By air
Placencia (PLJ), a short flight from Belize City
North America · Belize
Placencia, Belize
A sandy peninsula village with the reef offshore
Getting there
Best time to visit
December to April; whale sharks visit Gladden Spit around the spring full moons
Don't miss
Placencia Beach
Laughing Bird Caye
Gladden Spit
Monkey River
Seine Bight
The Sidewalk
Things to do
Snorkelling at Laughing Bird Caye
Whale-shark trips to Gladden Spit
A lagoon tour for manatees
Kayaking
A Garifuna drumming night in Seine Bight
Where to eat
Sources: Photo: Dave ten Broek from Calgary, Canada · CC BY 2.0
What to pack
Reef-safe sunscreen, snorkel gear, a hat, cash
A quieter corner
The Sidewalk, the village's narrow concrete footpath, lined with painted cabins and once in the record books as the world's narrowest street
Questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Placencia?
December to April; whale sharks visit Gladden Spit around the spring full moons. What to pack: Reef-safe sunscreen, snorkel gear, a hat, cash.
How do I get to Placencia?
Fly into Placencia (PLJ), a short flight from Belize City.
What is there to do in Placencia?
Snorkelling at Laughing Bird Caye, whale-shark trips to Gladden Spit, a lagoon tour for manatees, kayaking, a Garifuna drumming night in Seine Bight. A quieter find: The Sidewalk, the village's narrow concrete footpath, lined with painted cabins and once in the record books as the world's narrowest street.
What should I eat in Placencia?
Grilled lobster and snapper, Garifuna hudut, rice and beans, coconut bread, fresh fruit.
About Placencia
- Coastal
Where it is
Placencia is a village at the tip of a long sandy peninsula on the southern coast of Belize, between the Caribbean Sea and a mangrove lagoon, in the Stann Creek District.
History
Settled by fishermen of English and Creole descent in the nineteenth century beside older Garifuna villages, Placencia remained a quiet fishing village until the late twentieth century. Tourism arrived with the reef and the whale sharks, and the peninsula now has resorts and a small airstrip while the village keeps its wooden houses.
People
Creole fishing families, the Garifuna community of Seine Bight and a growing number of expatriates share the peninsula; the pace is slow and the evenings end at beach bars.
Known for
- A long sandy beach
- Whale sharks at Gladden Spit
- Laughing Bird Caye
- The Sidewalk
Did you know?
Gladden Spit, offshore, is one of the few places where whale sharks gather predictably, drawn by spawning snapper.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.