Travel Guide Haiti GettIng Around &Tipping
Travel tips for your trip to Haiti Hotel Maps Famous Places in Haiti helps you to make your trip to Haiti in the holiday a Splendid One
GEOGRAPHY: Haiti is situated in the Caribbean and comprises the forested mountainous western end of the island of Hispaniola, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Its area includes the Île de la Gonâve, in the Gulf of the same name; among other islands is La Tortue off the north peninsula. Haiti’s coastline is dotted with magnificent beaches, between which stretches lush subtropical vegetation, even covering the slopes which lead down to the shore. Port-au-Prince is a magnificent natural harbour at the end of a deep horseshoe bay.
HAITI ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Passport valid for six months from date of entry required by all. Visas ar not required for touristic stays of up to six months except by nationals of China (PR), Colombia, Dominican Republic and Panama who do require a tourist visa.
GETTING AROUND HAITI
There are two flights a day between Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haïtien on Caribintair that will save you an arduous eight-hour drive. There are also regular flights from Port-au-Prince to Hinche, Pignon and Dame Marie.
The cheapest way to get around Haiti is by bus, with fares ranging from 1.00 to 7.00, depending on the distance travelled. There are no timetables; buses leave the town's specific departure point (Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haïtien have several) when they are full. The buses, generally either old US school buses or ornately decorated tap-taps, can go places where you wouldn't drive a 4x4 back home.
Driving in Haiti is an adventure on a good day: the roads are notoriously potholed, many private cars are in disrepair (read: don't count on brake lights or turn signals) and winding mountain roads are alive with speeding Bluebird schoolbuses on a mission. If you are willing to rise to the challenge (and drive on the right side of the road), however, you can rent a car for around 60.00, plus insurance, from several agencies at the Port-au-Prince airport. There are other car rental places in large towns throughout Haiti.
Port-au-Prince has a brilliant system of collective taxis called publiques, which charge 10 gourdes a trip. They could be almost any vehicle, but all have a red ribbon hanging from the front mirror. A sharp pssst! usually stops them, and the driver decides if he or she wants to take you. Don't expect the most direct route to your destination, as others in the car need to be catered to as well.
HAITI DUTY FREE
Duty Free: The following goods can be imported into Haiti without incurring customs duty:
200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 1kg of tobacco; 1l of spirits; small quantity of perfume or eau de toilette for personal use.
Note: In addition, Haitian nationals and foreign residents may bring in, once a year and for their personal use, new goods with a total value not exceeding US$200.
Prohibited items: Coffee, matches, methylated spirits, pork, all meat products from Brazil and the Dominican Republic, drugs and firearms (except sporting rifles with relevant permit).
HAITI COMMUNICATIONS
Telephone: IDD available. Country code: 509. There are no area codes. The internal service, operated by Telecommunications d’Haïti (Teleco), is reasonable. There are telephone booths in the towns which take cards.
Mobile telephone: The GSM network is run by Haïtel. Handsets can be hired locally.
Internet: Internet cafes can be found in towns and cities. ISPs include Compa, Hintelfocus and Netcom.
Post: Airmail to Europe takes up to one week. The main post office in Port-au-Prince, Cité de l’Exposition, is in place d’Italie. Post office hours: Mon-Fri 0800-2000, Sat 0830-1200. Letters posted after 0900 will not be despatched until the following working day.
Press: The two main dailies, Le Matin and Le Nouvelliste, are published in French. Haiti Progres, also in French, is published weekly.
