Placencia
Travel Advice for Seniors: Placencia
It was a long travel day between the Ambergris Caye beaches and the Placencia beaches. Even a few great stops were not enough to break the monotony of a two-hour water taxi ride back to Belize City, then a very slow bus ride to Placencia.
One thing you will definitely notice if you travel by bus or car anywhere in Belize is the road speed bumps, which are everywhere. Seriously. It is pretty slow going between destinations, not only due to the “island time” mentality, but also only some of the roads are in good shape (the ones with speed bumps, urgh!) and many others are gravel or worse. So, kick back and resign yourself to a day or half day of travel to get to some of the many sights in Belize, but a few stops along the way can make the drive bearable.
We did take in a few sights for travel breaks…the Belize Zoo, an accessible “zoo” of animals that had been abandoned or injured. And we also stopped at a locally owned zip-lining place and an orange farm….a full day on its own!
Belize Zoo is a remarkable place, if only for the handmade signs reminding one not to get too close to the back end of a tapir, or expect a nasty surprise awaits! Many of the animals were domesticated by humans as pets and then became unmanageable, so need to be kept in a place as close to home as possible as they can’t be returned to the wild. Other animals were orphaned, injured or abandoned. It is a wonderful place to see the native flora, and fauna and the animals do have room to roam in a pretty, heavily forested sanctuary. Normally, we don’t like to go to zoos, but rescue facilities are there for a different reason and deserve our gratitude and our entry fees.
Next stop…Mom loves to zip along on a zip line. There are plenty of ziplining opportunities available in Belize and the tall tropical trees make for some pretty stellar zips way high above the trees and rivers! One of the better ziplining experiences I’ve seen. Many of the ziplining courses go hand in hand with cave tubing, which we cover in the Cayo post.
We also had a quick stop at an Orange Farm to plant an orange tree, to help redevelop the local groves. The farm also offered rainforest horse rides, we didn’t have time for it, but we did have time for a nice glass of freshly squeezed orange juice!
So, it’s a long day already. But once you do finally arrive at your destination, it is definitely worth it! After a full day of travel and stops to get to Placencia, we elected to take the next day off and be beach bums. It was time well spent. Sometimes, it’s nice to unwind from the hectic tour schedule and take some “me” time.
The resort was beach side, and we had a suite with a full kitchen. We could walk out of our suite and be immediately on the beach, which was ideal. After a relaxed breakfast, we opted to find a central spot on the beach, not too far away from the pool and the drinks/food bar, but far enough away to be quiet.
We were not prepared for the hubbub that ensued….all afternoon. The culprits? Pelicans! The water was very shallow with a long pier out to the resort restaurant. The water wasn’t the turquoise blue of Ambergris Caye, but a brownish color due to an influx of sargassum and long distance from the purifying reef. The shallow water is perfect for bait fish, hence multiple groups of pelicans that constantly swam around, flew a brief distance and then dive-bombed for fish! It was like having a ring-side seat to a Wildlife TV Special! Very entertaining!
And yes, of course we had a few Panty Rippers! What is THAT you may ask? It’s a tropical umbrella drink with pineapple juice, coconut rum and grenadine. Very tasty and not too boozy for a mid-afternoon beach cocktail. The real fun is watching Mom order one from the bar!
Note to self: Beach resorts in Belize tend to have very pricey food and drinks. Be sure to ask if the menu is in US dollars or Belizean dollars (which are about 2 for 1). We paid about $28 for a hamburger with a few potato wedges…you get the drift. Best to eat off-resort if possible, but for us, it was not really possible as the resort was pretty far out.
The Meso-American Barrier Reef is about a 45–90-minute boat ride out from Placencia. That is where the better-visibility water is located for snorkeling, including the popular Silk Caye and Turtle Alley. You need to book a guided tour for access to the best spots. We opted out of this, having snorkeled in Ambergris Caye, which was phenomenal, but if we would’ve had an extra day, we certainly would’ve signed up for it.
The rest of the group took an excursion to Hopkins, which was about an hour and a half away, home of Afro-indigenous Garifuna culture, which is a UNESCO intangible. The Garifuna Center features cooking classes and interactive dancing and drumming among other things. They said it was a very educational, fun and interesting day.
But hey, sometimes, you just need to take a day off to vege….on the beach….with a Panty Ripper!
Where we stayed: Placencia Resort. Very nice walk-up rooms, with pool and restaurant out on a pier. The beachfront was broad, white sand with plenty of loungers and umbrellas, plus it was uncrowded. Poolside restaurant and bar. The Resort had recently been purchased when we stayed and was undergoing renovation.
How we got there: Bus from Belize City about three hours not including stops. This was part of a 9-day small group tour through Belize.
General Accessibility Information: The resort is generally accessible in some of the main areas, but the pier was wooden boards, the walkways were stone, plus beach sand, all unlevel surfaces. Call in advance to verify and make specialty arrangements. See our sections on specialty apps and accessible travel for more on accessibility assistance.
