Trip Report -- Placencia for two weeks in June

[Downing]

I just returned from what has become my annual trek to Belize. Usually I go for three weeks but this time I had to swing by Mexico City and El Salvador on my way down so I was in Belize for only two weeks.

The village continues to improve, with lots of construction going on.

We dove with Splash Dive Center as always, my favorite dive shop. Small groups, usually around four divers, sometimes six and sometimes two. Some of the guides from the past have moved on, so this time I was diving with some new guys that have come up through Splash's Kids Club. Very professional and always friendly.

For the most part, the weather was excellent. I think we had one day cancelled due to a reported storm that never materialized. Did the usual dive spots: Silk Cayes, Pompeon, South Water and Gladden Spit. Went Whale Shark diving one day with no luck, unfortunately. Finished off the diving with a couple of days of Lion Fish hunting. We didn't see as many as I would have thought, which is a good thing but makes for disappointing hunting. I think two of us bagged about ten the first day and four of us bagged around twenty five the second. Water temperature was consistently in the low 80s and visibility ranged from excellent to very good.

A couple of Splash's boats were down for repairs, but the rental boats were more than adequate. Their big boat, a 42 (?) foot Newton, was due to come online about the time I was leaving.

Did a little bit of exploring on the mainland. We went down to Barranco, which is the southernmost village on the Belize coast. Long trip down a dirt road past a Mayan village that time forgot. Not much to see there except for Andy Palacio's grave site. Definitely a small corner of Belize that gets zero attention from their government and from tourists.

Now that I've been to Barranco, I can say that I've seen all four "corners" of Belize and a great deal in between. Still on the Bucket List is the ATM cave and the Caracol ruins. There's always next time.

I spent my last night in San Igancio at the classic San Ignacio Hotel to cut down on the drive time to the airport. SI is a rockin' place. As always, I kicked the tires on some property while I was there.

Overall I had a great time. Ralph and Patty of Splash are excellent hosts. Good weather, good company and good diving. Can't wait to go back.

 

[drrich2]

I just returned from what has become my annual trek to Belize.

We dove with Splash Dive Center as always, my favorite dive shop.

When you repeatedly return to a given destination, that shows a higher regard than a 'one time and done' approach. Good trip report; thought I'd ask a couple of follow up questions.

1.) From what I understand, the best Belize diving is well off-shore in the Turneffe Atoll & Lighthouse Atoll region. Many people pick Ambergris Caye as the touristy island near the mainland with still good diving, or for a laid back vibe, Caye Caulker. Placencia is more for people who want a mixed vacations, with convenient access to mainland attractions and also reasonable access to some good diving. I often seen Splash Divers favorably reviewed in that location.

Is my understanding accurate? I've done a live-aboard trip to Belize, but that and a cruise ship stop (rainforest walk, boat trip, Mayan ruins) were it for me.

2.) If so, what non-diving attractions in Belize keep you heading to Placencia?

3.) Just how convenient is diving when you base there? I'm thinking trip time to the dive boat, how long a boat ride you're looking at, etc...?

I'm thinking someone may read your trip report who was considering Ambergris Caye, and wonder what the trade-offs would be heading to Placencia instead.

Richard.

 

[Downing]

I haven't been to Ambergris Caye, but I have seen lots of photos and videos taken there. It appears to have more of everything such as dive shops, restaurants, hotels and people, although there's plenty of this going on in Placencia as well.

I really like Placencia for two reasons: great diving and easy access to the mainland. Although it's not an island, the peninsula has a definite island vibe to it, especially in Placencia Village at the tip. But head up the road and you'll be on the mainland in 20 minutes.

Getting to the dive shop is easy because Splash provides shuttle service from and to the hotels. I don't know if the other shops do that. But no matter where you stay, you won't be more than 15 minutes from the dive shop or the village, probably less. The boat trips are longer than the ones from AC, typically about an hour. I don't mind because I enjoy riding on a boat checking out the various cayes as we go by plus the company on the boat is always interesting. Probably the best diving from Placencia is at Gladden Spit. That's a longer trip, about an hour and a half each way, but I'd say the diving there is on par with the dives around the Atoll. Nothing beats the diving around Lighthouse Caye, however.

As far as the dry land stuff, there's practically no end to it all. Even though Belize is a small country, it's still a big place and the attractions are really too numerous to list. Tons of Mayan ruins, the Jaguar preserve at Cockscomb Basin with lots of jungle trails, Mayan villages where they wash their clothes in the river and live in thatch covered huts, waterfalls, river and cave tubing, good, cheap eats (chicken, rice and beans is the staple), and on and on. I really enjoy heading south to the Toledo District. It's the southernmost and poorest district in Belize. Not so many visitors. Friendly people. Fantastic jungle.

