We had such a wonderful time at Finca during our honeymoon. Andrea was very responsive and helpful throughout our planning for the trip. The caretakers, Val, Valerie and Jose were lovely as well. What a beautiful little cabana right on the beach! Everything from the tasteful decor (authentic belizean architecture; warm colors; beautiful wood furniture; nice art work), to the beach set-up (comfortable lounge chairs on the beach feet away from the cabana; two hammocks; a surf board and paddle to row on the water; coconut trees with the best young coconuts -we bought a machete in town to cut our own, but the caretakers will cut them for you if they happen to be around-) made for the most delightful honeymoon. We wanted a peaceful, private experience with a Caribbean flavor and got just that.

Imagine having a little beach all to yourself. What a dream! And the rest of the beach extending from Finca into Placencia Town was very uncrowded as well. You could walk for 30 minutes and only pass three other people along the way. Perhaps this was to do with the time we were there (in January after the new year) or perhaps it is simply that Placencia is one of the best kept secrets of Belize...

Francis Ford Coppola's Turtle Inn is literally a 3-4 minute walk from Finca, and we went there a few times for a drink or a meal in the evening so we could experience a bit of that luxurious resort-like flavor. They have a nice little tiki-style bar right on the beach and you can use their pool.

We walked into town along the beach a couple of times (a nice 30-40 minute walk along the meandering coast), pausing at the Barefoot bar for a beer and breadfruit chips. And the rest of the time, we rode our bikes (provided with the cabana) to Placencia and into neighboring towns like Seine Bight for bites to eat or a little bit of exploring.

We also went snorkeling at Silk Caye (a 45 minute boat ride form Placencia), where the sand is talcum powder-white and you can see all sorts of colorful fish and coral as well as gigantic sea turtles, sting rays and nurse sharks. I highly recommend doing something like this.... It was breathtaking.

It did rain some while we were there, and the weather got a bit cool at night, so bring a poncho and couple pairs of shoes in case one pair gets wet (things tend to take a while to dry when it is raining), and bring a sweater. Other than that, the weather was ideal: hot in the sun with ocean water to cool you down, and always a perfect warm breeze to keep things balanced.

If you're looking for a simple, quiet, island-style little getaway without the crazy resort costs but close to all sorts of cool activities, Finca is the place for you.