Available languages
Mobile ticket
Hotel pick-up is inclusive within Panglao Muncipality, please respond to email to coordinate. We need guest phone number. (Dauis and Tagbilaran not included).
Meet new friends in this shared half-day tour to Balicasag Island.
Boat Boarding is at Alona or Momo. Enjoy a ride in our bigger boat to see dolphins swim along the boat! Refreshments will be served onboard while traveling about 11 kilometers to the dolphin sighting area. (Dolphins are seasonal and sightings are not guaranteed)
After dolphin watching, guests will travel to Balicasag Island to transfer to a small paddleboat with a local tour guide. Guests will spend 30 minutes per snorkel area, which are the big colorful fish area and the serene majestic turtle area. Lifevests and snorkel/masks are provided.
Virgin Island Sandbar is closed due to government ban. Alternate activity is extra snorkeling (depending on wind conditions - Gak-ang, or Doljo)
Freshly grilled lunch served on boat
Return to meeting point
Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Not recommended for travelers with seasickness
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
environmental and entrance fees to Balicasag Island
lifevest, snorkel, mask
simple and fresh meal, cooked while you swim. pork, chicken, shrimp, rice, fruit. Vegetarians MUST inform one day prior for preparation
balicasag paddleboat tour to turtle sanctuary
Restroom on board
Coffee and/or Tea
underwater camera
snorkeling fins
Beach shoes
towel
Select a pickup point
Balicasag Island
Our boatman guide will meet guests at Alona Beach, to ride a boat to see Dolphins. Actual Location and Sightings are not guaranteed as Dolphin Pod can transfer feeding areas seasonally. This will be a few kilometers from Balicasag Island.
Balicasag Reef
Guests will disembark and transfer to a tiny paddleboat with a guide in groups of 2-4 per boat. The paddleboat guide is a local islander, who will take guests to two areas. 30 minutes in the fish area, and 30 minutes in the turtle sanctuary. The paddleboat guide is not our own boatman, due to government policy. Balicasag Island is a popular tourist spot. All tourists must have a guide before snorkeling, and there may be a waiting time for guide availability.
Pickup included
8 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
mariasD5145FX,
Nov 12, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
The boat was great, theblunch provided was bery good and we got to see turtles. Probably the only downsize is that there were a lot of people in the water, as expected from these tours, so whenever a turtle appeared, chaos ensued. But overall a great day!


