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"Dorothy,
we're not in Kansas anymore (or even San Pedro, Playa del Carmen or
Cancun)."
Seriously,
we often get emails from people trying to decide whether to spend their
vacations in San Pedro or Placencia. The two places are very different, and not
everyone may feel comfortable in one or the other.
So, I've tried to put together
some criteria to help you decide which location is
better for you -- hope it helps.
San Pedro:
Although this
isn't Cancun either, San Pedro
offers more of the "comforts of home" than does Placencia. Lots of lodging options including
condos, time shares, resorts with swimming pools and air conditioning, apartments and
houses for rent (short and long term). Also lots of restaurants serving Northern
American style food (usually with a Belizean twist), wine and frozen drinks. Quite
a few cute little gift shops featuring handmade crafts and artwork. More North
Americans, and a lot more tours and tour operators to chose from. Definitely the
place to go if you're looking for night life.
I live in Placencia, but I also really like San Pedro - - people are
friendly and helpful, and the whole area has a lot of sparkling
Caribbean charm. (For a few recommendations on lodging in San Pedro, see our
San Pedro Accomnodations
Page.)
Placencia:
Even after living here for a number of
years, I still feel a bit like "Indiana Jones"
when I return to Placencia from other parts of Belize. It's an "end of the road" kind of place and the
people you'll
find here are "end of the road" kind of people -- the ones who look at maps
and always want to go to the place at the end of the road that hasn't been
discovered yet. Native Placencians claim to be descended from pirates,
and they may be - - they're fiercely independent and definitely don't like to
be told what to do - - yet at the same time are some of the nicest people
you'll meet anywhere.
But, if you come to Placencia,
come for the people and the place, not the amenities. The road
north of the airstrip is dusty and bumpy (or muddy and bumpy, depending on the
season).
Grocery stores have greatly
improved here in the last few years, and items such as olive oil and
occasionally even balsamic vinegar, Grey Poupon mustard and a variety of
California, Chilean, South African, Italian and Australian wines now
often make their way onto
the grocery store shelves. But, you can't count on anything specific being
available (sometimes there aren't even any vegetables in sight), and the
electricity and water occasionally (sometimes regularly) disappear for a couple of
hours at a time. (On the other hand,
Placencia has great tap water -- its source is an underground river in
the Maya Mountains -- the water is pure, and tastes great.)
A number of resorts and
hotels now offer North American style amenities (air
conditioning, pool, Jacuzzis, etc.), but lodging is pretty basic on the whole,
although when you're a couple of steps from the edge of the Caribbean, who cares
anyway. Night life is fairly tame -- local bands on the weekends,
Garifuna drumming at local restaurants during the
week, karaoke
(a lot different than in the States and actually a quite fun experience - at least
once). That's about it, although Placencians, in true buccaneer spirit, do like a
party - -and it usually lasts late and is always raucous.
Independent Comparison:
following is a comparison of Placencia and
San Pedro (Ambergris Caye) found on a bulletin board on the Web
about 5 years ago.
Although a few things have changed, the comparison is pretty accurate.
"Placencia is a good bit
different from Ambergris Caye.
"Ambergris Caye is more like
the rest of the Caribbean, but 20 or 30 years ago.
It reminds me a little of St. Maarten in the late 60s or early 1970s, before all the
development and cruise ships.
"By contrast, Placencia is a little like a bit of the South Pacific in Central
America. Development is starting to take off with new hotels and such, but it is still
undeveloped in many ways. Plus, there's no town -- just two small villages, and
one, Seine Bight, a Garifuna village, is very, very poor. Placencia Village, a
Creole village, is a little more prosperous, but not compared to San Pedro.
"In short, San Pedro is a resort area -- but not an overcommercialized one by any
means, however -- with some good restaurants, bars, a few shops, facilities like
small groceries that cater to visitors, plus a variety of small hotels, condos and
resorts ... whereas Placencia has only a few shops and the grocery stores are
definitely local-style and about the size of someone's living room. Hotels are all
small, and A/C has just recently come to the peninsula. Placencia does have
some good restaurants, though.
"Another difference is that San Pedro has a heavy Mestizo/Mexican influence,
whereas Placencia is Creole/Garifuna -- very different cultures.
"There's more to do in San Pedro, but in Placencia you can more easily take day
trips to places like the Cockscomb Jaguar Preserve, Monkey River, and some of
the Maya ruins in Toledo.
"Diving offshore from Placencia is generally better than around Ambergris Caye,
though still not as good as around the offshore atolls such as Turneffe or
Lighthouse, but you have to go out a pretty good ways to get to it. Snorkeling is
comparable to Ambergris, maybe a bit better than Ambergris -- you have to go out
to one of the nearby cayes, such as Laughing Bird."
(author unknown)
Well, hope that helps a bit.
You also might take a look at the section of our
Website on Placencia,
which includes pictures,
area news,
and a "Dis 'N Dat"
page, which is sort of like a Placencia FAQ for visitors. If you're still
confused, don't hesitate to
email us,
we'll do our
best to help you sort it out.
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