Is there a water taxi from Belize City (airport area) to Placencia? What about renting a car in Belize City and driving to Placencia? How long would that take? Or is flying our best option?

No, there is no water taxi to Placencia from Belize City.

Your options to get to Placencia are:

Private road transfer, renting a car, taking the bus, or just fly.

Bye road it's about 3 1/2 hrs, flying is about 1/2hr - 45 mins.

We are driving from Belize city to Placencia. Any tips or suggestions along the way or where to stop for refreshments?

blue hole national park is a MUST. the drive on the hummingbird highway thru the maya mountains is gorgeous.

the road from dangriga south is, well, not so great and slowwww going. difficult to see the potholes in the dark. you may want to plan to get to your destination by dark.

Small correction is that the road south from Dangriga is paved however at the Plancencia road cutoff is where the pavement ends and the potholes begin.

Don't advise travel after dark unless you are familair with the roads.

if your flight gets in late, 3:30 or so, by the time you collect your bags, get thru customs, rent a car, and get out of the city, it will be 4:30- 5:00. it has been getting dark around 6 or so. the dirt section of the trip is actually pretty good,, right now. but,, it rained last night. if you drive in the dark, you can see all the sites on the way back.
another option is,, fly down and rent a car here when you need it. just for a day or 2 works well and that car is not sitting in the lot while you snorkel or go on another trip.

Would you say this info is still accurate? My friend is staying in Placencia at Blue Crab Beach Resort and needs info about getting there.

Thx

yes,, and even tho it's 4 months old, it also rained last night.
i drove the dirt section today and it is not good. the rain rinses off all the dirt and leaves behind the sharp rocks.
just tell them that once they hit the dirt section to slow down and know it will be bumpy for 20 miles.
blue crab is on the north end of seine bight village.
once they pass thru COCOPLUM, the first piece of paved area, tell them to watch for the blue crab sign in about a mile. one is on the right (west) side. not sure if there is one on the left.

I took the Coastal Road Saturday and it was graded and shaved 15 mins off the trip, but its been raining, so...

Here's a site with some information on how to do the trip by:
a) bus
b) transfer service
c) rental car
d) air

http://belizebus.wordpress.com/

The site has links to some transfer companies, rental car companies and the 2 airlines.