Panglao | Dolphin Watching and Island Hopping Tour in Balicasag and Virgin Islands

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The dolphin watching and island hopping tour that we took in Panglao Island includes the following activities:
  • Dolphin watching
  • Snorkeling in Balicasag Island
  • Food tripping and swimming in Virgin Island

This boat trip costed P600 per head (May 2017) excluding lunch and snorkeling gear, and our family of 4 shared the boat with about 8 other people. The snorkeling gear is P150 for the mask and snorkel only and P200 for the complete set with fins. The vest is for free.

​As with other beaches in the Philippines, dolphin watching tours are often offered as part of several island hopping packages. I've been in different dolphin watching tours around the country but this one in Panglao was the best experience of all. This was where I've seen the biggest pod of dolphins these eyes could ever see -- something that might not happen again in this lifetime. Good thing I was able to capture this entire experience on video. You can watch the video of the dolphins that we saw during the trip in the YouTube video below:
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Dolphins during our island hopping tour (Photo © iHeartPH 2017)

The dolphin watching and island hopping tour usually starts in Alona Beach. The travel agency or whoever you arranged it with will inform you where exactly the meeting place will be. The boats will leave early in the morning to be able to catch the dolphins. During our trip, we left Alona Beach between 6:30 and 7:00 AM. The boat will roam around the area where the dolphins usually are and drive around until you find dolphins. I would say finding dolphins are based on weather and some bit of luck. On a lucky day, you will be presented with big pods but some days, you won't be able to find any dolphins at all. After about 15-20 minutes of watching dolphins, your boat will head towards Balicasag Island. 

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Balicasag Island from the boat (Photo © iHeartPH 2017)

Balicasag Island is surrounded with beautiful and colorful reefs and very ideal for snorkeling and freediving. Towards the deeper part, you will find scuba divers coming from different parts of Bohol and Cebu. Since the island is quite small, you won't be able to find any resorts and I am not sure whether camping is allowed. It's quite near Alona Beach so I don't think you will ever need to stay the night. There are small food stalls and sari-sari stores selling all sorts of drinks and snacks. It's very expensive though compared to what you'll find in the mainland. Mobile phone reception is not a problem in the island since it's only a couple of kilometers away from the mainland. Mobile internet is not fast but still doable, at least for Globe Telecom anyway.

Once you are ready to snorkel, you will be ushered to a small boat which can fit 5-6 people and it will take you near the drop-off where you can see a lot of corals and fishes. During our trip, we snorkeled for a good 30-45 minutes until the boatman took us back to the island. We stayed for a couple more minutes to rest and to try the halo-halo being sold in one of the food stalls. It was the stall with the most buyers so we had to try it out.

Right after Balicasag, you will be taken to Virgin Island. I had such high expectations of this island as it looked very beautiful in photos. It looked liked a mini-Kalanggaman Island from posts that I have seen on Google and Instagram. When we got there, it was nothing like the photos but instead, it was a long stretch of an island filled with hawkers and food stalls. We also got there during high tide so the sand was not above water. We still enjoyed our time though -- we bought coconuts and ate miryenda while sitting on the shallow waters. I even had my husband (boyfriend at that time) and my cousin try out tuyom (black urchin) meat. It was sold for P50 per piece, which was extravagant given that I was used to just getting tuyom from the seabed right in front of our house in Maribojoc. We did not mind though as this was how the local community was earning a living. We only had a few as well as the Manileños did not like it as much as I do. 
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Virgin Island during high tide -- still a magnificent view (Photo © iHeartPH 2017)

​There are several ways to book your island hopping and dolphin watching tour in Panglao:

  1. VIA KLOOK. For more ease and convenience in booking and if you want your booking saved on your mobile phone before you fly to Bohol, you can do so via Klook. Click here to book your Bohol Island Hopping and Dolphin Watching Tour.
  2. VIA YOUR RESORT. Your resort can arrange the tour for you. The rate would depend on the hotel and is expected to be relatively more expensive than independent tour operators. If your resort is high end, the dolphin watching and island hopping tour is expectedly more expensive than those being offered by mid-range resorts. Note however that not all resorts offer this service. Some would simply point you to places in Panglao where you can arrange for this tour. 
  3. VIA INDEPENDENT BOAT OPERATORS. When you go around the beach, there will be several boat operators who will approach you and offer island hopping tours. The prices will be more or less standard but you can negotiate. We got ours for P600 per pax exclusive of lunch but inclusive of snorkeling in Balicasag. This price was back in 2017 so this might have changed already.
  4. VIA INDEPENDENT TRAVEL AGENCIES ON FACEBOOK. You can also book in advance via independent travel agencies on Facebook. Some travel agencies have their own Facebook pages or you can go to this Facebook group named DIY Travel Philippines and scout from there. You should be able to get several ones so feel free to ask everyone you find and compare their offers. I found Ate Nancy from this group and she offered the tour at P600 per head as well. Prices may have changed so you can contact her at +639227366640 to confirm.
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