Placencia Lodging
A variety of Placencia accommodations are listed on our
Placencia Accommodations Page.
Hotels, resorts, rental houses and
other facilities make it onto our site because our clients have had good experiences
there. Plus, management is cooperative and willing to work with us and our clients
- especially our fishing clients who often like to get up and out fishing during the wee
hours of the morning.
We can also help you choose and book
your resort, hotel, lodge, guesthouse, villa or rental house through
Belize.
Just
let us know what you're looking for (including a general range for
nightly room rates) and we'll make some suggestions. You might
also check the following pages for recommended lodging throughout the
country:
See our
Placencia
Peninsula Map for an idea of distances between lodging locations
in Placencia. Travel times
(don't let those seemingly short distances fool you) are discussed under the Transportation
section of this page.
Lodging locations on the
Placencia Peninsula
include:
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Placencia
Village:
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Placencia
Village Proper:
primarily small,
locally owned lodging facilities running the gamut from
North Beach Suites, a new villa configurable into
1, 2, 3 and 4 bedroom units to the
Easy Living Apartments (2
bedrooms, full kitchen and bath, air conditioning
and cable television in each of 4 units)
to private beach cabanas, to rooms in houses with shared baths (such as Lucille's
Traveler's Inn). A number of houses are available for rent,
but they tend to book up quickly. North
Beach Suites, Miramar
Apartments, Crow's Nest,
some of the rooms at Westwind
Hotel, two of the
Toucan Lulu Cabanas,
Dianni's and
Easy Living Apartments/Emily's
House are the only lodging
facilities in Placencia Village proper with air conditioning (at least the
only ones with a/c that works on a consistent basis).
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Just Outside
Placencia Village:
Luxury properties predominate just outside the Village (but still within
walking or biking distance) - Francis Ford Coppola's Turtle Inn,
Chabil Mar Villas and
Casa
del Sol. All have private beachfront pools, meal service,
cable television, spacious private verandahs and luxurious furnishings.
Chabil Mar and Casa del Sol include air conditioning and Turtle Inn
amenities include a dive shop, two restaurants, gelateria and spa.
We recommend that you stay in or near Placencia Village
if you:
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Are interested in Creole
culture
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Like to be able to walk to
restaurants, bars, gift shops
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Want to
be able to sample a variety of local dishes at small, owner-operated restaurants (notice
we didn't say small, "trendy" restaurants -- these are true Belizean Creole
restaurants for the most part), and
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Enjoy
going out in the evenings (don't expect the theater or art openings, but Placencia Village
does have a number of interesting local bars that feature live entertainment on weekends).
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(Note:
Popular Placencia Village
properties are often booked in all but the
very slowest weeks (usually October). So for the more popular Village spots,
book ahead whenever you plan to visit. Rooms are almost impossible to find without
booking for the Christmas/New Year's weeks, and don't even THINK about a room in
the Village during Easter Weekend unless you've booked ahead. If you're the
adventurous type, the rest of the time you can probably find something - but if you have
your heart set on a specific property - make reservations.)
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Seine
Bight Village:
With the exception of
Nautical Inn, which has a swimming pool and restaurant on its grounds (and Blue Crab with
its own restaurant), most Seine Bight Village accommodations are small and locally-owned.
Not yet a lot of lodging options here, but the number is growing.
We recommend that you stay in Seine Bight Village if you:
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Are interested in Garifuna
culture
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Want a
truly different vacation experience in a truly different culture, and
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Will be
satisfied with fairly basic accommodations.
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"In Between"
Resorts:
Placencia
resorts between Placencia and Seine Bight
Villages (about five miles north of Placencia Village) include Robert's
Grove, Laru Beya and Miller's Landing, all with pools and on-premises
restaurant. Robert's Grove includes 3 beachfront swimming pools, 2
restaurants, small marina, gym, dive shop and spa. Miller's
Landing features simple wooden cabanas.
