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Southern, one way to Placencia: 4 or 5 Nights in Belize

Belize City to Placencia

South along the reef to the quietest water in Belize, finishing on the Placencia peninsula — the gateway to the southern cayes, the Maya villages and the inland lodges.

4 or 5 Nights Aboard a Crewed Catamaran

The route

A one-way route from Cucumber Beach Marina (Old Belize) south through the Bluefield Range, Tobacco Caye, the Pelican Cayes and North Long Cocoa Caye, ending at Placencia. It is the route for guests who want reef, snorkelling and empty anchorages, and who plan to carry on inland or further south afterwards.

Departs: Cucumber Beach Marina (Old Belize), Belize City · Crew: captain and chef · Transfers: included from Belize International Airport

Day	Anchorage	What the day is for
Day 1: Bluefield Range	Bluefield Range	Orientation, then the mangrove channels
Day 2: Tobacco Caye	Tobacco Caye	Five acres of palm island on the reef
Day 3: Carrie Bow and South Water Caye	South Water Caye	The Aquarium, then a private island
Day 4: Pelican Cayes	Pelican Cayes	Coral heads, paddleboards, a hidden bar
Day 5: North Long Cocoa Caye	North Long Cocoa Caye	Sandbars, channels and al-fresco lunch
Day 6: Drop-off in Placencia	Placencia	Ashore on the peninsula

The five-night route. On the four-night version the Carrie Bow and South Water Caye day is dropped, and the route runs from Tobacco Caye straight to the Pelican Cayes.

Bluefield Range

Day 1: Bluefield Range

After a welcome orientation and safety briefing you sail to the Bluefield Range, a mangrove cluster teeming with wildlife and a fantastic first kayaking destination. Paddle the tiny channels, watch for manatees, and take a line and some bait — dinner is occasionally caught rather than brought.

Tobacco Caye

Day 2: Tobacco Caye

As the sun comes up over the barrier reef you sail south to Tobacco Caye, a five-acre palm-fringed coral island perched on the reef. You can snorkel or dive from the shore, and its central position puts some of the best snorkel sites in Belize within ten minutes by boat. Two small laid-back resorts, one tiny beach bar with coconut water and icy rum cocktails, hammocks, and thirty-nine islanders who live here year-round.

South Water Caye

Day 3: Carrie Bow and South Water Caye

A short journey to snorkel at Carrie Bow Caye — we call it The Aquarium — and, time permitting, a visit to the Smithsonian field station there, where researchers work on the biology, ecology and geology of coral reef ecosystems (donations welcome). Then on to South Water Caye, a pristine twelve-acre private island sitting on the reef at the north side of South Water Cut, a quarter-mile gap where grunts, black groupers, snappers and moray eels hide in the overhangs. The Blue Marlin Lodge bar is a favourite of ours for a cold Belikin and a game of billiards.

Pelican Cayes

Day 4: Pelican Cayes

A hidden-away collection of mangrove islands surrounded by some of the most impressive coral heads in the country, teeming with marine life — a full snorkelling day. It is also calm and protected enough for paddleboarding, kayaking or dinghy fishing. Tucked in among the islands is a tiny bar running on solar panels and a generator, called Hideaway Caye, and not without reason: blink and you would miss it.

North Long Cocoa Caye

Day 5: North Long Cocoa Caye

A fisherman’s and snorkeller’s mecca: a maze of sandbars, coral reefs and deep channels running between them. There are palapa structures built out over the water that make a perfect spot for an al-fresco lunch, and nine times out of ten there is not another soul in sight for miles.

Placencia

Day 6: Drop-off in Placencia

A leisurely sail down to Placencia, where you are dropped off to carry on your holiday in Belize — the peninsula is the usual gateway to the southern cayes, the Maya villages and the inland lodges. A drop-off here carries a relocation fee of US$1,400.

Four Nights or Five?

What changes on the shorter charter

On the four-night version the Carrie Bow and South Water Caye day is dropped, and the route runs from Tobacco Caye straight to the Pelican Cayes. Outside the festive season the minimum stay is four nights; between 19 December and 5 January it is seven. Your broker will tell you which yachts are free for the dates you have in mind.

What’s Included

One rate, almost everything in it

One rate covers the catamaran and a dedicated crew of captain and chef / first mate, all meals from breakfast through canapés to dinner and dessert, an open ship’s bar with beer, rum cocktails and wine at dinner, air-conditioned queen cabins with private bathrooms, and the full kit for snorkelling, kayaking, paddleboarding and fishing. Private road transfers from Belize International Airport are included. Outside the rate sit crew gratuity, scuba diving, specialty fishing and anything off the boat — spa treatments and restaurant dinners ashore.

Before You Book

How fixed is the route?

This route is a sample. The sailing is shaped by the weather, the sea state, what your group feels like doing and the judgement of your captain. Charters are planned around a midday arrival and a midday departure, and the minimum stay is four nights outside the festive season.

FAQ

A long sandy peninsula in southern Belize with its own airstrip, and the usual jumping-off point for the southern cayes, the Maya villages and the inland lodges. Finishing there suits guests who want to carry on inland afterwards. The one-way drop-off carries a relocation fee of US$1,400.

Four nights is the minimum outside the festive season; between 19 December and 5 January the minimum is seven. Charters are planned around a midday arrival and a midday departure, so a late flight shortens the first day.

No. Every charter is tailored — the pre-arrival preference form shapes the week, and the sailing is then adjusted day by day for weather, sea state and what your group feels like doing. Your captain knows which anchorage will be comfortable on any given night.

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