Visiting Haiti from the D.R.

I was just wondering if anyone knew how one would go about visiting Haiti from the Dominican Republic. I am going to the Dominican Republic to do some work and I am very interested in visiting Haiti.
Would someone please tell me if this is possible and if it is what is needed to cross the border.
Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Gracias!!

If you go by bus , no problem at all bring your passport
thats all you need.
How ever if you go by car, plan ahead , or you get
some headaches.
I went my self a few weeks ago, unplanned , just on the spur of the moment.
I arrived at the border near Jiminez.
I had ofcourse only a copy of the matricula.
Well for 3000 pesos no problem. I could go through.
I did not want to pay that kind of money to goverment mafia.
and was told i need a "plan the pilot" and the
original of the matricula..
They claimed thats all I needed.
In SD a "plan de pilot" cost 52 pesos.
Well when I came back with those papers i also needed
something like " salida de Buques " from the
secretaria de estado de finanzas that would cost 500 pesos.
Later I heard that that cost only 200 pesos. And that might
be even too much. If somebody knows were to obtain that form
for less please let me know.
The whole process at the border is extremely distastefull.
that is at the dominican side. You are overwelmed by many
semi official people , who all want a bribe.
And they play the roll of buffer between the chief and
other high goverment officials and you. Since they cannot be seen taking all those bribes.
My final cost was more than 3000 pesos as I had to stay in a hotel in Santo Domingo for 2 days. It takes that long to get
a plan de pilot.
But I rather paid that to the hotel and restaurents, than to the goverment mafia.
Than finally I was allowed to go through.
At the haitian side the process was a breeze
I parked the car went inside 2 different offices.
20 gourdes later , which i did not have but 50 pesos will do it.
better bring haitian money as 20 gourdes are probably closer to 15 pesos..
The process at the haitian side was friendly helpfull and
no need to pay huge amounts of bribes.
The difference was incredable.

While Haiti is more of a third world country than the DR
its a delightfull place to visit. It is neccessary
to speak some french.
The people are all friendly and helpfull.
At all times I felt enterly safe there. Many dominicans will tell you that it is very dangerous, not so at all. I spend about 10 days driving around.. and will surely go back there.
If I can stand the domincan treatment at the border.
It is a total disgrace.
If somebody knows how to get this process better done
please let us know as well.

Very strange, when I crossed at Jimanai last year, I presented my Passport, tourist Card (Which I had to purchase new upon my return to the DR) and drove on through. No questions, no papers no nothing.

Maybe a result of "new" border restrictions?

Tom

Lucky man you are Tom. The cheapest we could do "At the Border" was RD$1,000.00. More or less the same amount to the Haitians on the other side. Meredith, I can't understand why anyone would want to go to Haiti. The roads in Haiti especially in Port-au-Prince are a total disaster. I was there on business 1-1/2 years ago "Trying to locate one of those thieves who come to the DR to steal then run back across the border" but would never go on a site seeing trip. I have to admit the Haitian Police authorities are very professional and well equipped. "At least at the Academie in Petitionville". Bar far superior to the DR police. (I believe they were trained by the RCMP)

I want to visit Haiti because I am very interested in the culture and in the way that the people live there. I would like to stay with a local family and do some issue analysis while I am there. I am more interested in learning about the people and the poverty in which they live in and why their conditions are far worse than in the D.R., than actual sightseeing. I have talked to many Haitians who were in the D.R. illegally cutting sugar cane and they are very smart and intriguing individuals.
Thank you for the responses it is all very helpful!!

If you go by bus try Caribe Tours. They have express service in very comfortable buses which have a/c and television among other amenities. The tel. number in Santo Domingo is 809-221.4422. the terminal is located at Ave. 27 de Febrero esq. Leopoldo Navarro. The trip take about 6 hours and the termination point in Port-au-Prince is in the suburb of Petion-ville. I got to Haiti like this back in May. Have a good trip.

reisebericht
by peter lukas

You impressions of Haiti are in line with what I've experienced during three trips since 1995. Every moment offers a new adventure and learning experience. I find that general misconceptions about Haiti far outweigh firsthand knowledge - - particularly amongst Dominicans.

English speakers are rare but people who can't communicate in French are even more rare. I met many Haitians, however, who were semi-literate. This caused me to have to communicate verbally or read any notes I wrote.