HAITI BUSINESS PROFILE
Economy: Haiti’s average annual income of about US$500 per head is the lowest in the western hemisphere; moreover, vast disparities exist between the incomes of rich and poor. The World Bank estimates that 85 per cent of the people live below the absolute poverty line. Two-thirds of the employed population work in agriculture, mainly in the coffee plantations which generate 25 per cent of Haiti’s export earnings, although these have suffered from periodic droughts and persistently low world prices. Sugar cane, sweet potatoes, cocoa and sisal are also grown for export. The mining industry extracts marble, limestone and clay; there are also unexploited deposits of copper, silver and gold. The rest of the manufacturing sector involves food processing, metal products and textiles. Tourism, once promising, has all but vanished thanks to the country’s chronic political instability. Haiti’s problems are so intractable that even after repeated, large injections of foreign aid and an IMF-approved economic plan, the economy remains stubbornly inert. The appalling state of the country’s infrastructure has much to do with this. Haiti’s major trading partners are the USA followed by Japan, France, Italy and Belgium. Haiti joined the Caribbean trading bloc CARICOM as a provisional member in 1997 and became a full member in 2002.
Business: It is usual to wear a suit for initial or formal calls. The British Trade Correspondent can put visitors in touch with a reliable English–French translator if required. Business visitors are generally entertained to lunch or dinner by their agents or important customers and should return invitations either at their hotel or a restaurant. Best time to visit is November to March. Office hours: Mon-Fri 0800-1600.
HAITI SOCIAL PROFILE
Food & Drink: The French cuisine is good and the Creole specialities combine French, tropical and African influences. Dishes include Guinea hen with sour orange sauce, tassot de dinde (dried turkey), grillot (fried island pork), diri et djondjon (rice and black mushrooms), riz et pois (rice and peas), langouste flambé (local lobster), ti malice (sauce of onions and herbs), piment oiseau (hot sauce) and grillot et banane pese (pork chops and island bananas). Sweets include sweet potato pudding, mango pie, fresh coconut ice cream, cashew nuts and island fruits. French wine is available in the better restaurants. The island drink is rum and the best is probably ‘Barbancourt’, made by a branch of Haiti’s oldest family of rum and brandy distillers.
Nightlife: There is plenty of choice ranging from casinos to African drum music and modern Western music and dance. There is something happening in at least one major hotel every evening with the main attraction being folkloric groups and voodoo performances. On Saturday nights bamboche, a peasant-style dance, can be seen in one of the open-air dance halls. Hotels often have the most up-to-date information on local nightlife.
Special Events: For a complete list of carnivals and festivals, contact the Ministère du Tourisme (see Contact Addresses). The following is a selection of special events occurring in Haiti in 2005:
Mar 21 Carnival, throughout Haiti. Feb-Mar Rara, Leogane. Apr Pan-American Day. Jul/Aug Local traditional and religious festivals, many towns including Limonade, Petit Goaves, Plaine du Nord and Ouanaminthe. Jul Saut d’Eau, Ville-Bonheur; Feast of St. Anne, Limonade. Nov Gede (or Fétdemó). Dec Discovery Day (celebrations to commemorate Columbus’ landing on the north coast in 1492).
Mar 21 Carnival, throughout Haiti. Feb-Mar Rara, Leogane. Apr Pan-American Day. Jul/Aug Local traditional and religious festivals, many towns including Limonade, Petit Goaves, Plaine du Nord and Ouanaminthe. Jul Saut d’Eau, Ville-Bonheur; Feast of St. Anne, Limonade. Nov Gede (or Fétdemó). Dec Discovery Day (celebrations to commemorate Columbus’ landing on the north coast in 1492).
HEALTH & MEDICAL FACILITIES IN HAITI
Medical facilities in Haiti are scarce and for the most part sub-standard; outside the capital standards are even lower. Medical care in Port-au-Prince is limited, and the level of community sanitation is extremely low. Life-threatening emergencies may require evacuation by air ambulance at the patient's expense. Doctors and hospitals often expect immediate cash payment for health services.
