I could barely see my feet as I trod gingerly through the dark and into the thicket following a local Rasta whom I had just met at the Tipsy Tuna bar on the beach in Placencia. After a strong rum punch he had offered me a tour of the peninsular and who was I to turn down a locals' knowledge.

My Rasta

Placencia is a funky little village on the East coast of Belize. It has a nice vibe with funky signposts and nice friendly locals – meet BB from the local store who had personally escorted me to the coconut water section of the fridge without asking for anything in return.

There's no getting lost here!

A far cry from my Rasta who seemed to want free beers in exchange for his information about the village. Having lived here for 8 years he had seen a change in the place with more expats choosing to live here and a new sidewalk being built straight through the village with art shops, places to stay and local handicraft stalls lining the pleasant walk.

Secluded beach

The beach is meant to be the best in Belize and you can take boat rides to the nearby cayes dotted with coconut trees and small yachts.

One of the Cayes

Just 15 minutes down the road lies ‘Roberts Grove’ a beautiful romantic property with a lagoon and apartments and its own private little island for those who desire solitude with their loved one. They have a good dive company here or you can just take one of the complimentary bikes if you prefer to discover the land instead of the water.

Roberts Grove

Placencia is a cool place to be and you can’t come here without a visit to Tuttifrutti for some fab icecream and a visit to the Barefoot Bar or Tipsy Tuna for live music. There are clubs here too that open until 5am on a saturday night.

Tipsy Tuna

One night definitely isn’t enough here and my only regret is not staying longer. So if you visit Placencia, don’t forget to take a walk along the sidewalk and say hello to Ras Joseph on his little stall outside the Sky Flower boutique hotel…