For first-timers, I recommend getting a tour guide and let him or her handle the driving. Once you've figured out how things work, then rent a car and strike out on your own. One of the cool things about Belize is that there are only four major roads: the Northern, Western, Southern and Hummingbird Highways. You can't really get lost unless you start trekking on the dirt roads, and even then they all have to end somewhere, which is usually either the coast, private property or one of those four highways. A really cool drive through the jungle is to visit Chan Chich Lodge, which is deep in the heart of Barry Bowen's property. You have to get permits to do it, meaning you either have to have an official reason like a ruins dig or you've booked a Chan Chich stay. That's well over 100 miles of dirt road through a Central American jungle. It just doesn't get any better than that. Bring water.

And no matter how many times I've done it, I never get tired of the Hummingbird Highway. It runs from the coast above Placencia through the Maya Mountains all the way to Belmopan where it t-bones into the Western Highway, about 60 miles. Beautiful scenery, crumbling one-lane bridges and kids standing at the speed humps holding up plastic bags and shouting "Coconut Wahta!" as you drive by.

 

[dirtfarmer]

I'll never get tired of the Hummingbird Highway. It runs from the coast above Placencia through the Maya Mountains all the way to Belmopan where it t-bones into the Western Highway, about 60 miles. Beautiful scenery, crumbling one-lane bridges and kids standing at the speed humps holding up plastic bags and shouting "Coconut Wahta!" as you drive by.

Have you ever stopped at the magic spot where your car will coast uphill?
I used to visit a friend of mine that lived on the humming bird and boy did we have some epic road trips.

 

[JamesBon92007]

SI is a rockin' place. As always, I kicked the tires on some property while I was there.
.

Which places did you find that are not "rockin'?" I would like to visit and dive Belize but want to stay in a quiet area, if one exists.

 

[Downing]

Have you ever stopped at the magic spot where your car will coast uphill?

Yup. It's around MP 29 or 30, I forget which. I showed it to my wife this time. As you probably know, it's best to do it at night because you can see traffic coming from a long ways away.

Which places did you find that are not "rockin'?" I would like to visit and dive Belize but want to stay in a quiet area, if one exists.

Pretty much anywhere outside the village is going to be quiet. Chabil Mar and Turtle Inn immediately come to mind but there are lots of others. Roberts Grove, Laru Beya, the Belize Ocean Club up in Maya Beach. You'll have your own stretch of beach, no noise and all the peace and quiet you could hope for. And there's Hamanasi up in Hopkins.

For non-diving, in San Ignacio, I always stay at the San Ignacio Hotel. Classic hotel with large swimming pool and beautiful grounds. It's up a steep hill on the edge of town and very quiet.

Chan Chich was certainly quiet.

And a nod to my wife's favorite lodge, Belcampo, located a few miles out of Punta Gorda. It's perched on the side of a very steep hill and Howler Monkeys go swinging through the trees right outside your cabana.

 

[Hank49]

I One of the cool things about Belize is that there are only four major roads: the Northern, Western, Southern and Hummingbird Highways. You can't really get lost

Downing, you forgot the Coastal Rd. Cuts 45 minutes off the trip from Placencia or Dangriga to Belize City. Glad you had a good time. I'll be back there in about a year or so.
Are you still looking at building there?

 

[JamesBon92007]

Yup. It's around MP 29 or 30, I forget which. I showed it to my wife this time. As you probably know, it's best to do it at night because you can see traffic coming from a long ways away.



Pretty much anywhere outside the village is going to be quiet. Chabil Mar and Turtle Inn immediately come to mind but there are lots of others. Roberts Grove, Laru Beya, the Belize Ocean Club up in Maya Beach. You'll have your own stretch of beach, no noise and all the peace and quiet you could hope for. And there's Hamanasi up in Hopkins.

For non-diving, in San Ignacio, I always stay at the San Ignacio Hotel. Classic hotel with large swimming pool and beautiful grounds. It's up a steep hill on the edge of town and very quiet.

Chan Chich was certainly quiet.

And a nod to my wife's favorite lodge, Belcampo, located a few miles out of Punta Gorda. It's perched on the side of a very steep hill and Howler Monkeys go swinging through the trees right outside your cabana.

What is the standard procedure one you land in Belize City? Do you rent a car or take a shuttle/taxi to the hotel? Take a boat? Airplane?

I was looking at one place last year and it all sounded nice but it turned out to be a two hour drive from the airport on roads that I could not find on Google Maps and then I would have needed to take a water taxi to the hotel. Once at the hotel I would have needed to take a two hour boat ride to get to the where the dive boat was. Obviously I picked the wrong location for diving. It was not Placencia. I think it was Monkey River Town. I ended up going back to Cozumel instead.