Kerry R,
Oct 18, 2025
- Review from Viator
Early start but worth the effort. We saw turtles and lots of colourful fish. Great communication with local agency. Complimentary pick up and drop off from hotel. Small group of nine. Very helpful and friendly crew.
viennashopper,
Sep 29, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
As a female solo traveller and eco-aware person, I cannot recommend this tour, unfortunately. Although I found it great to get picked up in front of my hotel (by a remodeled jeepney), there were just too many eyebrow-raising moments that made me particularly wonder about the apparently low confidence the guide had of the ability of women. When I got off the company's own hotel pickup jeepney facing towards the driver, I noticed that there is a man suddenly standing behind me, eye-level with my bum and maybe 10cm behind me. Since I had been the last person to get off and since the others (a Korean family) were already out of sight, chatting amongst each other, I thought it is perhaps someone who wants to steal from my pant pockets. I asked him what he was doing there and told him to move whereupon someone explained he was our guide. He did not explain himself and this was so unusual (I had taken a jeepney many times before and also used ladders for four centuries...), so I could only assume he wanted to see my bum up close. On the boat, when we stopped at a snorkelling site and got off one by one over a ladder/wooden steps on the side of the boat, he made me put on my life vest again which I had taken off after the boat had shut off the engine and even said I should clip on the groin belt, so he could "assist me" going inside the water, making a gesture that he wanted to lift me up by the back of my collar like a small baby learning to walk. I should mention that the sea was very calm in that spot, the water maybe 4m depth and clear, I was wearing aqua shoes with rubber soles and the entire boat was floored with anti-slip rubber mats, so I did not understand the purpose of this security measure and assumed it had sth to do with coastguard regulations in that area to wear a life vest. Since he was standing between me and the ladder and thus, essentially, between me and my snorkelling experience, and since I wanted to be compliant with coastguard regulations (I heard in Palawan from our guide that if the coast guard spots someone on a boat without a life vest, the boat gets a fine and is not allowed to do boat trips for a week or two) and assumed there is maybe a current in the water I don't know about, I put it on and had a hard time swimming around with it in the water as it is very restrictive. Also, the groin belt was too short and for the 40-ish minutes at that site, it felt as if I had a string stuck up my ***. By the end, when we got back up to have lunch on the boat, I saw that none of the others or maybe one other person apart from me out of about a dozen were wearing a life vest. Since I was wearing a bathing suite with a discreet skirt design and due to the jeepney incident, it made me wonder if the guide had a bum fetish and wanted to see the definition of my butt cheeks. The entire trip I also had the impression that the guide was treating me like an infant or senior citizen or person with reduced mobility, like I had never used a ladder or walked down three steps in my life before which I find very disrespectful. There is a line between helpful and being "too helpful" when you just get in the way by standing exactly in the spot the person descending/ascending stairs needs to step next to balance with an outstretched arm or rushing to grab someone who is just taking time to get a feel for the right moment/wave to take a step. Clearly, the guide interprets smart patience and calculation as indecision and I wonder what level of respect he hold for his customers. Finally, three more points: First, they blasted their music playlist on the boat very loudly at 6.40am-ish (potentially scaring away marine wildlife, like dolphins who communicate by sound) and gave out beer to those who wanted it at 7am-ish. There was a lively Korean family of about eight people who had to scream to each other across the boat because of the loud music. So if listening to the natural sound of waves is your thing, this tour is not. Second, the dishes of the lunch were washed with dishwashing liquid which was rinsed into the snorkelling site with the colourful fish and corals where we had just swam in. So if conservation is your thing, this tour is not either. Third, under water I saw some of the Korean group hold out some kind of food to the fish to make them come for videos. The fish came and ate it all. At first I thought it was some kind of fish food / sea food floss that they might have been given by the guide (which would still be ethically debatable) but realised to my horror later that it had been pieces of toast we had been offered as a breakfast on the boat. I believe that fish cannot digest bread because they get bloated from the yeast etc. which can lead to health concerns for them. I don't know if the boat crew knew of this or condoned it (they later fed freshly caught sea urchins or so to the fish to make them gather) but I would advise not to offer people food on boats that can tempt them to use that in a manner that is harmful for marine wildlife. Reusable drinking cups and cutlery would be eco-friendlier as well. The only positive interaction of this tour crew was the kind driver who picked me up from the hotel.
Thomas H,
Jun 17, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
Very good organization. Also for the transfer from Hotel to the ship. Very friendly crew. Good atmosphere. And diving with turtles and see so many colored fishes was one of our best experiences in our lives. We can highly recommend this trip with this Organisation to everybody.


727suzyz,
May 6, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
It was great. You get to snorkel for probably around an hour or so total. 30 min where there are sea turtles and another 30 min or so out over a reef where you can see fish and starfish and coral and all that fun stuff. Also got to see a pod of dolphins and watch them jump and play in the water on the boat ride to and from the snorkel spots.


angelotT422XQ,
May 1, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
I was a bit skeptical booking this tour since it only had one review but after spending half the day with the Reel Fortune crew, I can confidently say that those worries were put away immediately. The crew was incredibly accommodating and friendly, went above and beyond to give us a memorable experience, and cooked us an amazing lunch on the boat. Rest assured you'll be in great hands with Kuya Mark and company!




EdwardYesid R,
Mar 30, 2025
- Review from Viator
The boat that we started with was broken, we had to wait for an hour and a half for them to bring another boat, we understand these things can happen, but they did not inform us what will it happen, they kept saying the rescue boat will come, but we had no idea if we will go back to our hotels or continue the tour. Finally when a new boat arrived, we were taken to not all the spots, only turtles and 1 snorkeling place The lunch was very greasy Really I think for the price we payed we got the exact same experience as the 900 php tour that they sell on the beach.
777reyc,
Feb 24, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
Outstanding Service from on time pickup and drop off to the actual trip. The Reel of Fortune boat crew were very customer service centric and did everything to make us comfortable. We were lucky to see dolphins and turtles this trip. For those concerned about safety, there is no need to be. Recommend you bring your own snorkel if possible (but if not, their equipment is fine). Great lunch and an overall great value. Highly recommend.
Operated by Reel Fortune Boat Rental