Divers Heaven Dive Site

Overview

Divers Heaven is a steep-slope dive site off the south coast of Panglao Island, rated 4 out of 5 by the source. It suits snorkellers and PADI Open Water divers and above, with the most productive stretch around 15 metres, tapering off past 25. The corrected GPS entry point places the site directly beside Balicasag Island, whose long-standing marine sanctuary a few kilometres south likely explains why this stretch shows no dynamite-fishing damage.

The site connects into a broader dive route: Cathedral dive site sits to the northwest, Black Forest to the south. Its position immediately outside the boundary of the Balicasag Marine Sanctuary — the area under Panglao’s daily 150-diver cap and no-take rules — means it benefits from that protection without itself being subject to the sanctuary’s booking limits, which is part of why operators can slot it into a standard two-tank day trip without pre-booking through the LGU system that governs the sanctuary zone proper.

Location

Off the south coast of Panglao Island, Bohol. GPS entry point: N09°31.105 E123°41.273. Exit point: N09°31.985 E123°41.166. Bearing from Alona Beach: 254°. Panglao Island is visible to the north from the dive site.

Getting There

From Alona Beach, Panglao, hire a bangka dive boat on a 254° bearing (west-southwest). Most operators running out of Alona Beach include Divers Heaven in their regular site rotation.

Per Dive Sites of Balicasag Island — SM Divers Bohol, accessed 2026-08-03, which names Divers Heaven directly among Balicasag’s dive sites, the boat ride from Alona Beach is approximately 25–30 minutes (roughly 6 km).

Practical Info

• Site rating: 4/5
• Dive type: steep slope
• Minimum certification: PADI Open Water
• Snorkelling: suitable
• Depth: 8–25 m (most interesting at 15 m, less interesting below 25 m)
• Visibility: 12–25 m
• Current: 0–3 (varies)
• Not affected by dynamite fishing

What to Expect

The dive begins with the steep slope on the left shoulder, heading northwest toward Cathedral. As the slope steepens further north, divers heading south instead (right shoulder) move toward Black Forest, current permitting.

Between 10 and 15 metres the coral cover thickens — Brown Daisy coral (Tubastraea micrantha) and large Bucket sponges (Xestospongia testudinaria) dominate the wall. Expect Gold Band Fusilier (Caesio caerulaurea), Big-mouth Mackerel (Rastrelliger kanagurta), Midnight Snapper (Macolor macularis), Red-tooth Triggerfish (Odonus niger), and turtles.

The site’s 4/5 rating and snorkel-friendly shallows make it a regular default choice when a dive shop is filling a Balicasag-area day trip for a mixed group — advanced divers can push toward the steeper Black Forest or Cathedral sections while less experienced divers and non-diving companions stay in the productive 10–15 m band, all from the same boat and the same anchorage.

Notes

This entry documents the same site as the BPTO-sourced “Diver’s Heaven” (entity: diver-s-heaven), but from a separate scraped source with additional technical dive data — GPS coordinates, current range, depth range, and species taxonomy. The two records should be considered for consolidation. The Danaon Bank (Double Barrier Reef) is referenced in the source as a related contextual note.

Coordinates refined 2026-07-17: frontmatter previously read 9.954171, 124.477672 — a position far northeast of Bohol entirely and clearly a data error. The entry-point GPS given in the body of this same source (N09°31.105 E123°41.273) converts to 9.51842, 123.68788, which sits directly beside Balicasag Island’s own confirmed coordinates (9.517292, 123.684384 — see the balicasag-island entity). Frontmatter has been corrected to this converted value.