Is Your Belize Resort in Placencia Village or on the Placencia Peninsula?

Placencia Village

There’s only one Paris. Unless you count Paris, Kentucky. And Rome isn’t always built in a day—especially if you’re in Rome, New York. Are geographers eager to confuse travelers? Not intentionally—but if you’re traveling abroad, two locations bearing the same name can cause frustration and confusion. Take, for example, Placencia, Belize, a place that’s fast becoming one of the hottest destinations in the Caribbean. There’s Placencia the peninsula and Placencia the village. They’re not the same. May we help you sort the two?

Where’s Placencia Peninsula?

If you’re looking at a detailed map of Belize, you will spot a finger of land that–depending upon whose distance numbers you believe–runs between 14 and 16 miles due south of a town called Riversdale. That’s approximately where the Peninsula of Placencia veers away from the mainland. Once a thriving fishing paradise, it’s now awash in villages, resorts and attractions, some facing the Caribbean Sea and others facing the lagoon that separates the cape from the mainland. If you drive the length of the peninsula and reach the southern-most point, you’ll wind up at the Village of Placencia.

Placencia Peninsula’s Natural Wonders

Thanks to a paved 16-mile-long road that passes primary tourism centers that link peninsula villages, you can stay on Maya Beach, Seine Bight or Placencia Village. With the Placencia Lagoon on your right (yup, there’s that name again), pass groves of mangroves edging blue waters beginning at Riversdale as you travel south. Spot the Maya mountains, Cockscomb Range where protected wildlife roam free and you can’t miss a string of offshore islands in varying sizes. Most are uninhabited, but they make for lush scenery as you travel to your resort.

Where the Resorts Are

Maya Beach, a once sleepy community now home to condominiums being snapped up by ex-pats seeking the good life may be your destination, but more likely, the next community is. In Seine Bight, award-winning resort properties like Laru Beya and Roberts Grove are heavily booked year-round and since this village is home to Belize’s colorful Garifuna population, in addition to luxury digs, get your culture fix here, too. If you’ve booked in Placencia Village, top choices are Chabil Mar or the Turtle Inn (the Francis Ford Coppola Resort). Expect to be spoiled by the staff, resort food and the amenities at either of these resorts.

How to Get Here

If you fly to Belize, hop a commuter plane at the Phillip Goldson International Airport for a short flight to the Placencia airstrip if you don’t care to drive. The airstrip is located in-between Seine Bight and Placencia Village. Your resort host will likely pick you up and drive you the short distance to your lodgings. By the way, you should know that the folks who obviously adore the name Placencia didn’t stop when they named the village and the peninsula. They also picked Placencia Road for the main thoroughfare and there’s a little island off the peninsula tip named (what else?) Placencia Caye!

Interested in visiting the Placencia Peninsula on your Belize Vacation? Contact us and we will provide you with the best travel tips and top places to stay in the area.