7-Nights Belize Superior Foodie Cultural Trip

Punta Gorda

Set against a verdant backdrop, Punta Gorda, Belize's southernmost town, is a place to enjoy sooner rather than later. With multiple daily flights and buses, and with the completion of paving of the Southern Highway—which is now the best highway in Belize—tourism has slowly increased, and the town serves as a good base for exploring Mayan villages and remote southern cayes.

At present, Punta Gorda, or PG, is a farming community composed of an unusual blend of Q'eqchi' Maya, Garifuna, Creoles, East Indian, Chinese and several other national and ethnic groups. Found 170 mi/268 km by road south of Belize City, the town doesn't offer much in the way of traditional travel attractions, but a growing number of luxury ecolodges make this a more and more tempting area to visit. Serious anglers will want to stay longer, as this area has one of the world's best permit fisheries. Divers will love having the only boat in the water as they explore the Sapodilla Cayes.

Punta Gorda has an interesting market (the best days are Wednesday and Saturday) that's frequented by people living in the hinterlands (including missionaries). They go to town to buy and sell fruits, vegetables, baskets, cacao and chickens. It's quite a festive event. You can also buy fresh fish and lobster right off the fishing boats if you're willing to elbow your way through the crowd at the pier.

Punta Gorda is the departure point for daily water taxis that cross the Gulf of Honduras to Puerto Barrios, Guatemala.

Placencia

Belize's Placencia Peninsula, like Hopkins, appeals to those who want to combine a mainland vacation with seaside activities. Lying 114 mi/180 km by road south of Belize City, it offers a sleepy, almost South Pacific atmosphere, though a number of housing and condo developments are changing the peninsula, and not necessarily for the better.

You'll find a mix of budget and upscale lodges, some of Belize's best mainland beaches and several good restaurants and bars—hang out there for five days or so. Visitors can enjoy diving and snorkeling, although the reef is 15-20 mi/25-30 km offshore, requiring a long boat trip. Fishing is available, too, primarily for tarpon and bonefish. The area is known for its Creole seafood cuisine.

The peninsula community of Seine Bight is a Garifuna fishing village that experienced some culture shock because of the tourism development in this once-isolated area. After years of hoping, residents got their fondest wish when paving finally began on the 25-mi/40-km road from the Southern Highway to Placencia village.

An international airport just north of the peninsula serves inter-island air traffic as well as private planes.

Most visitors spend their days taking a series of day tours, which can be arranged locally. You can go by boat to Laughing Bird Caye National Park (excellent snorkeling there and at other sites on typical daylong snorkel tours), Monkey River (home of crocodiles, howler monkeys, boas and iguanas) or Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary.

Red Bank, southwest of Placencia, is a mostly Maya village famous among birders as the January-March home of the endangered and beautiful scarlet macaw. Other options include renting kayaks to search for manatees in the local lagoon or renting bikes to visit other parts of the peninsula.