Dates Visited: February 3, 2023 – February 6, 2023
Introduction:
I am no stranger to difficult or “extreme” travel – my last trip was to the infamous “most dangerous city in the world” of Caracas in Venezuela and for me, Haiti would be country #59. As I started looking into possible ways to visit Haiti amid the ongoing gang war and crisis, it became clear that visiting Port-au-Prince was an all but certain death wish. That left two options, visit the private resort of Labadee owned by the cruise line Royal Caribbean or visit the city of Cap-Haitien in the Northern part of Haiti which is said to be relatively safer than the capital city. Bonus points – Cap-Haitien is connected by direct flight (90 minutes) to Ft. Lauderdale. And frankly, I think visiting the Labadee cruise ship resort and claiming that you visited Haiti is cheating 🙂
That being said, Haiti is best described as “West Africa in the Americas” – I found many similarities to my trip to Accra and Abidjan during my visit to Cap-Haitien. If you’ve been to West Africa, Haiti should not be much of a surprise in terms of the local conditions, cleanliness, waste management, infrastructure, etc. It was a wild three-day adventure to say the least. However, for those not used to traveling in these regions – the piles of trash on the streets, the sewage smell, traffic chaos, and lack of hygienic standards may be off-putting. That being said, the poverty you see even in Cap-Haitien was the most I’ve ever seen on my travels. For a 90 minute flight from the luxuries of Miami, the difference could not be described any better than day and night.
Safety:
Compared to Port-au-Prince, Cap-Haitien is an oasis and the locals are very proud of how their city has avoided the violence from the gang wars. The general consensus I got from locals is that it is relatively safe for travelers visiting Cap-Haitien – of course, with standard precautions. None of the locals I asked would dare visit Port-au-Prince during this time.
During my three days in Haiti, we felt comfortable venturing out of the hotel at night time to eat at local restaurants on the Blvd. du Cap-Haitien that runs along the ocean. We took a Moto taxi or a car to get from the hotel to the restaurants. We did not walk on our own at night in the city. While I had some run-ins with some beggars near the restaurants, the area seemed to be populated by locals having a good time and guarded by the Haitian national police.
The Habitation des Lauriers hotel is located at the top of a very steep hill that runs through a local neighborhood and felt like a safe oasis from the chaotic streets of the city below. We walked through the local neighborhood one day during the afternoon and found no issues; the locals seem to be used to seeing foreigners given the proximity of the hotel. At the hotel, there was a security guard and many CCTV cameras.
The center square where the Notre-Dame cathedral is located seemed safe as well, albeit you may get some stares and glances [mainly from schoolchildren] as a foreigner but it seems to be more in awe, than any malicious intent. The Citadelle area may have some aggressive souvenir vendors but they mean no harm – the Citadelle is also only accessible by foot or horseback given its isolated location which probably deters any crime.
Overall, while attempting to visit Port-au-Prince may be a certain death wish given the gang situation, Cap-Haitien appears to be fine for the experienced extreme traveler to visit and venture around on their own (during the daylight hours).
ARRIVING
Cap-Haïtien International Airport (CAP)
This is the most chaotic and disorganized international airport I’ve ever seen. Period. There is very little semblance of order and queues, especially for security check and immigration exit stamping on departure. We even saw a fistfight almost break out between a group of locals due to queue jumping. The airport has very little to offer, one or two restaurants and one to two shops. Don’t expect any fancy duty free or Priority Pass lounges here. Given the current situation, there is only one to three flights per day out of this airport. I arrived on Spirit Airlines from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, USA (1hr 30m flight)
Immigration/Customs
You’ll be given an immigration form and a customs form on the flight to fill out.
Coming from the plane, you’ll deplane by air stairs and walk towards the arrival terminal. There is a local Haitian band that serenades you as you approach the terminal. A health department official will scan your body temperature and write it down on a form. Once inside, there are two sections – one for Haitians, and one for foreigners. You’ll most likely be directed to the foreigner line, which during my flight’s arrival only had three people including me. In this line, you’ll pay the Haiti arrival fee which is $10 USD or $10 CAD or $10 EUR, cash only. There appears to be no ATM and credit cards were not accepted. After paying the $10 fee, you’ll be directed to immigration officer where your entry forms will be stamped, your passport scanned and stamped, and your photograph taken. I was not asked for a COVID-19 vaccination certificate.