 

[Downing]

Downing, you forgot the Coastal Rd. Cuts 45 minutes off the trip from Placencia or Dangriga to Belize City. Glad you had a good time. I'll be back there in about a year or so.
Are you still looking at building there?

Lol, I didn't forget it, but this time I didn't take it. The car rental place made me promise not to drive on the Coastal Road, presumably because it's too rough. The joke's on them, however, as the road to Barranco was way rougher as were several I took around San Ignacio. In fact, I've always thought of the Coastal Road as being one of the better dirt roads in Belize.

Still looking at buying and building. We actually looked at a property pretty close to yours, right down the road towards Hopkins just across from the Sittee River (you may know her, Deborah). Three lots strung together. But the house was um, not up to my wife's standards--she has very little imagination--so we passed. I couldn't convince her that we could just knock the house down and put up a new one. Probably just as well because the mosquitos that close to the river are pretty intense.

This year I didn't have much time in San Ignacio, but I did talk to a builder there and looked at a couple of his houses. He's an American ex-pat and builds to American standards, which I can appreciate.

What is the standard procedure one you land in Belize City? Do you rent a car or take a shuttle/taxi to the hotel? Take a boat? Airplane?

I was looking at one place last year and it all sounded nice but it turned out to be a two hour drive from the airport on roads that I could not find on Google Maps and then I would have needed to take a water taxi to the hotel. Once at the hotel I would have needed to take a two hour boat ride to get to the where the dive boat was. Obviously I picked the wrong location for diving. It was not Placencia. I think it was Monkey River Town. I ended up going back to Cozumel instead.

I've done it pretty much every way you can do it. Sometimes I fly into BZ City and then fly right back out on Maya or Tropic. They serve all the major villages and even some minor ones. If I do that, then I usually rent a car in Placencia when I'm ready to go on a road trip. I've rented a car at the airport, like this time, and returned it either in Placencia and flew back or just drove back to the airport when it was time to come home.

Since I pretty much always hit the jungle now, I rent a car at some point. But there's something to be said for skipping a car and have someone else do the driving, which is what I recommend for folks going the first time unless they're already comfortable driving in an unfamiliar foreign country.

If you're staying at one of the jungle resorts, my guess is they would want you to fly into the nearest village, like San Ignacio or Punta Gorda and would then shuttle you from there. Our first two trips to Belize we stayed at Turneffe Island Lodge, which is out on the atoll. They shuttled us into Belize City, where we spent the night, then shuttled us again to the marina to be picked up by their boat. At least one resort, Chan Chich, has its own airstrip that it shares with Barry Bowen's farm, and I suspect that how most of their guests arrive and depart rather than drive it like I did.

Monkey River Town would be about a two and a half hour drive from the airport and easy to find. Northern Highway to Hattieville Road to Western Highway to Hummingbird Highway to Southern Highway to the sign that says "Monkey River Town" with an arrow pointing left down a dirt road.

I've never been to MRT except by boat. Frankly, there's not much "there" there, to quote a phrase, but going up the river is beyond cool. My guess is you would have had to dive out of Placencia or maybe through Dennis Garbutt's place in Punta Gorda. Either way, it's definitely quite the boat ride.

 

[Hank49]

L We actually looked at a property pretty close to yours, right down the road towards Hopkins just across from the Sittee River (you may know her, Deborah). Three lots strung together. But the house was um, not up to my wife's standards--she has very little imagination--so we passed. I couldn't convince her that we could just knock the house down and put up a new one. Probably just as well because the mosquitos that close to the river are pretty intense.

My kids sent me some photos. Water is up a bit in Hopkins and Hope Creek. ? My daughter works at Marina Restaurant on the river pretty close to the sea. She had to pass Hopkins to get home. The dirt road up to Sittee Village was flooded.
When I first saw Sittee 15 years ago, I told myself that if I stayed in Belize, that is where I'd want to live. Rich soil, lush. The mosquitos aren't in the river. They're in the still water....leaves, etc. Paradise Farm and even San Pedro were worse than anything I've experienced at Sittee.
And, once you get your boat....haha....it's washed as you come home up the river. We just dip the wetsuits, spearguns, all other gear in the water as we come up river.

I know a local guy who does good work for a reasonable price. When hurricane Richard hit in 2010, we were doing come construction at the hatchery. Two contractors. Everything one guy had build blew down. Everything Jose built was still standing. I had him build my house. And, it was tested a few months later with that hurricane in July 2016. No problem.

Yeah dude, I need an old fart dive buddy. Come on down.