We stayed in Placencia and sanIgnacio. Would suggest 7 days in Placencia. We stayed at Laru Beya a new midsized resort 5 miles north of village. Had a villa on the beach. Full kitchen,large livingroom,sliders to oceanfront deck,bedroom with 2 sink,walk in shower. Pool,sailing,kayaking,windsurfing on site at no charge. Cost $175 a night. Staff is super helpful and friendly. Arranged boat trip to Monkey River,snorkling and sunset sail. Two great restaurants at Roberts, nextdoor, 1 ocean front , other on bay (great sunseta).

In SanIgnacio Cahal Pech has knockout view. Hiking,Mayan ruins etc. in area.

We just got back from 9 days in Belize. We split it 4 days in San Ignacio and 5 days in Placencia. We stayed at Cahal Pech Village Resort in San Ignacio ($79/night - worth it!) and at Serenade Guest House right in town in Placencia. This is a small, but very nice local establishment right on the main sidewalk in town. ($60/night) Not sure if it's really worth spending the extra money on the fancy resort, but... Turtle Inn is supposed to be very nice and expensive... in Placencia.

Note: September is the rainy season and it will be VERY hot there. Also, it is the hurricane season...

Hope this helps.

You say budget is $3,000. Including airfare? If you want to stay somewhere nice, on the Placencia Penninsula, on the beach, with solitude and a kitchen where you can do some of your own cooking try a cabana, bungalow or beach house. In Maya Beach I can honestly suggest Ocean's Edge for a beach house with plenty of solitude and only one other beach house next to you, and Barnacle Bill's with a total of 3 beach bungalows and really nice owner's/manager's. The Manager's can arrange for you to go to numerous excursions [cave tubing, snorkeling, fishing, monkey river tours, etc] with pick up or taxi service. You can walk or bicycle to many restaurants from each place.

Weather: Feb - Mar is the drier season, and this year....the dry season has been pretty darn wet with showers each day and a lot of rain early Feb. If this trend continues, the rainy/hurricane season in Sept could be a whopper. And although no damage was sustained, Hurricane Rita ripped through the region last October with a lot of rain and winds.

Hope this helps!

With 10 or 11 nights, I'd split the trip between the Cayo district and the beach, either Placencia or Ambergris Caye. We went to Lamanai from AC, and it was a wonderful tour, but a 12 hour day. There are beautiful jungle lodges in/around San Ignacio.

I personally prefer AC over Placencia, but it's too busy for others. 'Busy' in Belize is a relative term. AC is still a small island, with nothing but small hotels, small businesses and lots of good restaurants.

We just returned home to Alaska from Placencia. WOW! We did the Xuanatanich ruins (San Ignacio) - it was a three hour drive from our hotel, but beautiful. Our resort offered the tour (Green Parrot) and the manager, Leo was our excellent guide. He took us through the banana plantations and was kind enough to stop for bird, crocodile, etc... watching. :) We also did the monkey river tour and enjoyed the howler monkeys, bone fishing, snorkel tour with the Placencia dive shop, and enjoyed paradise!

The Green Parrot is on Maya beach - north of the village of Placencia, so I can't offer advice on the village. I can tell you one thing for sure...everyone is friendly and helpful.

Have a great trip...wherever you decide to go!