Placencia

Placencia is a gorgeous emerald peninsula in southern Belize with 16 miles of sandy beaches. The Caribbean sea is to the east and the charming Placencia lagoon lies to west looking to the mountains on the mainland. Placencia is essentially divided into two parts: south of the airstrip and north of the airstrip. The entire peninsula can be easily covered on a beach cruiser bike. The busy part of Placencia lies in the south where the visitor will find the greater concentration of coffee shops, bistros, internet cafes, the harbor, guest houses, taxi and bus station, banks and local restaurants.

The northern portion of Placencia includes the Garifuna village of Seine Bight, is less densely populated and has many of the more expensive resorts. Because of its distance from the reef , it also has “real’ though not very high surf. The water is clean and clear; the trade winds gentle and cooling. There are few sights more calming to the spirit than a Belizean sunset on a deserted Placencia Peninsula beach.

The beaches along the Placencia Peninsula are dotted with small resorts that can arrange dive and snorkel trips to the reef, which is about 17 miles away. They can also arrange day trips to many small, idyllic cayes, such as Laughing Bird Caye, a mini-atoll that offers protected snorkeling and swimming, a white sand beach and many cooling palm trees for beach girls to cool off (it even has hammocks!).