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A 16 mile long dirt and aggregate road threads
southward through the ribbon of mangrove and barrier beach that separates
the coastal lagoon from the Caribbean Sea. The coastal town of Riverside
anchors the northernmost end of the peninsula as it meanders through the
towns of Maya Beach and Seine Bight and opens eventually into Placencia
Village proper as its southernmost point. The peninsula is referred to in
the tourist industry as the “Jewel of Belize” for its superior beaches,
the unspoiled natural beauty of its sea, lagoon and mountainscapes and
unbelievably tranquil lifestyle. Placencia Village is the heart of the
peninsula. Everything in the lower Village is so easily accessible from its single paved street and 3 ft wide, mile long concrete “sidewalk” that locals call Placencia Village “barefoot perfect!” For an "insider's view", click here to visit Belize First Online Magazine and Blog.
info@jewelofplacenciabelize.com |
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Unlike their more fractious Bucanneer ancestors of the mid 1650s, today’s
Villagers are predominantly warm and welcoming English speaking
descendants of Creole fishermen who permanently settled this area in the
early 19th century. Placencia had been the site of a Mayan fishing village
in ancient times. Beginning in 1862 with the formal accession of this area
as the crown colony of British Honduras, Belize experienced a century of
British colonization. It took until 1981 for it to achieve complete
sovereignty and its present name, Belize. Over the years many Villagers
have left to live and work in the United States and elsewhere while others
remain to work locally in tourist related occupations. They continue to
live in large extended family groups in traditional homes built
generations ago on family land on the peninsula and in the Village proper.
Today’s Village is a charming and colorful mix of low-rise modern concrete
and traditional painted clapboard with corrugated metal or thatched roof
construction. Accommodations and restaurants are abundant and suited to
every budget and taste. The Village is the local hub for the greatest
concentration of personal and business services and supplies on the
peninsula. It is home to the Placencia Pirates soccer club, Scotia and
Atlantic Banks, Gelateria Tutti Frutti home-made ice cream, Belize
Telephone regional office, The Tipsy Tuna sports bar, Placencia Office
Supplies, De Tatch restaurant and bar, Hokey Pokey ferry to Independence,
M&M Hardware, Nite Wind adventure guides, Z-Touch massage and beauty
salon, The Moorings charter boat rentals, the Beach Bazaar gift shop,
Julia’s rooms and laundry, the Boson’s Chair internet café, and Wallen’s
Drugstore, to name some of the wonderful mix of family and outsider
operated shops, suppliers and services. It is the eventual destination for
everyone on the peninsula.
It is also a staging area for guided and solo diving and snorkeling the
Barrier Reef, sailing, kayaking, sports and fly fishing, day trips to
Laughing Bird and other nearby cayes and waterborne and overland trekking
adventures up the Monkey River or into the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife
Sanctuary or Maya Center Village. The Village hosts an annual “Sidewalk
Arts Festival” in mid-February and “Lobsterfest” in June.