Beauty in Belize, at Turtle Inn

You probably don’t need anyone to tell you how fabulous Belize is, I mean just ask Leonardo Dicaprio, who has mounds of property there. I will not tell you about the white sandy beaches, and beautiful bodies tanning in the hot sun. I will tell you about the Turtle Inn, in Placencia, Belize (little fact: it’s owned and still operated by Francis Ford Coppola), the surrounding area’s activities, and a charming little town called Placencia.

Getting there takes two flights, or a flight and a drive. I personally prefer to take Maya Island Air once I land in Belize, as the drive is about 4 hours and not very exciting, whereas the tiny Maya Island Air plane can get you there in about 45 minutes, and the scenery is much more interesting from above. It costs about $120 each way, you can book online or through Turtle Inn, and they fly several times per day.

Get ready for some serious relaxation and fun…

Where to stay…

Turtle Inn is 25 villas full of luxury and Balinese inspired tranquility, while still being family friendly for all of you fancy mommas out there. I have so much to say to about its friendly staff, three restaurants, and oh yeah, it has a spa! Don’t get me started on the activities offered here (that comes later). Between inland hikes, magnificent boat trips and quick shopping trips in the close by Belizean town, you will never want to leave.

Where should we start? The staff? All right, besides being wonderfully welcoming and, well, dashingly good-looking, the staff at this resort were nothing but helpful. Carrying my bags to my seafront villa, after a few hours of being in the room, I got a surprising “check-up” call, asking if I was settled and comfortable. Now, I’ve stayed at many luxury resorts, and this is a rare occurrence. Needless to say, they know how to make a girl feel special. I decided to get a little naggy in the late evening and call down for a few extra towels, to gauge and interact with the late night staff. Not only did I get my extra towels, but I was constantly met with smiles, and attention. For all I knew, I could’ve been the only one there. I wasn’t, but I sure felt like I was.

So by now you’re probably wondering about where we stayed; the Seafront Villa. They offer a few different types of dwellings at a variety of pretty affordable price ranges. The Seafront Villa is the accommodations that sit closest to the Caribbean Sea beachfront. Ours had a large lounge area and a ginormous screened porch with a private garden. There was a small bar area, that was stocked with delicious and tempting Coppola wines.

The décor is all Balinese-themed and hand carved, with large vaulted thatched ceilings and the sofa in our room was donned with locally-made patchwork pillows. Not that I spent a ton of time looking at the room, as my eyes were glued to the scene outside my private balcony; we were front-and-centre to the ultra-white sand that seemed to melt into the surrounding ocean. I love that natural plant life is so abundant in and out of the rooms. With a continuation of the hand-carved décor, my bathroom was a piece of art and just as relaxing as the rest of the villa. The best part? The outdoor shower and private backyard. There’s nothing quite as sexy as showering outside. Trust me on this one.

Important tip: If you’re the type with sweet blood that mosquitoes love, you’ll get eaten alive during certain seasons. Turtle Inn has a lagoon full of still mosquito-breeding water on the property, so expect a lot of the little buggers. I got about twenty bites within an hour eating outside, so make sure to bring some strong deet bug repellant (the natural stuff doesn’t work on these mosquitos!), ask for a mosquito net over your bed, bring long pants and longsleeve tops, and try to avoid the months when mosquitoes are at their worst.

Where to eat…

Let’s go with the restaurants next, there are three delectable choices to choose from. Luckily, I was there long enough to try them all, for you guys of course …research, right? In Belize, local fish and seafood is brought in fresh every single day. I am a bit of a stickler for my food and after a few questions learned that their fresh vegetables were from the resorts own organic garden, talk about going one step further! ‘The Mare’ is Turtle Inn’s main restaurant. It combines seafood with Italian cuisine -oh- and an incredible view of the sea, since it’s placed outside. Rain? No problem. This restaurant has a sky-high thatched roof to cover from the sun.

‘The Gaugin Grill’  restaurant has a beachfront lounge and you can eat while digging your toes into the sand.  It serves a huge array of fresh seafood including jumbo shrimp and snapper; I highly recommend the lobster …but then again who doesn’t. A really neat detail during lunch was the woven and wooden plates that my food came on. A little art with my meal goes a long way.

The many choices of Balinese-inspired sauces and spices was a little overwhelming, so I resorted to asking the waiter for his favorites and I wasn’t disappointed. Tables are only a few feet away from the sea — totally amazing. I couldn’t stop looking at the offshore caves and taking off my sandals to feel the sand beneath my toes. We definitely indulged a little in the Belize-brewed beer, wine and fresh-fruit cocktails.

If you are looking for a more family-suitable restaurant, or if you need a quiet getaway for your hangover headache, Auntie Luba’s Kitchen has a laid-back island diner feel, it overlooks the waters of Placencia Lagoon. The menu is composed of hearty, delicious meals like curry chicken, and an amazing beef stew, its super fun and friendly in there. Perfect for a quick lunch. At dinnertime they have a fire pit you can sit around and roast marshmallows. Just remember to bring your mosquito-repellant!

