Diver's Heaven

Overview

Diver’s Heaven (also recorded as Diver’s Haven) is a dive site on Balicasag Island, off the coast of Panglao, Bohol — a steep slope wall covered in soft and hard coral, most productive around 15 metres though the site runs from 7 down to 40 metres.

Location

Balicasag Island, administratively part of Panglao municipality, Bohol, sitting roughly 8 km southwest of Panglao Island proper. Access is by boat from Alona Beach or through Panglao’s boat-hire operators.

The coordinates on this entry have been corrected — the original figures (9.638912, 123.830124) placed the site well east of Panglao’s south coast, inconsistent with a location on Balicasag Island. The coordinates now point to Balicasag Island itself (see the separate divers-heaven-dive-site entity for a more precise entry-point GPS reading).

Getting There

From Alona Beach (Panglao Island), hire a bangka (outrigger boat) to Balicasag Island. The crossing takes approximately 30–45 minutes depending on sea conditions. Most Alona Beach dive operators run daily trips to Balicasag and include this site in their rotation.

[FACT NEEDED: Current boat hire rates and typical departure times.]

Practical Info

• Depth range: 7 m to 40 m
• Most interesting depth: 15 m
• Wall type: steep slope
• Coral cover: soft and hard corals throughout

[TO ENRICH: Minimum certification level, current and visibility data, and whether the site is within the Balicasag Marine Sanctuary boundary.]

What to Expect

Coral cover runs continuous down the slope from the shallows. At 7 metres, big-eyed mackerel, snapper, and red-tooth triggerfish move over the reef; barrel sponges and brown daisy coral hold from that depth down to at least 40 metres. Balicasag sits inside a long-standing marine sanctuary, and the fish density across the depth zones here is a fair marker of what protected reef in Bohol still looks like.

Notes

Listed in BPTO Table 11 under tourism type “Nature,” category “Dive site.” The alternate name “Diver’s Haven” appears in some references. The site is geographically on Balicasag Island — the source’s placement in Panglao municipality is administratively correct, as Balicasag falls within Panglao municipality. See also the separate entry for Divers Heaven Dive Site (entity: divers-heaven-dive-site), which appears to be the same site documented from a different source with additional technical dive data.

Coordinates refined 2026-07-17: replaced with Balicasag Island’s confirmed coordinates (9.517292, 123.684384, matching the balicasag-island entity) after the original figures were found to place the site inland/east of Panglao rather than on Balicasag. Cross-check source: Balicasag Island | Entrance Fee, Opening Hours & More, accessed 2026-07-17.