All of the food that we ate in Placencia was somewhat unremarkable. We never did find anywhere that we considered excellent. Most of the food was either very bland or very salty. We were trying to stick to a modest budget, so…Read More

All of the food that we ate in Placencia was somewhat unremarkable. We never did find anywhere that we considered excellent. Most of the food was either very bland or very salty. We were trying to stick to a modest budget, so we mostly ate at the least expensive places, which may explain our lack of rave-worthy food. Here are the places that we tried:

BJs: Inexpensive with a large variety. Dan had the large chicken dinner, with rice and beans and coleslaw, which he said was decent and filling, but salty – the price was US$5. I had the veggie burrito for US$2.50, which was average. Other choices included a daily special (typically rice, beans, and meat) for US$3 or $4 for lunch/dinner. A large pizza cost US$15. I heard that the pizza was good, and also that the milkshakes were good (US$2). We also had a good breakfast one morning. Dan had chicken and beans and fry jacks (like popovers) for US$4 and I had just fry jacks for US$1.50.

Merlenes: Excellent choice for breakfast. Merlenes is removed from the main center of town, so it is peaceful. It is located directly on the water, with nice views of passing sailboats. Merlene is gregarious and a pleasure to be around. But she runs the place alone, so you must be patient with the service – she’s doing her best! The two of us had breakfast for US$6, which included a huge fruit plate, fry jacks with jam and butter, and coffee (unfortunately instant).

Tutti Frutti Gelato: Yummy! Rich! Creamy! Small is US$1.50, large US$2.50.

Omar’s: We ate at Omar’s three times, with varying success. The first night I had the crab claw dinner for US$7.50. The crab was excellent, the rice and beans and boiled veggies were OK, and the fried plantain was good. Dan had a similar dinner, but with kingfish instead of crab for the same price. A glass of lime juice cost US$1. The second night we had HUGE chicken burritos for US$3 each. They were tasty and filling by themselves, but a side of rice and beans was just US$1. The final night we ate at Omar’s left us with a bad impression. It was the last day of lobster season and it was Valentine’s Day so we splurged for the US$15 lobster dinners. We were disappointed first when the lobster was chewy and the melted butter didn’t help. We were really bummed out at 2am when we found out why the butter wasn’t very good – it must have gone bad and we both had mild food poisoning from early morning to early afternoon. I stopped at Omar’s later to warn him about the butter, and he seemed not to believe me and didn’t really care about our illness.

DeTatch: We really enjoyed DeTatch. It has a great location on the beach, with pleasant deck seating. The waitresses were friendly and the service good. Dan had a cheeseburger and I had some nachos, each at US$3. There is a Scrabble game to borrow, making for relaxing entertainment.

Cozy Corner: We went to Cozy Corner after learning that Deb and Dave (owners of the guesthouse we were staying at) ate there almost every day for lunch. It must be good if the locals ate there, right? We did find the atmosphere to be lively and the food good (and reasonably priced). I recommend Cozy Corner, at least for lunch. Dan had the BBQ chicken (very yummy) special, with rice and beans and potato salad for US$4. I had some OK nachos (they would have been very good, but I don’t like canned cheese sauce) with chicken, salsa, and hot peppers. The portion was amazingly huge and the price was US$3.50.

Pickled Parrot: This was a busy place. It is more of a bar than a restaurant. A hamburger with potato salad was US$6, and pizza bread was US$4.50. There were entertaining drunk elderly people too.

Finally, there are three different small grocery stores in Placencia. The food is affordable and there are good choices for breakfast, snacks, and lunch. This is the best place to buy hot sauce (for souvenirs) as it is cheaper than the gift shops.

The beaches in Placencia are possibly not the best you will find in the world but its unique diving experiences make it a must if you crave the open sea. Placencia offers the ultimate diving experience - Whale Sharks. Swimming with whale sharks is a…Read More

The beaches in Placencia are possibly not the best you will find in the world but its unique diving experiences make it a must if you crave the open sea. Placencia offers the ultimate diving experience - Whale Sharks. Swimming with whale sharks is a magical experience and seems to be almost a guaranteed experience in Placenica. Several local boats will take divers and snorkelers on trips lasting a full day and including lunch. You can normally find trips without booking but head to the dock early. Trips start from around $40BZ. On my trip we headed out in the morning and spent a fruitless morning diving. We headed back over the reef for a spot of lunch and a swim. During the lunch time swim we spotted a reef shark hanging out by the reef and spent time looking at the coral. As soon as we were past the reef after lunch we spotted a whale shark and were straight in the water. It's hard to describe the feeling of seeing the largest fish in the ocean and getting up close to it. You best trust me, it's amazing and not something easily forgotten. I wouldn't recommend this as a snorkeling trip as the water can be really rough and the visibility isn't very good, but for divers it's a must.    Close

There are basically 4 things to do from this lovely village. Tour the jungle by boat or foot, fish on flats or in the ocean, dive/snorkel or visit Mayan ruins. There are 2 operators I would recommend: Splash Divers for the wet stuff and fishing…Read More

There are basically 4 things to do from this lovely village. Tour the jungle by boat or foot, fish on flats or in the ocean, dive/snorkel or visit Mayan ruins. There are 2 operators I would recommend: Splash Divers for the wet stuff and fishing (the dive instructor is very experienced a PADI master instructor etc.), and D Tours for the jungle. Both are easy to find and have bases by the boat jetty near the shell gas station   Close