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Still another subscriber has checked in with a report about a trip to Belize that he organized entirely by utilizing Internet resources rather than a traditional booking agent. This is the third such report we’ve received in recent months. The latest report is from David Crandall, who fished for two days this past May around Placencia as part of a larger Belize outing devoted to diving, beach-going, tours of Mayan ruins, and a jungle boat tour. He says he booked his hotel and airfare through Travelocity and booked his guide through Destinations Belize (www .destinationsbelize.com).
“We stayed at a place called Chabil Mar Villas (www.chabilmarvillas.com),” Crandall writes, noting he could have stayed in less expensive lodging in the village of Placencia. “The facility was luxurious, the service attentive, and the amenities quite nice. Guide pickup the two days I fished was from the hotel dock at 5:45 am. The guide’s name was Daniel Cabral.”
As for the fishing, Crandall says he caught two tarpon—a 40 pounder and a 60 pounder—and eight bonefish weighing up to five pounds, plus he had four shots at permit, one of which he hooked and lost. Each day, he says, he had twothirds of a Grand Slam.
“I was quite happy with the fishing,” Crandall writes. “The tarpon fishing involved making many casts to visible fish, some feeding and some cruising. I probably missed nine to 10 fish in addition to the two I caught. There were lots of bonefish around but they were picky. The first day, after I had a tarpon and bonefish, we spent about four hours searching for a permit. That’s the day I had four shots at fish, one of which hit my fly and broke my tippet.”
Crandall concludes that Placencia is a good place to bring a non-angler. “Our hotel booked both our non-fishing tours. Chabil Mar had excellent food, and we also enjoyed dining at various restaurants in the village. For a small town, there was a good variety of reasonable food available. I recommend our experience to fellow subscribers.”
Postscript: Crandall does not give the overall cost of his trip, but he does note the guided fishing cost $375 per day.