Placencia (Belize)

Placencia is a large village (permanent population around 3,500) located in Belize's Stann-Creek District. As a Caribbean cruise port, Placencia is usually visited by smaller-sized ships stopping here for accessing Payne's Creek National Park, Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary and Monkey River (boat tours or Zodiac landings). Placencia has two marinas (docks/berthing facilities for pleasure boats and yachts) - Placencia Marina (20 slots) and Roberts Grove Marina (7 slots).

As cruise port, Placencia was included in the 2021 schedule of the company UnCruise Adventures.

Next table shows the 7-night "Belize and Guatemala Wonders, Rivers, Reefs and Cultures Cruise" itinerary leaving roundtrip from Belize's capital and operated by the ship Safari Voyager.

Prices started from USD 5600 per person with double occupancy.

Via boats from Placencia are also offered scuba diving/snorkeling tours to the Great Blue Hole and Half Moon Caye, both part of the Lighthouse Reef Atoll. Boat travel time is around 1 hour.

Placencia's area was inhabited by the Mayans (salt production and trade) prior to the 17th century when here settled English Puritans arriving from Nova Scotia and Providence Island Colony (1630-established, part of Colombia's San Andres-Providencia-Santa Catalina Archipelago). During the 25-years of Spanish-American wars (1808-1833) the settlement (originally named "Punta Placentia"/Pleasant Point by the Spaniards) was destroyed, to be resettled again in the late-19th-century.

Placencia initially prospered from fishing and trade and in the late-20th-century developed as a tourism destination. In October 2001, Placencia Village was severely damaged (95% of its buildings) by Hurricane Iris. However, the disaster was used by real estate developers and today property values are at their highest.

The local scenery is marked by a long narrow bay with rich mangrove forests along the coastline. The 30-km / 18-mi long peninsula houses four villages (south to north) - Placencia, Garifuna, Maya Beach, and Riversdale. Placencia Airport serves only domestic flights (regularly scheduled, by two airlines - Maya Island Air, and Tropic Air) linking to Belize City, Dangriga, and Punta Gorda (Toledo District). Private planes are also allowed to land.

Tourist attractions include leisure venues (hotels, bars, restaurants, art galleries), sea sports activities (kayaking, canoeing, paddle-boating, snorkeling, scuba diving, boat fishing tours), annual festivals (Lobster Fest, Peninsula Arts Festival, Easter Week/Spring Break), wildlife viewing (seabirds, whale sharks between April-July, Placencia Lagoon/manatees, dolphins, Batoids/rays), excursions to the Mayan ruins Nim Li Punit and Lubantuum), day tours to Cockscomb nature reserve (land area 400 km2 / 150 mi2, world's first jaguar sanctuary, jungle hiking, pine forests, waterfalls), day tours to Payne's Creek NP (land area 152 km2 / 60 mi2, broadleaf- and mangrove forests, Mayan saltworks), Maya Centre Village (12x trails, 400 km2 forest, ~300 bird species), Mayflower Archaeological Reserve (housing the Mayan ruins Mayflower, T'au Witz, Maintzunun), Bladen River Reserve (caves, sinkholes, old rainforest, pristine streams and rivers).

Maya Beach Village (midway between Placencia and Riversdale) is popular for its 2,5-km/ 1,5-mi-long white sand beach lined up with homes, guest houses, small hotels and resorts, cabanas, shops, bars, restaurants.