We recommend that you stay at a resort if you:
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Are
more interested in R&R and "beaching it" than you are in "adventurous"
explorations
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Like
the convenience of on-premises restaurants and aren't that interested in
restaurant variety
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Prefer planned activities
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Enjoy
"one-stop" shopping for souvenirs, food, tours, entertainment and meals, and
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Maya Beach:
Maya
Beach is located north of Seine Bight Village and is legally part of
Seine Bight Village. However, the area is mostly populated by
small hotels with a few cabanas on the beach, and a very electic group
of Canadian and American business owners and ex-pats, seasoned with a
sprinkling of native Belizeans and Mennonite builders. Hotels
include Singing Sands, Barnacle Bill's Beach Cabanas, Maya Playa, Maya
Beach Hotel and Maya Breeze Inn.
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The Peninsula has no laundromats,
so ask at your hotel for information on local laundry service.
Please don't hesitate to
contact us
for more information or help with
deciding where to stay while you're in Placencia.
Getting to Southern Belize.
Air,
Road, Boat,
and
Combination Air and Road.
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Air.
The
fastest way to get to Southern Belize is by air. Ten flights arrive
in Dangriga, Placencia
and Punta Gorda daily from Belize City (International and
Municipal airports). The two commercial airlines are Maya
Air and Tropic Air - - air fares are the same on both airlines and schedules are
similar. (We have Tropic Air schedules and rates on our
Tropic Air
page.) Tropic Air has larger and mostly newer equipment.
Flying out of Municipal Airport in Belize City is less expensive than flying out of
International -- but not enough to justify cab fare from International to
Municipal. But, if you have to overnight in Belize City for any reason, it
will cost a lot less to get to Municipal from most places in Belize City (about $2.50 USD
per cab - not per person) and you'll save on airfare.
You can't fly from Cayo to anywhere.
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Road.
The best route from Belize City in terms of road conditions
are the Hummingbird and
Southern
Highways. The roads
are in good condition (except for some
very small stretches of the Southern Highway) and the scenery is
good. The Coastal Highway is a "bit" more adventurous in dry weather - -
and sometimes impassable during rainy weather. Work is proceeding on the Southern
Highway to the Toledo District. Some portions are paved, some portions are even
rougher than they were before construction began. Be careful on both -- many people
in southern Belize are not used to paved roads and drive too fast and don't observe
precautions necessary for high speed travel (be particularly vigilant around buses and
large trucks). The under construction portions of the Southern Highway are sometimes
full of large, sharp rocks, potholes and mud (depending on the weather). Make sure
you have good tires, a spare, a good jack and aerosol tire inflater/flats fixer. A
cell phone isn't a bad idea, either.
Vehicle options include: rental car, public
bus, private car for hire.
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Rental
Cars.
Rental car companies with good reputations are: Budget (email: jmagroup@btl.net), Crystal
(email: crystal@btl.net,
Website: http://www.crystalbelize.com)
and Thrifty (email: thriftybze@btl.net). Rental cars are not available in
southern Belize.
A 4-wheel-drive with a high wheel base is the safest option
because of road conditions on the Peninsula, portions of the
Southern Highway from Dangriga to Placencia, and
many roads
in the Toledo District. Unpaved roads can become treacherously muddy during any
period of rain. (We've seen a car buried in mud up to its headlights just north of
Maya Beach.) Also, the Peninsula is narrow
and bounded on both sides by bodies of water (Caribbean Sea on
the east, Placencia Lagoon on the west), which means some fording might be
in order during sustained rains. Try to drive during the day, if possible, -- and
don't pick up hitchhikers.
Travel time by private vehicle from Belize City to Dangriga is about
2 hours.
Travel time from Dangriga to Placencia varies from 1.5 - 3 hours, depending on road
conditions.
