placenia in March

I always knock Placencia because I don't think its up to much, but I have to admit its a few years now since I've been there so maybe my opinion isn't so relevant anymore. Not exciting beaches (with rubbish and rubble) and a few hald decent places to hang out. Beer terrible, food average, all quite expensive.

hi there,

also for me it has been a few years...2002...i liked it so much i stayed an extra 5 days...true there was quite a bit of seaweed at high tide but the beach was nice, quiet and had lots of palms to lay under...no trash when i was there...stayed at a place called oscar's with a good restaurant underneath for $10.00us a night...(it was maybe 2 years since they got a direct hit from a hurricane and other than some minor construction, you wouldn't have known)...belize isn't terribly 'beachy' to begin with due to its topography and coastal geology...francis ford copola (sp?) built a schmancy place on the north tip...couldn't be all that bad...not the nicest beach i've seen but the nicest i saw in belize...just my opinion...hope this helps...

safe travels

ps great snorkeling in the cayes from placencia!! 'silk' especially!

I was in Placencia for two months in 2005 and loved it. The beaches are very nice- lots of sand and coconut palms- good snorkeing if you take a kayak around to the south side of Placencia Caye(the caye just across from the pier). Splash Diving offers some great snorkel and SCUBA trips to Laughing Bird and Silk Cayes. Prices have increased considerably since then but they have increased everywhere in Belize. For budget lodging, I recommend Omars( I am pretty sure that the one casamb is mentioning) on the sidewalk.

I forgot to respond to the 2nd part of the question- I recommend Doyle from Night Winds for Red Banks(Macaws and float down the Swasey) and Cockscomb Jaguar Preserve(Day and night tours) and Evar from Plaencia Office Supply for the Monkey River tour- if he is no longer with that business, he is worth finding- I have never seen a tour guide so intuned to his passengers- the moment we would focus on something, he would identify what we were looking at and slow down for a better look-very knowledable-has lived in Monkey River all his life.

I was last in Placencia in February. It's changing fast. Lots of development. Maybe paving on the road will even start this year!

Ranguana is certainly a good choice in the village - some units have A/C, some don't.

To me, the sand especially in the village is coarse and rough, khaki-colored and not so pleasant to walk on barefoot, though it's much nicer farther north. Swimming is okay in many places, with some lovely beaches, but don't expect the classically beautiful wide, white sand beaches of the Yucatan or some places in the main Caribbean. The hotels and resort keep their beaches clean, but in some other areas there is some garbage on the beaches.

Lots of excellent upscale resorts farther north on the Placencia -- Turtle Inn, Inn at Robert's Grove, Chabil Mar and others.

Restaurants run the gamut from upscale, very good and somewhat expensive (e.g. French Connection, Inn at Robert's Grove, La Dolce Vita, Bistro at Maya Beach Hotel) to simple, unpretentious and fairly inexpensive (maybe US$7 to $10 for dinner) -- Wendy's, De Tatch, Yoli's, Omar's, Purple Parrot.

Tutti Fruitti next to the BTIA office has some of the best gelato in the world. I mean it is fantastic. Beyond fantastic.

--Lan Sluder
http://www.belizefirst.com

Lan,
Glad to hear you mention the Tutti Fuitti shop- It became part of my daily routine while in Placencia and I have not found any better in either CA or USA. Someone had asked and I forgot the name.

Edited by: a601mom

If you're going, you better hurry. It's turning into Miami Beach fast!!! It's a whole new world.
Ranguana is good but the cabanas on the tip at Trade Winds are nice too. No AC but a nice spot. It's about the only beach per say that I know if in the country. The Cayes don't really have a walking beach at all.
There's lot's of spots to eat. The Purple Space Monkey has really good food, especially the soup. Omar's, Purple Parrot and the Galley on the other side of the soccer field are good too.

CASAMB---The Turtle Inn was bought by Coppella from a guy from Oklahoma, Skip White who basically cleared the land and built some small cabanas and a little restaurant. It used to be the best place on the beach. The last thing he did before he sold it was build the big cement bar that I believe is still there, that's the only thing still there. Poor Skip died of Lung Cancer soon after selling the place. RIP, he was the BEST!!!!

Skip White and his wife tried to sell me their place back in the mid-90s for I think it was US$225,000, or around that amount.

Of course, I thought that was way too much to pay.

--Lan Sluder

We were in Placencia a year ago and had a great time. We stayed at Captain Jacks, on the Mangrove side of the peninsula, and it was very relaxed. There are lots of places to stay though, and would advise staying in town compared to resorts along the peninsula if you want some variety with food choices, beaches, the local people. The food was also really good (if you've been traveling long there's a bakery in town that makes to-die-for-cinnamon rolls). I absolutely have to recomment Hank that is docked off of Captain Jacks for any of your tours. We wen't out with him a few times. Great guy with lots of knowledge and care taken into your tour (tell him the Bateman family -the General and Iris especially- sent you and you will not be disappointed). Highly recommend the Silk Cayes no matter what you do though. It was one of my favorite days ever!