To Port-au-Prince from the North?

[mne01]

Hey

Does anyone know of a convenient way to get to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, from the North Coast or do I have to go to the capital first to catch the caribetours bus? Alternatively, is it possible to catch that bus from somewhere else, more close to the border?

Thanks,

mne

[Rocky]

You could cross at Dajabon in the North, but I'm not sure how bad the roads are. I do know they are bad, just don't know how bad.

[mne01]

Yeah I did that once heading for Cap Haitien, but can you actually go directly from Ouanaminthe to P-a-P or wouldn't you have to go to C-H first? Cause that would be 4+8h on some really bumpy roads (possibly on the roof of a tap-tap)... Yeah the roads are bad...

Hmm... I should check my LP guide but I don't have it with me right now.

Are there regular gua-gua services between Puerto Plata and Dajabón?

[bdaric]

My girl friend I have been visiting for 3 yrs in Sosua wants me to visit her Mum in Port a Prince, but I white guy have read of Westerner kidnappings and reports of many folks packing guns has me saying no.

Any opinions on Westerner safety in Port A Prince?

Would I stick out like a sore thumb?

[Its_where_I_Belong]

Originally Posted by bdaric

My girl friend I have been visiting for 3 yrs in Sosua wants me to visit her Mum in Port a Prince, but I white guy have read of Westerner kidnappings and reports of many folks packing guns has me saying no.

Any opinions on Westerner safety in Port A Prince?

Would I stick out like a sore thumb?

You should move around with a Taxi with tainted windows from Chatelain Tours in PAP. If you are accompanied by haitians in PAP, you shouldn't have any problems. The place is getting better day after day.

You can call them to arrange your inland transportation.

Chatelain Tours and Travel Service
76, Rue Geffrard
Boîte Postale 1056
Port-au-Prince
Haiti
Tel: (+509) 2232400, 2220130, 2224467, 2232961
Fax: (+509) 2235065

Ask for Victor or Therese Chatelain, they are the owners and founders.

Cheers


Alain Richard

[mne01]

I was there in January. No hassles, no worries. Do you stick out as a white guy? Yes. Do you get a lot of looks? Yes indeed. Do you get into trouble? No. Are people rude? Quite the opposite. Treat people with respect and that's what you get back. Of course, times are rough over there but Westerners aren't the main victims, although of course there are exceptions, and kidnappings are apparently on the increase. I can't account personally for the situation as of now, but from what I gather from friends it's no worse than it was last time I was there. You should go. But beware - Haiti might get you hooked. If you're open minded and can handle dust, looks, and some quite severe poverty it's a very fascinating country with a lot to discover. Try to catch up on Haiti's history before you go, if your gf hasn't already given you a lesson.

Disclaimer: You might want to avoid Jan and Feb 2006 though, as the elections are planned for then and people aren't really satisfied with the way things have been organized so riots are to be expected.

Now let's just wait until someone reminds us that this is not a Haiti forum.

pm me if you want more advice.

Regards,

mne

[Mirador]

From Dajabón to Port-au-Prince? I've taken the 'Carretera Internacional' through Loma de Cabrera, Restauración, down to Pedro Santana, Bánica and on to Elias Piña, where you cross the border and drive to Belladere, through Las Caobas, an on to Port-au-Prince. Once inside Haiti, be sure to pack your AK47 ;-)

[bdaric]

Thanks to all for your advice, I had a feeling Port A Prince would not be quite as bad as TV news reports.
If its not bad or made to seem bad then it won't be reported.

True about not being a Haiti forum but DR and H share the same island, Hispaniola and a checkered history......I guess a little levity here and there wouldn't go amiss.
Funny how people are so different on one side or the other of a man made line

Goes for dozens of countries and languages, weird huh?

[badpiece33]

Originally Posted by mne01

Hey

Does anyone know of a convenient way to get to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, from the North Coast or do I have to go to the capital first to catch the caribetours bus? Alternatively, is it possible to catch that bus from somewhere else, more close to the border?

Thanks,

mne

I only want to ask why you would want to make this trip? Been to Hati and it isn't pretty, but thats just my opinion
Badpiece

[NALs]

Originally Posted by bdaric

Thanks to all for your advice, I had a feeling Port A Prince would not be quite as bad as TV news reports.
If its not bad or made to seem bad then it won't be reported.

True about not being a Haiti forum but DR and H share the same island, Hispaniola and a checkered history......I guess a little levity here and there wouldn't go amiss.
Funny how people are so different on one side or the other of a man made line

Goes for dozens of countries and languages, weird huh?

Port-au-Prince is quite a metropolis.

It's an uncompromising third world city, with all the stigmas true and widespread. Haiti, in essence, is a real third world country.

The beauty of Haiti is not so much in the places (though there are spots that oh my), but in the people and culture. Its a land that constantly causes you to think about everything you think you know about the world, everything you will ever know about humanity, and anything you will probably never get to know about yourself!

Its a country of mistery, tragedy, sadness, and dispair. However, Haiti is also a country of amazement, laughter, contradictions, sense of humor, and endurance of the human spirit in a place where the human spirit appears to be under attack by its very own extreme harshness of Haitian daily realities.

Forget about the fashionable Dominican metropolises and cities, forget about the internationalized tourists enclaves of Boca Chica, Juan Dolio, Sosua, Cabarete, and Punta Cana. Forget about the notion of a paved Highway, whether its the smooth Duarte or the bumpy Mella. Forget about the influence of the United States from Pepsi signs dominating the urban landscape to American style shopping malls, and American style suburbs. Forget about quaint countryside homes painted in bright yellows, oranges, blue, pink, and red. Forget about a palm dominated scenery of well tended fields and plantations. Forget about the Dominican Republic, Haiti is different in everyway.

The electricity pilons stop at the border, the paved roads turn to rubble and stays that way, the brightly painted wood homes of the Dominican countryside becomes huts of mud and sticks on the Haitian side. The pepsi cola, presidente, brugal, and globalization signs of Dominican cities become increasingly scarce in Haitian cities, starting in Juana Mendez all the way to Port-au-Prince.

Haiti is a different ball game, a different Hispaniola, a different reality, a different world.

There are no cities chock full of late model SUVs, there are no luxury coach buses thundering down divided highways, there are no luxury resorts in any number beyond the fingers on one hand. Haiti is a different Caribbean.

Haiti is not as much seen as it is experienced.

One thing is certain, when Haiti captures your soul, it will be hard to let go. Not because of the scenery, not because of the cities, not because of the beaches, and not because of the fact that its Haiti, but because of the people who still manage to smile when their is absolutely nothing to smile about.

Hispaniola is one island with two completely different world. The sun rises on the eastern tip every morning to the sound of merengue and bachata, to beaches filled with tourists in all inclusive resorts enjoying their dreamed about vacation, a paradise of sun and fun and rum, the sun rises over a Hispaniola straight out of travel brochures and the sun sets over Cite Soliel, the largest slum in the world along the seafront of Port-au-Prince.

The sun rises over Americanized Dominicana, over thriving Dominican urban centers, over airports with a constant flow of people and airplanes, over a paradise dreamed about, desired, and enamouring hundreds if not thousands of people from North America, Europe, and Latin America.

Then, the sun sets over decaying palaces, bone dry deforested mountains, over a place where hope only exist in fiction books and fiction stories.

Haiti is something else that to be understood must be experienced.

Haiti is a world unto itself, not known anywhere on this side of the Atlantic....

-NAL