Information on vaccinations and other health precautions, such as safe food and water precautions and insect bite protection, may be obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's hotline for international travelers at 1-877-FYI-TRIP (1-877-394-8747); fax 1-888-CDC-FAXX (1-888-232-3299), or via the CDC's Internet site at
http://www.cdc.gov/travel
HAITI CURRENCY/MONEY
The official conversion rate printed on Haitian notes is five gourdes to $1 Haitian. The five gourdes note is commonly called a Haitian "dollar." However, the exchange rate fluctuates, so DO NOT exchange a Haitian "dollar" for a U.S. dollar. You are urged to change your U.S. dollars at the hospital and deal locally in gourdes. Please note, however, that gourdes cannot be converted back into U.S. dollars. When returning to the U.S. you will be required to pay a departure tax of $30 U.S. plus 10 gourdes.
Currency exchange: US Dollars are accepted and exchanged everywhere. Other foreign currencies are accepted for exchange only by some banks.
Credit & debit cards: American Express is widely accepted; Diners Club has more limited use. Check with your credit or debit card company for details of merchant acceptability and other services which may be available.
Travellers cheques: Accepted by most major shops and banks. To avoid additional exchange rate charges, travellers are advised to take travellers cheques in US Dollars.
HAITI SHOPPING
Bargaining is recommended at the Iron Market, where both good- and bad-quality local items can be bought, including carvings, printed fabrics, leatherwork, paintings (particularly in the naïf style, for which Haiti is famous), straw hats, seed necklaces and jewellery, cigars and foodstuffs. Port-au-Prince has a good selection of shops and boutiques selling a wide range of local and imported items. Bargaining is an accepted practice. Shopping hours: Mon-Fri 0800-1200 and 1300-1600, Sat 0800-1200.
HAITI TIPPING
This is not done in the off the beaten track spots (which is where you should not go). In built up areas, tipping is suggested. Seldom is the service charge included in the bill except at up market restaurants and hotels.
HAITI PEOPLE AND ITS ECONOMY
Life is hard for the Haitian people though, despite this difficult way of life, Haitians are usually friendly and generous. Unemployment is very high; 6 out of 10 people are illiterate and more than a quarter of the children suffer from malnutrition. The average household income in Haiti is only 250 American dollars a year.
Although farmland is sparse in Haiti, agriculture in the mainstay of the economy. Farming is very labor-intensive, as farmers usually work their small plots of land with picks, hoes and shovels. The farms produce maize, millet, bananas, plantains, beans, yams and sweet potatoes. There is some irrigation and rice is planted in these areas. Other crops in Haiti include: sugar, coffee, cacao, indigo, sisal and cotton. Life in rural Haiti is difficult and stricken with poverty. Many of the young people move to the towns and cities hoping to escape the poverty of the farms, only to find life in the cities is also very hard and they often end up living in Shanty towns.
In recent years, tourism has declined as the political stability of the country has declined. Exportation of Haitian goods is also down due to trade sanctions. These factors have led to a further loss of income for the country and the people.
HAITI CLOTHING & ATTIRE
Haiti is very warm, sunny, and humid, so bring lightweight cottons and a hat. Haitians have a well-developed sense of style, modesty, and appropriateness; even the very poor dress their best for school, church, and clinic. Most Haitian women wear dresses and skirts, while men prefer long pants. Hospital "scrubs" are available to wear in the guest house and hospital. Bring walking shoes, sandals, and/or plastic shower thongs. You may want to bring beachwear, a beach towel, and surf shoes. Laundry facilities are available in the guest house.
HAITI SPORTS & ACTIVITIES
Watersports: Kyona and Ibo beaches (Ibo is on Cacique Isle) are best for swimming, snorkelling, spearfishing, sailing, boomba racing in dugout canoes and water-skiing. La Gonâve is a popular location for fishing.
Spectator sports: Football is the favourite national sport, followed by basketball.
Other: There is a 9-hole golf course at the Pétionville Club. Tennis courts can be found at the Club Med in Montraus, El Rancho, Habitation Le Clerc, Ibo Beach, Ibo Lake, Kaloa Beach, Pétionville Club and Royal Haitian hotels. The national parks of La Visite and Parc Macaya offer excellent hiking opportunities.