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Public
Bus. It's cheap and the
people watching is great. But, don't expect luxury -
except for a few express buses, public buses in Belize are
usually old Blue Bird school buses (remember those?). Travel time from Belize City
to Dangriga is about 2 hours (depending on the number of stops). Travel time
from Dangriga to Placencia also varies from
1.5 - 2.5 hours (for a 40 mile trip),
depending on road conditions, number of stops and whether the bus goes through the banana
plantations. Currently, the last bus leaves Dangriga for Placencia at around 5:30
pm, so you must get to Dangriga by about 5:15 pm. Also, the bus schedules change
frequently, so check on schedules as soon as you arrive in Belize. Finally, if you
arrive at Belize International Airport, you'll need to take a cab into Belize City to
catch the bus (they don't stop at the International Airport).
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Private
Car for Hire. About
US$375 will transport 1 to
4 people by private air conditioned van with a driver from Belize City International to
Placencia (one-way).
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Boat.
No
scheduled boat service runs to Placencia from Belize City. However, the Gulf Cruza
has a Placencia-Big Creek-Puerto Cortes run on Friday (departure from Placencia) and
Monday (return to Placencia).
Passenger ferry service on the "Hokey Pokey" runs between Placencia and
Independence twice a day (currently 10 a.m and 3 p.m. - but double check the schedule when
you get here). Plan for a leisurely ride - they don't call it the Hokey Pokey for
nothing.
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Combination Air and Road.
If you like the idea of a bus or rental car to enjoy the scenery
(and the people watching on the bus), but don't like the idea of the
road between Dangriga and Placencia or braving portions of the Southern Highway, you might consider
driving or busing it to Dangriga and then flying to Placencia or Punta Gorda (Toledo
District).
The bus from Belize City will take you right into the middle of
Dangriga and you can then catch a cab to the Dangriga airstrip.
You can also arrange with your rental car company to have your car
picked up in Dangriga (for a fee, of course). The last plane
leaves Dangriga at about 5 p.m. and the fare is $37.50 USD per adult, one way.
(If you fly back to Belize City, this will make your round-trip airfare cost
around US$110.) |
Getting
around Placencia.
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Taxi
cabs in Placencia.
If you are staying at a resort and
plan to visit Placencia Village in the evening, make sure to check the availability of a cab to
get back to your resort. Sunday evenings seem to be the worst time to find a
cab. If you can't find one, you might ask people
where you are in the Village if anyone is
planning on heading back up the Peninsula. If you find a ride, it's good form to
offer payment ($5 USD to the Kitty's/Rum Point area, $8 USD to the Seine Bight area,
$10-$15 USD beyond Seine Bight).
Schedule of Placencia Taxi Fares
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Within Placencia Village: BZ$6 for 1 person; $3 BZ/person for 2 or more |
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Placencia Village to Turtle Inn or Kitty's:
BZ$12 BZ for 1
person; BZ$6/person for 2 or more |
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Placencia Village to Airstrip:
BZ$12for 1 person; BZ$6/person for 2 or more |
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Placencia Village to Rum Point area:
BZ$14for 1 person; BZ$7/person for 2 or more |
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Placencia Village to Robert's Grove/Seine Bight:
BZ$22 for 1-2 persons; BZ$8/person for 3 or more |
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Placencia Village to Maya Beach:
BZ$40 for 1-2 persons; BZ$15/person for 3 or more |
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Placencia Village to Plantation/Calico Jack's:
BZ$50 for 1-3 persons; BZ$15/person
for 4 or more |
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Walking.
To give you a sense of distance - it's a
half-hour walk (at a reasonably good US pace) from the middle of Placencia Village to the
airstrip (around a mile). A walk along the beach to Serenity is about 45 minutes
(again, at a good clip). Walking the Sidewalk from end to end takes about 20
minutes.
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Boat
to the Cayes.
One-way fare to
Ranguana or the Silk Cayes is around US$250 per boat, depending on
how busy the guides are.
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Rental Car.
A couple
of independent car rental agencies now operate out of the Placencia
area. The one with the most reliable vehicles seems to be
Barefoot Auto Rental out of Nautical Inn in Seine Bight Village -
rates average about US$75 per day.
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Bikes.
Cost is about
US$15
per bike per day. Check the bike to make sure the tires are in good
condition. |
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