WHERE WE STAYED
This post is wayyy past due but I’m sure most of you remember from my stories and posts that last month I traveled to Belize with my bestie Jaclyn. It was just the two of us and we stayed for an entire week in Placencia, which is in the southern part of Belize. Pro tip: take the extra hour long flight from the Belize airport to Placencia. We didn’t take the flight because I’m a child and not a fan of small planes. The other option (what we unfortunately endured) is a 3 hour bus ride with speed bumps literally every ten seconds. We stayed at Laru Beya, an all inclusive boutique resort that proved to be the perfect choice for our stay. The resort is about a 10 minute golf cart ride to the town of Placencia where there are restaurants, shops and most importantly, Tutti Fruitt Gelato to check out.
We had the most spacious room ever with a separate living room and kitchen. With all the clothes and accessories we packed for this trip it was so nice to have a large room where we didn’t feel crammed. Jaclyn and I were grandmas on most nights and stayed in – honestly I blame it on the insanely comfy bed! We both made comments on how nice it was haha. Aside from the room the hospitality at Laru Beya was incredible. The entire staff were beyond friendly and accommodating towards all our needs. That’s so important, especially when you’re staying somewhere for an entire week.
Laru Beya is all inclusive so we enjoyed most of our meals there. There’s one three-story restaurant onsite called Quarterdeck. It’s an open air setting with views of the pool and ocean. The menu offers all fresh, locally sourced ingredients and tons of fish dishes, which I especially enjoyed. Scroll down for the fish tacos that are an absolute must if you stay here! I also recommend going to Quarterdeck for the daily happy hour where you can try different things aside from the traditional menu.
Laru Beya is a smaller boutique hotel and that’s one of the things I loved most about it. The staff definitely made us feel right at home. Our room had a gorgeous view of the ocean complete with a hammock for relaxing. I also recommend renting golf carts to drive into town to explore. We rode bikes the first day and that was the only time haha. It was a much longer distance than we anticipated so we stuck with golf carts for the rest of the trip.
I highly recommend Laru Beya resort if you are traveling to Placencia. Jaclyn and I both agreed we would stay there again and again! Scroll down to see more of what we did during our trip and other places we ate.
Best fish tacos at Laru Beya + their local Belikin beer — SO good!
What we did
One of my favorite parts of this trip was going snorkeling for the first time. We went with Go Sea and they were amazing and showed us such a good time! We anchored the boat at the most gorgeous tiny island where we had lunch and relaxed. Correction – most people relaxed. Jaclyn and I took about 5000 pictures of each other with multiple swimsuit changes. Yes there were a lot of stares but what can I say, it’s what we do. Once all that was done we went snorkeling!
Honestly it was the coolest experience seeing all the beautiful fish and coral. Our guide even picked up things from under the water to show us up close which I thought was a great touch. We also took the boat out to a separate area and got to see turtles, sting rays and nurse sharks. I put my phone in a plastic cover so I was able to record it underwater. Like I said, best first experience snorkeling and my personal highlight from the trip.
We chose the perfect rainy day to hit up the spa at Belize Ocean Club. We both enjoyed the best hour long facials..the sweet ladies working there seriously knew exactly how to help us lay back, relax and feel pampered! The best part was that the spa is right on the water and has windows which I thought added a special touch and enhanced the overall experience.
Another cool first time experience was going on a monkey river tour! We ventured through the forest and saw lots of monkeys, bats, crocodiles and iguanas! We also earned a lot on this tour! Below is a picture of us in the “bamboo church”, as our guide described it. Our tour guide was the best and so knowledgeable. It was so interesting to hear how the people who live in Monkey River Village use wildlife and Mother Nature to cure things versus traditional medicine. I really enjoyed this tour and recommend it if you want a little outdoor activity and get some insight on how a small village in Belize lives.
Love sailing with this girl! We sailed with Daytripper and they were the best hosts! Lots of cocktails flowing and snacks too! Be warned – flowy dresses may NOT be the best outfit choice for this activity since it’s super windy. Even though I didn’t dress appropriately we still had a great time per usual!
Where we ate
We ventured out a few times to eat at other places besides our resort. I definitely recommend going to Barefoot Bar (below) for the colorful decor and atmosphere. They have a massive menu, both drinks and food that make it hard to decide what to order! One of the drinks I remember liking the best from Barefoot was the Mudslide!
Hit up the Tipsy Strip in Placencia for a few restaurants and shops. There were locals selling goods along the sidewalk and little boutique stores selling souvenirs as well. We went out to Tipsy Tuna sports bar one night for karaoke. We didn’t participate (thank god) but it was a fun place to have cocktails and people watch.
Rumfish y Vino is a great restaurant to try if you’re in Placencia. Jaclyn and I both had the Al Pastor tacos + fries and it was delish (highly recommend). The atmosphere of this place is nice, it’s two stories with lights and a great ambiance for a dinner out.
That’s a wrap for my Placencia Belize Travel Guide – I hope you enjoyed it! As always feel free to reach out if you have any specific questions on the area. I would love to go back and even explore other parts of Belize, maybe the northern part next time!