Afterwards, you’ll pass your health form to a health department official and then claim your checked baggage (if any). After claiming your checked baggage, you’ll go through customs where everyone has to open their baggage (checked and carry-on) for the officers to inspect. The officer took a 1.5 second look inside my suitcase and waived me through. There were no attempts to get bribes from me at any point during my arrival process in Haiti.
Currency
Bring U.S. dollars in small denominations and you’ll be fine traveling in Haiti.
I saw locals exchanging US dollars to Haitian Gourdes at the currency exchange/SIM card counter after customs inspection, but I do not think exchanging money is necessary. Pretty much all businesses will accept US dollars but they may not have small change, therefore bring small bills ($1, $5) in decent condition with you. I do not advise bringing large bills ($20, $50, $100) as you may have a difficult time spending them. U.S. coins are not accepted.
The commonly accepted exchange rate at restaurants is 145 Haitian Gourdes to 1 U.S dollar as of the time of writing this trip report. Some restaurants may only give 125 Lourdes though (like the restaurant at Dhaloo Beach)
In the event you need Haitian currency after leaving the airport, the Lauriers front desk is usually able to assist in changing money. There is no “black market” for currency exchange to my knowledge and credit cards are only accepted at major hotels and very few major restaurants in the city. I did not see a single functional ATM machine during my three days in Haiti, and would not rely on these.
SIM card/Wi-Fi/Internet
After clearing customs inspection, there is one counter with a NATCOM sign that sells a local SIM card for $12USD. It comes with some minutes and 5GB of 4G data. eSIMs are not available. You do not need to register your passport to buy a local SIM and the process was relatively quick. However, coverage is subpar outside the city and internet speeds are not great.
In general, Haitian internet speeds are below 5mbps/down and I would not advise attempting to do high bandwidth activities (video streaming, FaceTime, etc) while in Haiti. The Habitation des Lauriers hotel does have Wi-Fi available which actually performs better than the NATCOM mobile internet. For those staying there, the signal in your room may be weak. I found that the strongest signal is on the balcony directly in front of the receptionist or near the receptionist’s front desk.
Departure
I advise you to arrive 2.5-3 hours before your flight departure to this airport as the check-in process is chaotic, extremely chaotic. The airport is overcrowded and there is very little semblance of queueing and order.
For those flying back to Ft. Lauderdale on Spirit, you’ll arrive at the airport and be greeted by the first security checkpoint which is the standard U.S. counterterrorism questioning that all passengers on a direct U.S. bound flight undergo. Expect standard questions from the security officer such as “Why did you come to Haiti?”, “What did you do in Haiti?”, “How many days did you spend in Haiti?”, “Where in the U.S. are you going?”, “Do you have family in Haiti?”
After passing the counterterrorism screening, you’ll check in with the airline reservations agent, and drop off any checked suitcases. Boarding pass in hand, you’ll be asked for your ID and boarding pass by the next security checkpoint where they will stamp your boarding pass after verifying your ID.
You’ll proceed to the metal detectors and x-ray machines. The queue for this is not orderly and there seems to be no one managing the mob of people waiting to be screened.
You’ll see that there is only one immigration officer responsible for exit stamping an entire flight’s worth of passports; this is the part where a fight broke out between a group of irate locals. The immigration line is not managed and can become a mess, but the general consensus seems to be that the line should sneak around in a zig zag format. This bottleneck took up the most time on departure and caused three irate locals to be thrown out of the airport for starting a commotion. After you’re stamped out of Haiti, you can then proceed to boarding your flight. Boarding is done by Zones but does not seem to be enforced by Spirit gate agents.
TAXIS/RIDESHARE/LOCAL TRANSPORTATION/FIXERS/GUIDES
There are three main ways to get around Cap-Haitien besides foot
1) Moto-Taxis
2) Tap-Taps
3) Taxi/Automobile
Moto taxis (ride on the back of a motorcycle, no helmet) can generally be found everywhere in the city and will take you around for a pre-negotiated price but note that not everybody speaks English ; they speak French or Haitian Creole. The Lauriers front desk was helpful in getting us a moto taxi to the restaurant one night and arranging the driver to wait for us outside. You can reach the driver at + 509 31 79 5885 but he only speaks French/Creole.
Tap taps are the “public transport” in Haiti which can either be a 2-3 person tuk-tuk or 10-12 people riding in the back of a makeshift pickup truck. I did not try these out of fear for road safety but they seemed like an adventurous cost-efficient way of getting around, albeit somewhat risky.
