This week you continue your Belize experience. Your trip has been designed to include elevated and personalized guest services that heighten your enjoyment, anchoring indelible memories worth bragging about. True luxury in Belize comes from keeping its ecology at the center of experiences, combining a wonderful natural environment, exclusiveness, sustainable tourism, excellent gastronomy, great service, and a variety of cultural attractions whether you prefer a jungle, coastline, or island escape.
Last week's article set your journey in the tropical rainforest. This week you'll sample the coast.
Your Coastal Retreat
Placencia means “pleasant point” in Spanish, and this charming coastal village at the tip of a 16-mile-long peninsula – flanked by a lagoon woven with mangrove forests on one side and azure Caribbean waters lapping at the other – outshines its given name. When filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola set his sights on the area in 2001, Placencia was still a bucolic fishing hamlet; since then, it’s become a vibrant holiday destination. At his plush Turtle Inn, seaside living translates to salty breezes floating through the shutters of 25 Balinese-inspired cottages and an open-air spa specializing in Thai massages.
Known locally as “Barefoot Perfect,” Placencia Peninsula is 16 miles of golden sand, the only golden-sand beaches on mainland Belize. After hanging out on the beach, snorkeling and scuba diving, head into town and get a feel for what a traditional Kriol (Creole) fishing village is like. There are also village restaurants, bars and art galleries. About the only thing Placencia doesn’t offer is stress.
Farther up the coast, the unassuming village of Hopkins is the cultural center of Belize’s Afro-Indigenous Garifuna community. Visitors can sample dishes such as hudut (a coconut, plantain, and fish soup), bundiga (fresh snapper soup with coconut and green bananas), and wangla (melted sugar hardened with toasted sesame seeds) and learn about Garifuna music and culture while taking drumming lessons at Lebeha Drumming Center. Practice the traditional drumming and dancing while meeting the locals, dancing to the rhythms of the Garifuna's drumming, and indulging in tasty cultural foods. Hopkins is one of those rare destinations where nature and culture takes precedence and explorations are endless.
Your Belize adventure isn't over. You have yet to explore the offshore islands of this tropical gem.
'til next week.
Did you miss any of my articles? They are all here.
I create indulgent, transformative vacations for people who crave immersive travel. If you’re too busy to take time to plan the details of your own well-deserved escape, don't know where to begin, or are longing to make unforgettable memories with those you love, then don’t wait another day. Let's talk.
Contact: GLOBAL EXOTIC ADVENTURES
-Juliet Weller, Founder