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Harvest Caye to Placencia


jerrib
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I will copy and paste my experience, which was described on a thread further down this page...

On May 30th I was on the very first ferry from Harvest Caye to Placencia Belize... I purchased the ticket from the Shore Excursions desk on embarkation day. We boarded at the same dock that all of the other NCL excursions leave from on HC. It takes about 15 minutes or so to reach the dock in Placencia in a boat that holds around 50 passengers. Once at the dock, I set out on foot exploring, first on the concrete footpath that leads north on the beach side of the island. I then headed inland towards the main road to Brewed Awakenings, a coffee house that serves seaweed shakes of several different varieties. I then explored some of the off the main road neighborhoods, where the locals looked at me suspiciously, but I never felt in any kind of danger...

There are a few rustic roadside restaurants and food stands along the way. I tried having lunch at a place called Dawns Grill, but they were still serving breakfast when I arrived. Further down near the dock, I found a small shack serving conch chowder and jerk chicken by the roadside. A lot of the locals seemed to hang out there, so I had some food and fresh juice for pretty cheap.

The time on the island is about 3 hours, and I was happy to escape the sterile corperate island of Harvest Caye. If you're the adventurous type, I would recommend this excursion, if only to experience some authentic Belizean culture.

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Thank you sid_9169, I did read your post originally, which is what alerted me to this new offering. I for one would love to get off the Caye to visit the locals. I have not heard from anyone since your post and was hoping to get more reviews. I sure hope that it has been successful and NCL is continuing to offer this.

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  • 3 weeks later...
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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi Everyone! I have lived in Placencia for 22 years! Its safe and a great place to visit! Its about a 10 minute boat ride from harvest Caye and I think the cost is US$20/ There are lots of gift shops and things to buy. You can walk everywhere in the village! Hope you have a great time!:D

 

Lee

http://www.secretgardenplacencia.com

lee@secretgardenplacencia.com

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I will be coming there again via the ferry from Harvest Caye. What are some of your favorite restaurants / bars there?

Hi Everyone! I have lived in Placencia for 22 years! Its safe and a great place to visit! Its about a 10 minute boat ride from harvest Caye and I think the cost is US$20/ There are lots of gift shops and things to buy. You can walk everywhere in the village! Hope you have a great time!:D

 

Lee

www.secretgardenplacencia.com

lee@secretgardenplacencia.com

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  • 1 month later...

Just Back from Harvest Caye. I took the 10:00am ferry over to Placencia rented a golf cart for $35 for 4 hours and spend the day at Mariposa Pool bar.

 

My wrist band stated 12:30 the tour operator stated that 12:30 was the earliest I could return. However she suggested taking the 1:30 or 2:30 ferry over and not wait for the last ferry.

 

We took the 2:30 ferry arrived at Harvest Caye around 3pm, spend the rest of the day at the beach.

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Thank you!

How much was the ferry over again? The golf cart sounds like a fun time. We will be there in March and were saddened when we realized our Belize stop wasn't actually in Belize. Thank you!

 

 

Just Back from Harvest Caye. I took the 10:00am ferry over to Placencia rented a golf cart for $35 for 4 hours and spend the day at Mariposa Pool bar.

 

My wrist band stated 12:30 the tour operator stated that 12:30 was the earliest I could return. However she suggested taking the 1:30 or 2:30 ferry over and not wait for the last ferry.

 

We took the 2:30 ferry arrived at Harvest Caye around 3pm, spend the rest of the day at the beach.

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Just Back from Harvest Caye. I took the 10:00am ferry over to Placencia rented a golf cart for $35 for 4 hours and spend the day at Mariposa Pool bar.

 

My wrist band stated 12:30 the tour operator stated that 12:30 was the earliest I could return. However she suggested taking the 1:30 or 2:30 ferry over and not wait for the last ferry.

 

We took the 2:30 ferry arrived at Harvest Caye around 3pm, spend the rest of the day at the beach.

 

 

 

Sorry for the questions.

Would you mind sharing where you rented the golf cart?

 

 

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We just returned Dec. 3rd. We took the ferry to the mainland; $25 pp roundtrip. We had three hours there and did go back at the time on our wristbands--did not try to stay longer.

 

We had been to Harvest Caye last year and were underwhelmed. We just walked around Placencia and saw the funky beach town, had a nice lunch, and went back. With the 3 hour time limit, it's not very practical to take a tour.

 

There were plenty of places to buy touristy stuff along the path to the beach and when we walked back through the main drag.

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I am the OP and just want to thank everyone for their responses, great info. Thanks!

 

For those who did take the ferry, can I assume you purchased the tickets once on board at Guest Services? I know that the # of tickets is limited and wondering if this is a problem.

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We bought our ferry tickets using the tv in our room the night before we ported in Harvest Caye. You could also buy them at Guest Services or one of the electronic wall portals around the ship.We had the choice of 9 or 10 AM. Not sure if later times were available or not.

 

I would assume there are a limited number of tickets, but I did see people buying them right at the departure point. The boat taking passengers over was not really that big. A much larger ferry left before us, I assume taking people who were on NCL tours.

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We bought our ferry tickets using the tv in our room the night before we ported in Harvest Caye. You could also buy them at Guest Services or one of the electronic wall portals around the ship.We had the choice of 9 or 10 AM. Not sure if later times were available or not.

 

I would assume there are a limited number of tickets, but I did see people buying them right at the departure point. The boat taking passengers over was not really that big. A much larger ferry left before us, I assume taking people who were on NCL tours.

