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Although Placencia took a direct hit from Hurricane Iris in October 2001 all the businesses mentioned in the text have now reopened, many of them completely rebuilt. The reefs and cayes offshore did sustain damage, however, and you're still likely to see some evidence of this. Many, though by no means all, of the coconut trees which graced the shoreline have gone, but their replacements are growing fast and Placencia is still definitely worth visiting - you'll certainly get a warm welcome from villagers.
Shaded by palm trees, cooled by the sea breeze,
Placencia
is one of the few places on mainland Belize with real beaches, and this, together with the abundant and inexpensive accommodation, makes it a great place to relax. The easiest way to get to Placencia is on one of the regular
flights
from Belize City (about 45min). The airstrip is about 3km north of the village; taxis are usually waiting - or it's a five-minute walk to
Kitty's Place
, where you can phone for one. There are usually two direct
buses
a day from Dangriga, which terminate at the beachfront station, right at the end of the peninsula (if you're looking for budget rooms, get off when you see the sign for the
Sea Spray Hotel
, about halfway through the village, then head left for "the sidewalk", a concrete walkway that winds through the palms, and you'll reach a cluster of budget hotels and restaurants). Alternatively you can reach Placencia on the
Hokey Pokey
A
ferry
from Independence/Mango Creek, a thirty-minute trip across the lagoon (Independence is on the Dangriga-Punta Gorda bus route; the ferry meets all buses). A
shuttle bus
(US$2.50) runs between Maya Beach and Placencia roughly every two hours from 6am to 7pm. The
Gulf Cruza
leaves Placencia for
Puerto Cortes
in Honduras (US$50; 4hr), every Friday at 9.30am, returning to Placencia on Monday and leaving for Belize City (3hr, US$25) at 2.30pm.
The
Placencia Tourism Center
(Mon-Fri 8.30-11.30am & 1-5pm, Sat 8.30-11.30am; tel 523-4045,
www.placencia.com
) is the best place to find out what's going on locally, and you can also call hotels from here and pick up a copy of the
Placencia Breeze
, which has comprehensive local listings. The
post office
is upstairs in the wooden building on the right at the end of The Sidewalk; the
BTL office
is by the sidewalk in the centre of the village, and there are several payphones around. The
Purple Space Monkey
, in a large thatched building on the roadside opposite the soccer field, provides excellent
Internet
connections. The Atlantic
bank
(Mon-Thurs 8am-2pm, Fri 8am-4pm), across from the main dock by the filling station, deals swiftly with cash advances.
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