Where to get pampered…

As soon as I learned that there was a spa in this resort, I was all over it. Believe me; you are going to want to experience it. ‘The Sunset Spa’ is in an open-air “Rice House”. The walls are covered in hand painted Balinese murals, and this section of the Inn proved to have the best view of Placencia Lagoon I witnessed. I was informed, before anything even touched my skin, that all treatments used only locally-sourced organic ingredients. After speaking some more with the masseuse, I learned they actually study ancient techniques at the Sacred Wat Pho Temple in Bangkok. How crazy is that!?

I settled on a traditional Thai massage, it was a rhythmic massage that combined compressions, and pressure point techniques and it felt wonderful. Don’t take my word for it though, you have to try it amongst the other services they offer; Essential Oil Massage, Oriental Foot Massage, Sea Salt Body Treatments, and Facials. I finished up my day at Sunset (feeling lux) with a coconut hair rinse. Coconut oil is the latest in health right now, the conditioning treatment made my dry hair feel smooth and silky. They also complimented my rinse with a foot rub!

Where to explore…

If you aren’t the type that likes to hang out in your hotel for long periods of time, join the club! This is the perfect place for the adventurer. With a seemingly endless list of things to sign up for, I recommend making sure you’re prepared before you get on your flight to Belize. You can bring wet shoes, pants you can hike in, snorkeling gear, etc. with you but, if you forget, the shop at Turtle Inn has any clothing you might need.

Snorkeling, swimming, fishing, bicycling, sunset cruises and paddle boarding are a few of the many activities offered to guests. Scuba diving is a main attraction in Belize. Its reputation as one of the world’s most desirable scuba destinations is unshakable. Luckily, Turtle Inn is located very close to the Caribbean’s largest barrier reef.

I recommend taking a tour of Haney Farms, an organic farm stretching out over 2000 acres slightly north of the Placencia Peninsula. The farmer and owner of Emma’s Garden is originally from the Philippines and has been planting fruit trees and vegetables for the last 25 years. The walk through her aisles of orchids and flowers is nothing short of a treat. Turtle Inn can arrange a picnic basket for you (complete with a bottle of Francis Ford Coppola Winery wine) or Miss Emma can also make a lunch for you in her kitchen; both options are fantastic and it’s a tough choice. The trip out to Haney Farms takes about an hour and we returned just after lunch back to the Turtle Inn.

I highly recommend grabbing a bicycle from near the spa and riding into the nearby town. It’s about a 10-minute bike ride, and the town is super cute and you’re sure to meet some sophisticated international and globe-trotting tourists. Stop by one of the several natural juice bars for a smoothie, go shopping for a cute sundress, or hang on the beach.

Another excursion that’s not-to-be-missed is ziplining and waterfall rappelling with Trip N Travel. Now, I’ve gone ziplining before (in Costa Rica) and was unimpressed, so I expected this to be similar. It wasn’t. This is one of the longest zip lines in the world, and is very exciting. It all takes place in a national rainforest park and jaguar preserve, and the guides are very friendly and taught us a lot about the rainforest. For example, if you get lost, just find a termite nest, rub it until the termites come out, scoop them up and eat them. They’re full of protein and taste like carrots. I should know – I ate a bunch!

Waterfall rappelling was also a lot of fun. It starts with a hike through the rainforest to a stunning waterfall, then you use ropes to climb down it backwards, while leaning back so your body is almost horizontal. It sounds scary but is really safe. The small group we went with had several older people who definitely weren’t in shape, and they did just fine. I recommend being the first to go down, because then you get to hang out and swim in the refreshing water below for longer. Make sure you wear clothing you don’t mind swimming in!

Summary

The Turtle Inn, located in Placencia, Belize offers everything for a fancy, lux girls trip or a family friendly, action packed trip for any age. Whether you spontaneously treat yourself to their three fabulous restaurants, or you’ve been planning a trip to the Turtle Inn for months, you’ll love the happy staff, the laid back vibe, and the culture that permeates Belize. Treat yourself to a Thai Massage at the Sunset Spa, or book a snorkeling trip around the Great Barrier Reef. You are sure to have an incredible time — just don’t forget your swimsuit!

Reasons to visit: Being right on the beach, lots of outdoor activities, home-cooked-style meals and great food options.

‘Room’ for improvement: Watch out for the mosquitos! They are worse in the late summer after periods of rain, and in southern Belize (which gets more rain than any other part of the country.) While the food was decent, it wasn’t fit for true foodies.

Favorite accommodations: Seafront villas, because they’re super-private and right on the beach.

Pricing: From $479 to $2000 per night, with a 2-night minimum.

Best time to visit: The best time to visit Belize is from late November to mid-April, during the country’s dry season. Although this peak season draws thousands of tourists, dealing with crowds is an easy sacrifice to make for warm temperatures and clear skies. The rainy season runs from June to November. The early months of May and June, when when rainfall is just getting underway, are a good time to travel to Belize as you can you can escape the tourist rush and hotel rates tend to be lower.