 

THIS is exactly the info I was looking for. Thanks!!!

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  • 2 weeks later...

We are currently onboard the Norwegian Jade.We stopped in harvest caye yesterday. Once onboard we purchased the ferry tickets at the shore excursion desk and they were delivered to our room. We were on the first ferry over which left from the marina on harvest caye at 9am. The return time we were given was 12:30pm. They asked that we honor the times on the wrist bands in order to ensure space for everyone on the returning ferrys. If we wanted to return earlier we could as many of the early ferrys were dropping people off and returning to HC nearly empty. However, they did say of you had booked an independent tour and wouldn't be back at your assigned time you could take a later ferry back. But you may not be guaranteed a specific ferry time. For example if your return time on the wristband was 12:30 and you wanted to return on the 2:30 ferry, all those with 2:30 wristbands got priority. If there was space you could get on. If not you had to wait for the next one to see if they had room. They did say that they had never left anyone behind yet. Worse case scenario they sent one more boat at the end of the day for the stragglers if they had to. Bottom line is if you have a tour they understand you may need more than the allotted three

Hours and they will allow you to extend your time, however if not, it is much easier for them if you stick to your assigned time. We rented a golf cart for $35 and were able to drive all the way to the other end of the island and see everything. There is just one main road that goes all the way down so you can't get lost. We were able to do that and make shopping stops along the way and still made our original return time. Just a heads up all the shops here take American money but only give Belize currency in change. Also we found them to be more expensive than most other places. Wanting 17-20 dollars for tshirts. Shopping was actually cheaper on harvest caye. It was a nice relaxing day though and we would do it again. We returned with plenty of time left to shop and enjoy the pool and beach on harvest caye.

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Placencia is little Miami, a very nice area of Belize that has a lot of British and US ex-pats living there.

try Wendy's for lunch. And if you want some fun and you have a Publix supermarket local try checking out the Publics supermarket in Placencia for comparison.

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We enjoy checking out supermarkets in other countries. Often we are on a licorice hunt, as my husband runs out after a week or so--it's not that easy to find! We found some in a nice little candy store in Placencia--owner was from NY!

originally.

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We are currently onboard the Norwegian Jade.We stopped in harvest caye yesterday. Once onboard we purchased the ferry tickets at the shore excursion desk and they were delivered to our room. We were on the first ferry over which left from the marina on harvest caye at 9am. The return time we were given was 12:30pm. They asked that we honor the times on the wrist bands in order to ensure space for everyone on the returning ferrys. If we wanted to return earlier we could as many of the early ferrys were dropping people off and returning to HC nearly empty. However, they did say of you had booked an independent tour and wouldn't be back at your assigned time you could take a later ferry back. But you may not be guaranteed a specific ferry time. For example if your return time on the wristband was 12:30 and you wanted to return on the 2:30 ferry, all those with 2:30 wristbands got priority. If there was space you could get on. If not you had to wait for the next one to see if they had room. They did say that they had never left anyone behind yet. Worse case scenario they sent one more boat at the end of the day for the stragglers if they had to. Bottom line is if you have a tour they understand you may need more than the allotted three

Hours and they will allow you to extend your time, however if not, it is much easier for them if you stick to your assigned time. We rented a golf cart for $35 and were able to drive all the way to the other end of the island and see everything. There is just one main road that goes all the way down so you can't get lost. We were able to do that and make shopping stops along the way and still made our original return time. Just a heads up all the shops here take American money but only give Belize currency in change. Also we found them to be more expensive than most other places. Wanting 17-20 dollars for tshirts. Shopping was actually cheaper on harvest caye. It was a nice relaxing day though and we would do it again. We returned with plenty of time left to shop and enjoy the pool and beach on harvest caye.

 

 

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Can you tell me more about where/how you rented the golf cart? Looking to do this in March when we cruise.

 

TIA. ❤️

 

 

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We walked down the Main Street to captain jacks on the left side of the road. It was 35 dollars for 4 hours. There was also a rental place closer on the right side. I can't recall the name. But they were closed for some reason even though we were there during the "open" hours stayed on the door. Everyone at captain jacks was very friendly and they were worth the extra walk. They even gave us a ride back down to the pier when we were done with the golf cart.

 

 

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We walked down the Main Street to captain jacks on the left side of the road. It was 35 dollars for 4 hours. There was also a rental place closer on the right side. I can't recall the name. But they were closed for some reason even though we were there during the "open" hours stayed on the door. Everyone at captain jacks was very friendly and they were worth the extra walk. They even gave us a ride back down to the pier when we were done with the golf cart.

 

 

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Awesome!!! Thank you!!

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
Hi Everyone! I have lived in Placencia for 22 years! Its safe and a great place to visit! Its about a 10 minute boat ride from harvest Caye and I think the cost is US$20/ There are lots of gift shops and things to buy. You can walk everywhere in the village! Hope you have a great time!:D

 

Lee

www.secretgardenplacencia.com

lee@secretgardenplacencia.com

 

Hi, Lee, I’m hoping you might be able to help me with geography; i’m looking to snorkel with a dive company based in Placencia (Splash Belize), and I’m trying to make sure I understand that this is where this ferry from Harvest Caye ends up.

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Hi, Lee, I’m hoping you might be able to help me with geography; i’m looking to snorkel with a dive company based in Placencia (Splash Belize), and I’m trying to make sure I understand that this is where this ferry from Harvest Caye ends up.

 

 

Unless there are two towns with that name, yes, it is where the ferry ends up. Be sure of how much time the tour takes; hours of the ferry are limited.

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