Taking a taxi or a private driver is the most reliable, but expensive. Gasoline (petrol) sells for US$20/gallon on the black market as there are no official fuel imports which means that rides around town, albeit short, are in fact very pricy. You’ll notice many people standing along major highways and roads with fuel containers and a makeshift funnel. This is the only way to get gasoline as most official stations have been closed for years.
The Lauriers hotel is able to arrange airport pick up for $20/person/each way. I would not advise trying to find your own taxi at the airport as I heard second-hand stories of price gouging and scams.
I worked with a local tour guide named Joseph (Instagram: @josephToursHaiti) that arranged most of my day-to-day ground transportation while visiting Cap-Haitien in his private car. While pricy, this is the most reliable and safest option. You can reach him on WhatsApp at +509 32 05 2587 – he is very friendly and reliable.
There is no “app-based” ride share or transportation service in Cap-Haitien unfortunately.
SIGHTSEEING
Note on photography: Locals do not seem to like to have their photographs taken. One time, I was taking a photograph of fresh seafood on a boat during my day at Dhaloo Beach and the locals nearby confronted my tour guide Joseph about whether I was photographing them or the seafood. I would suggest not taking pictures of locals to avoid misunderstandings.
Citadelle
One of the icons of Haiti, this was built by the first king of Haiti to deter French invaders from returning to take back what once their colony. It’s located at the top of a mountain that is 3,000 feet high. To get here, you will need to travel 45 minutes outside Cap-Haitien by car. Then, you will take a drive up a very steep hill that requires a 4×4. Once you reach the parking lot, the final stretch of the journal can only be done on horseback (or foot). I opted for the horse which should cost US$10 per person – my fixer helped arranged the horse for me. During the horse ride, I was constantly nagged and guilt-shamed into giving tips as the horse owners spent the entire ride on a monologue about how they’re giving me the best service, etc etc so that they deserve a good tip. They will ask a tip twice from you, once when you get to the top, and once when you finish for the day. It is indeed strenuous work to walk up on foot so do take that in mind. For an experienced and very fit hiker/athlete, I’m sure you could hike up in 45-90 minutes but it is very steep and there is no shade. It is also very hot and sunny due to the altitude.
Sans-Souci Palace
This is now just ruins of a palace built by the first king of Haiti, following the independence from the French. Beware of tour guides that might join your group, even if you already have a tour guide. One man attempted to be my second tour guide to demand a tip, you can see the ruins from the top and from the bottom as well. Nice area to take photos. It’s located at the bottom of the Citadelle, so I suggest you do Citadelle first – then the palace.
Notre Dame Cathedral
The main focal point of the city of Cap-Haitien, this is the icon and where everyone visits and takes a photo. This is a cathedral next to the main square of the city, a very lively area to people watch. When we were here with our tour guide, schoolchildren stared at us in awe and fascination as foreigners are very rare to find.
Touristic Market
This is a small open-air market of Haitian souvenirs (magnets, wood carving, paintings, artwork) that caters to mainly the few tourists that visit Cap. Prices are negotiable and the vendors are very friendly. There are no high-pressure sales tactics or touts aggressively pulling you to their stalls.
Blvd. du Cap-Haitien
This is a street in the city that is full of “high-end” bars and restaurants and where you will most likely be eating your meals. It gets lively at night with loud music and plenty of people. The street runs along the waterfront and is a nice photo op during the day with the I <3 CAP sign.
Royal Caribbean “Labadee” Beach Resort
99% of foreign visitors to Haiti will only come by cruise ship and only see this tiny part of Haiti that is completely walled and fenced off from the real Haiti. Royal Caribbean built this resort in 1985 to serve their passengers as basically a Haitian Disneyland. You can not enter if you are not a cruise ship passenger, and you can not leave the compound. There are armed security guards at every entry/exit point as well as a whole team of them patrolling the water (the passengers are on kayaks, jet skis, SUP) with machine guns. They do not joke around with security here. There are 10-15 feet tall barbed wire fences and walls to keep the locals out. Despite my best attempts to invade, I failed. It is a shame because Labadee is an artificial resort full of roller coasters, slides, jetskis, beach chairs, and has nothing to do with actual Haitian culture or history. Passengers are kept in this tourist trap resort for the day and generally do not interact with Haitian locals besides the resort employees.
Belly Beach
We were rejected entry to this beach because Royal Caribbean reserved it for the day for their cruise ship passengers. It’s not part of the “Labadee” resort they own, but rather considered a side excursion for the passengers.
