About Placencia

A beautiful sixteen-mile strip of sandy beaches and coconut palms, only a half mile at its widest, lies between the Caribbean Sea and a tranquil lagoon on Belize’s southern Caribbean coast.

This is the Placencia Peninsula, where for years the inhabitants of Seine Bight and Placencia Village welcomed visitors to their beautiful, remote hideaway and an enviable, laidback lifestyle that later became characterized as “no shoes, no shirt, no worries.”

Perched on the tip of the peninsula, Placencia village was for years a sleepy fishing community where, instead of a highway, villagers used a sidewalk that became known as “the worlds narrowest main street” to transport goods and small children in wheelbarrows across town.

Recent years brought changes: a road and airstrip now connect Placencia with the rest of Belize. An assortment of bars, restaurants and shops have replaced the village’s single grocery store/ waterfront bar and tourists now stroll a beach that once was the exclusive preserve of fisherman and their families.

But what hasn’t changed is the unique character of the people. The stunning beauty and proximity to the reef and islands that once made Placencia a sanctuary for ancient Maya mariners and 18th century pirates, now welcomes visitors from around the world.

And don’t worry if you forget your shoes…