Traveling from around the island (DR and Haiti)

[daworm]

Dear Friends,

Together with my colleague we are coming from Europe in the late December to visit DR and Haiti. Could you please tell us if there is any local airline using which we could travel from:
1. Santo Domingo/Punta Cana to Port-au-Prince
2. Port-au-Prince to Cap-Haitien
3. Cap-Haitien to Santo Domingo/Punta Cana

We have read in the traveling book that it's faster and safer to move around the island by the plane and not to rent a car - is it true?

Thank you in advance for your help,
Marcin

[pedrochemical]

Port au Prince / S.D. / Port au Prince

Tortugair and Caribair. US$125 each way for the ticket + US$25 for the tax at the airport. US$10 for the tourist card to enter Dom Rep each time. Tell them you are a missionary and you might get into D.R. for free.

Port au Prince to Cap Haitian - Caribintair / Tortugair. US$80 each way.

The afternoon flights are a little bumpy as they fly round the clouds and in between the mountains. Sit in the middle of the plane and it is less scary. Sit at the back for a more interesting experience. In my country we try to fly above the mountains but hey, what do we know???

Driving from S.D. to PaP is a pain in the neck - the roads are O.K. these days but the paperwork is prohibitive.

I love the drive from PaP to Cap Haitian through St Marc and Gonaives but it takes around 7 hours. You will pass through desert, rice paddies, lush valleys, mountain passes - truly an amazing experience. Best to do this drive (the first time) with somebody who has done it before. Flying from PaP to Cap Haitian takes around 35mins.


Tortugair / Airport La Isabella - Dom Rep - phone 809 756 4446 or 809 756 4447

Tortugair / Port au Prince - phone 509 3771 8550 or 509 3454 8177 or 509 3455 2556

Someone else can give you the Caribair/Caribintair numbers....


Have fun.

[daworm]

Thank you for a detail reply!

Regarding the driving from PaP to Cap Haitian I think it's a great idea, but don't know if we will have time to spend one day in the road. After visit in DR and Haiti we are flying to Jamaica and few days in Miami. Do you know if it possible to "rent" a driver for this route? Second question is why we will need someone with experience in traveling this road? When we will rent a car in PaP it should have a GPS navigation installed or I'm wrong?

[pedrochemical]

Originally Posted by daworm

Thank you for a detail reply!

Regarding the driving from PaP to Cap Haitian I think it's a great idea, but don't know if we will have time to spend one day in the road. After visit in DR and Haiti we are flying to Jamaica and few days in Miami. Do you know if it possible to "rent" a driver for this route? Second question is why we will need someone with experience in traveling this road? When we will rent a car in PaP it should have a GPS navigation installed or I'm wrong?

Firstly, take care in Jamaica and Miami!!!

I can find you a reliable driver who speaks English / French / Creole / Spanish. There are no road signs so you have to know the way. The route through Gonaives changes weekly depending on which bit they are fixing at the time. Car rental is expensive in Haiti (US$130-170 per day for a decent SUV) because the roads are not good. A new car will be and old car after 2 years in Haiti, especially if you drive it outside Port au Prince. The roads on this journey are mainly pot holes strung together by ruts with the occasional invisible speed bump. The drive is more of a sporting event rather than a means of transport - but again, it is a spectacular drive.
GPS will give you your coordinates but this may be not be much use as nobody has yet reconciled this with a road map. I have never seen a hire car with GPS fitted. Also, Hertz will let you rent a car in Port au Prince and leave it at their office in Cap Haitian.

[daworm]

In DR we will meet with our colleague and his wife so we will need a car for 4 person + driver. Do you know what's approximately cost of such service (rent a driver with a SUV in good condition) + gas + various expenses of whole trip like this?

Driver should speak English or Polish

To take benefits from such driving it will be good to visit some interesting places during the road from PaP to Cap Haitian or maybe there aren't any interesting except beautiful views?

Last question... is it safe for us to drive a car around whole Haiti even with some local driver?

[Arrica]

Originally Posted by daworm

In DR we will meet with our colleague and his wife so we will need a car for 4 person + driver. Do you know what's approximately cost of such service (rent a driver with a SUV in good condition) + gas + various expenses of whole trip like this?

Driver should speak English or Polish

To take benefits from such driving it will be good to visit some interesting places during the road from PaP to Cap Haitian or maybe there aren't any interesting except beautiful views?

Last question... is it safe for us to drive a car around whole Haiti even with some local driver?

From SD to PAP you can alternatively take the Bus, there are three companies (Capital Coach line; Terrabus and Caribe tours), oneway was around USD 40, taking 6-7 hours or so - no trouble with the paperworks and it seems the tour operators have agreements with the road-checks, so you won't be stopped by the endless number of military checkpoints along the road on the Dominican Side (actually more a pain when coming from Haiti into the DR than the other way around, but still...)

In Haiti, driving is safe enough from a security point of view, though safety may be a more relative term - traffic accidents are frequent and driving a car is an adventure, since Haitians have a maddening habit of driving in the middle of the road and sway to the right each time an opposite car is approaching - the road from PAP to St. Marc is recently rehabilitated, whereas it is a long string of pot-holes most of the way from St. Marc to Gonaives, requiring that you have sturdy spines and kidneys; Gonaives - Cap Haitien is a beautiful drive through the mountains. You will benefit from having a car to visit La Citadelle and the beaches once you are in Cap Haitien.

Buses from PAP - Cap Haitien are plentyful; will require your more adventurous attitude, like the chicken bus run - but a great way of getting in contact with the local populace ;

I was told that Caribe bus has a daily departure from Cap Haitien to Santiago; can't confirm - maybe someone else can corroborate that rumour.