the weather wasn't really in our favor. I can't miss seeing the dolphins this time even though that would mean waking up at 5 o'clock in the morning.

From Alona Beach in Panglao, we hired a boat exclusively for Php 1,300 to take us to where the dolphins are, and to Balicasag and Virgin islands as well. Boats are just everywhere around the shores of Panglao. Rental charges usually range from Php 1,500 - 2,000, but you can always go lower depending on your haggling skills and charms. Smiling can do a lot of wonders. *wink*

Dolphin Watching at Balicasag Island, Bohol

Since we were on a budget travel, we brought food and water with us because I was pretty sure food prices at Balicasag island are quite steep. The same way drivers, guides, or vendors jack up their prices for tourists. Pfft! And I am right. Anyway, we ate during our boat ride, and that was even better than just eating some overpriced meal by the shore. :)

The Wild Dolphin Chase

I had already managed my expectations with the dolphin watching activity. There's no guarantee they'd show up but I was really hopeful. And it was not long after when these playful marine creatures came and played tag with us. Had we not woken up early, then we would have missed this spectacular sight. :)

Snorkeling at Balicasag Island Fish Sanctuary
Following the wonderful experience with a lot of ooohs and woooahs with the dolphins, we arrived at the shores of Balicasag Island 30-40 minutes after. We paid Php 150/head for environmental fee and Php 150/head for the guide if you want to go snorkeling. You can bring your own snorkel or rent for Php100 each. The life jackets were provided but we chose not to wear it because we wanted to go deeper.

Balicasag Island

The world under water never ceases to amaze me. It's so beautiful the pictures don't do it justice.

Feeding the fishes. :)

The guide took us via a paddle boat to the snorkeling site. Surprisingly, most snorkelers were just brought near the shore (waist deep) where they can just walk and wade but the guide took us deeper. And I guess, seeing that we're *ahem* good swimmers, he even challenged us to go further and deeper and we were more than happy to give it a go. Haha.

Jan and I

Exploring the abyss. See how deep is that? We can't even see the bottom.

Deep blue sea.

Virgin Island
We enjoyed snorkeling that we stayed in Balicasag for too long. We proceeded to Virgin Island when the sun was already shining too high. I was expecting to eat some sea urchins there, but I didn't see someone selling one. So we just walked around and took pictures under the scorching sun. Virgin island's sandbar is beautiful although on a less grand scale to Camiguin's White Island. Beautiful, nonetheless.

We were back in Panglao by 11am giving us more time to prepare for our trip back to Cebu. That's it for our Panglao adventure. We really enjoyed this trip. This is one of the best getaways I ever had. And surely there will be more to come! :)