Dhaloo Beach
After we were rejected entry at Belly Beach, Joseph took me here to enjoy a lunch and a very small quiet beach that had a few local families enjoying the sun and sand for the day. There is not much here besides one restaurant, and occasionally fishermen would arrive to sell their catch of the day.
Labadie Water Taxi Stand
To get to Belly Beach, Labadie Village, or Dhaloo Beach, you need to take a water taxi from this stand. You can find it on Google Maps. There’s many boat drivers waiting to take you and the price can be negotiated. I hired a boat driver to take me around the Royal Caribbean resort from afar, then to Belly Beach and Dhaloo Beach and it cost US$25 (tourist price). Locals ride the boat for a little over US$1.
RESTAURANTS
General note: Meals are expensive in Cap-Haitien relative to local cost of living and the quality of food you get. Expect to pay US$10-$20 per meal and the service is slow at restaurants. It may take one hour or even more for your food to arrive after ordering.
There are very limited options for restaurants and all of which are located on the main Blvd. du Cap-Haitien; I did not try any street food due to fear of gastrointestinal issues. In addition, Haitians seem to enjoy VERY LOUD music at dinner time while eating. Prepare your eardrums as eating dinner at Cap Deli was like trying to eat inside a Las Vegas nightclub.
In general, food in Haiti is limited in diversity and options. Aside from the local seafood, the taste is subpar for the price paid. These major restaurants I ate at, listed below have armed security guards at the entrances. They seem to be well guarded.
Lakay Restaurant
I tried this restaurant twice – once for lunch and once for dinner. I had the local chicken in creole sauce dish ($15) for lunch and found it to be subpar. For dinner, I tried the filet of beef and it was very tough and chewy ($12) – the music here is a reasonable volume though and it seems to be popular with upper-class locals.
Cap Deli
This is a very lively restaurant with two floors; the second floor had nightclub-volume-level music playing all night and the first floor seemed to be more peaceful. We tried the seafood platter here which was expensive ($25USD) and had mostly carbohydrates and very little protein. Popular with upper-class locals.
Boukanye
We stopped here for lunch after our city tour and I tried the BBQ chicken; it was mediocre. This seems to be the least popular of the three restaurants above.
Deco Restaurant
Stopped here on our last night as it was the quietest restaurant on the street, but there was still some music playing. I tried the Haitian pork and the conch, not much flavor or protein portion given the price ($26 for both).
Dhaloo Beach no-name Restaurant
On dhaloo beach, there’s only one restaurant – not sure the name, but they specialize in local seafood. I had two grilled fishes here with the standard Haitian side dishes of fried bananas and rice and beans.
Lea Market
This is not a restaurant but a small “supermarket” about the size of a New York City bodega. They sell mostly imported groceries from France and you can find Western items here such as various alcohol, Perrier or European snacks.
ACCOMODATIONS
Habitation des Lauriers
A legendary EPS haunt, this hotel sits on top of a steep hill overlooking the city of Cap-Haitien. For Haitian standards, this hotel is very good but in the U.S. would be considered a 1 or 2 star motel. The previous French owner has sold the hotel to a new management team from Port-au-Prince and the new owner was around during our stay. He speaks fluent English and is very kind; drove us to dinner twice.
I stayed in the highest tier of room (Superior Queen) and the room was acceptable given local standards and conditions.
All hotels in Cap-Haitien must provide their own water supply and electricity supply as there is none from the government in the past few years. This is why the hotels in Cap-Haitien are expensive ($60 – $160/ night depending on hotel and room type).
The water pressure in the bathroom is also weak due to the necessity of using a water pump that is only on during certain hours. Hot water is sporadic and not always available. The bed is also very soft and outdated in Room 4 but may be replaced soon. Air conditioning is only available for a few hours a day due to the fuel crisis. There are fans and a balcony available though.
I suggest staying in room 1, 2, or 3 for the best view from your private balcony as room 4’s view is obstructed by a mango tree. The hotel is undergoing a full renovation by the new owner. You can book this hotel directly on their website or by Expedia/Agoda/booking.com
The budget rooms are located higher up the mountain and requires going up a flight or two of steep stairs.
Satama Hotel
I did not stay here or visit but heard that this is widely considered the best luxury hotel in Cap-Haitien but the rates are through the roof ($160- $200 USD / night) – but the facilities are said to be better than Lauriers.