Panglao Island Tour · Danao Beach, Panglao, or hotel pickup
An early shared boat from Danao Beach in Panglao: dolphin watching along the coast, snorkelling with sea turtles on the Balicasag reef and a stop at the Virgin Island sandbar. Book it for the day after your countryside tour; you are back by late morning with the afternoon free.
The sea side of Bohol, in one morning. Hotel pickups in Panglao start from 5:30 AM. On the meet-up option you walk to the beachfront of Bohol South Beach Hotel on Danao Beach for a fixed 6:00 AM start, and the boat cannot wait. It runs along the Panglao coast to look for wild dolphins, then crosses to Balicasag, where a local marine guide takes you to the turtle snorkelling area. Virgin Island comes last, for photos and a swim, and you are back in Panglao around 11:30 AM, depending on the sea.
Your coordinator gets in the water with you, and the price covers the boat, a snorkel mask, snorkel and life jacket, plus photo help. Groups go up to 24 people. The ₱500 environmental fee is paid on the day in pesos, per the listing; meals and drinks are extra, and fins or a GoPro can be rented.
Dolphins and turtles are wild, and the operator says sightings vary from day to day. Balicasag has no dock, so expect to wade through shallow water to get on and off the boat: water shoes help. Virgin Island reopened in early February 2026 under new provincial rules, with one entry and exit point, no vendor stalls on the sandbar and controlled visitor numbers.
On the hotel-pickup option, the van collects you in Panglao.
On the meet-up option, find the coordinator on the beachfront of Bohol South Beach Hotel. The time is fixed.
The boat runs along the Panglao coast while the crew looks for dolphins in the morning calm.
Transfer with a local marine guide to the turtle area and snorkel over the reef.
Photos and time to relax on the sandbar, under the island's visitor rules.
The return time depends on the sea. The pickup option drops you back at your hotel.
★★★★★The dolphin watching and island tour with Dexter was so much fun! Even though it was an early start, Dexter was really happy and positive, and was a funny and great guide. We were lucky enough to see dolphins, and the snorkelling with sea turtles at Balicasag was amazing. [...] He also caught an amazing video of the dolphins on the GoPro. Thank you Dexter!
★★★★★We had an amazing time snorkeling on this tour. Our guide Dexter was brilliant, very chatty and we learned a lot about the Phillipines from him. The tour was really well organised and we managed to get to each location early, before it got too crowded.
★★★★★Derek is a fantastic guide, always in a good mood, very helpful and has interesting knowledge to share. The tour itself was absolutely recommendable, we saw a lot of Dolphins and Turtles and had great time in general. Thank you!
★★★★★Great tour, great snorkelling, Excellent tour guide. Really enjoyed, saw both dolphins & sea turtles.
Read next:
Hotel pickups in Panglao start from 5:30 AM; the meet-up option is a fixed 6:00 AM on Danao Beach. You are back around 11:30 AM, depending on the sea.
No. The ₱500 environmental fee is paid on site in Philippine pesos, per the listing.
Often, but both are wild and sightings vary from day to day. The route and timing are chosen for the best chance each morning.
Children under 3 cannot join. Everyone should be comfortable climbing on and off a boat without a dock, wading in shallow water and snorkelling in open water.
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Wild dolphins at sunrise, then snorkelling with sea turtles at Balicasag.
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