Very short visit to Haiti - practical?

[Vinyasa]

You can for sure take a bus from Santiago to CH. leaves daily at 12 noon. Never full so just take the 8.20 bus from Charamicos to Santiago and you'll have plenty of time to sort out a ticket when you get to Santiago.
Ps it's the first Santiago bus station you want, Las Colinas

 

[drstock]

And who carries a passport anyway?

I don't know where you live, but here on the north coast, from my own personal experience, and as confirmed by Cdn-Gringo, the first things you are asked for when stopped are your passport and driving licence. I don't usually carry my passport but I do carry a copy of the picture page, which they accept. They want to see the entry stamp too.

 

[SKY]

I don't know where you live, but here on the north coast, from my own personal experience, and as confirmed by Cdn-Gringo, the first things you are asked for when stopped are your passport and driving licence. I don't usually carry my passport but I do carry a copy of the picture page, which they accept. They want to see the entry stamp too.

What do I know, only lived for 10 years on the North Coast and no one ever asked to see my passport. Even when I killed that guy no one asked.

 

[melphis]

What do I know, only lived for 10 years on the North Coast and no one ever asked to see my passport. Even when I killed that guy no one asked.

Ya but he probably deserved it.

 

[drstock]

What do I know, only lived for 10 years on the North Coast and no one ever asked to see my passport. Even when I killed that guy no one asked.

Lucky you.

 

[drstock]

You can for sure take a bus from Santiago to CH. leaves daily at 12 noon. Never full so just take the 8.20 bus from Charamicos to Santiago and you'll have plenty of time to sort out a ticket when you get to Santiago.
Ps it's the first Santiago bus station you want, Las Colinas

That's very useful advice, thank you.

By the way, does anyone know the best way to get to the places near Cap Haitien mentioned above (Cormiere Plage or Labadee) if you don't have a car?

 

[Vinyasa]

You can take the local taptap (guagua). I did this to get to the citadel.
They are very cheap and cheerful. On the positive side, you will never see a Dominican guagua as being full ever again!

 

[Salsafan]

Road to Citadelle one way:
- Local bus (taptap) from Cap Haitien to Milot: 45 min, 20 goud (=20 RD pesos). In CP take a motoconcho to the taptap-station, 25 goud.
- Motoconcho from Milot to touristoffice of Citadelle: 30 min, 200 goud one way.
- Walking from office to Citadelle: 1 hour, hard, awesome landscape, 200 goud entrance to pay at the touristoffice. You don't need a guide, good road.
For return to Milot be sure the motoconcho has good brakes.
I recommend the hotel Roi Christophe in Cap Haitien. Its worth the 100 US$. And you have a nice pool after the trip to Citadelle
Trip to Labadee: first taptap 30 min, 25 goud. Then boat to the village, 10 min, 10 goud. The taptap-station in CP for Labadee is not the same one as for Milot.
The motoconchos in CP cost 25 goud, also nights.
Buy the Lonely Planet guide Dominican Republic and Haiti.

 

[sirlurksalot]

Haitian Trip

I had looked at Caribe Tours website and it appeared that there was no bus from Santiago to Cap Haitien, but only on from Santo Domingo (yes, I know it would have to pass Santiago). This would have made it a long journey as I am starting from Cabarete, which was why I hadn't considered the option. I'll have to make some enquiries.

Thanks for your input, anyway.

Yes, it originates in SD, but they have an employee in Santiago station - the first one if you are coming from the north - who handles the passengers who want to board the bus there. Haven't done this for 2-3 years but imagine the procedure pretty much remains the same. It is a little different from other CT bus trips. There is the driver and an attendant. Passengers receive a packaged lunch and beverages. It doesn't stop until it hit the border in Quanaminthe. Seems to take a while to get processed there. Once underway again you travel on a pretty good asphalt hwy. The only problem there are a lot of speed bumps. Gotta be hard on the buses brakes. Seems like they are 2-3 miles apart. When the bus gets to CH it almost goes thru the width of the city to the west. The final destination is on the west side of the city. The bus is parked in a facility that can be locked at night. It is also the site of the ticket office where you buy your return ticket. Would say that this would be in one of the better areas of CH. The bus leaves fairly early in the am. The station is near several hotels. The one we stayed at was about 2 long blocks from the depot. We climbed up a steep hill and we we there. Reservations are advised. The hotel bartender set us up with a car for the trip to Sans Souci and the Citadel. This tour is awesome. I've been on it 3 times and would probably go again if the opportunity came up. Seeing this in and of itself is worth the trip to Haiti IMO.

 

[mofongoloco]

Road to Citadelle one way:
- Local bus (taptap) from Cap Haitien to Milot: 45 min, 20 goud (=20 RD pesos). In CP take a motoconcho to the taptap-station, 25 goud.
- Motoconcho from Milot to touristoffice of Citadelle: 30 min, 200 goud one way.
- Walking from office to Citadelle: 1 hour, hard, awesome landscape, 200 goud entrance to pay at the touristoffice. You don't need a guide, good road.
For return to Milot be sure the motoconcho has good brakes.
I recommend the hotel Roi Christophe in Cap Haitien. Its worth the 100 US$. And you have a nice pool after the trip to Citadelle
Trip to Labadee: first taptap 30 min, 25 goud. Then boat to the village, 10 min, 10 goud. The taptap-station in CP for Labadee is not the same one as for Milot.
The motoconchos in CP cost 25 goud, also nights.
Buy the Lonely Planet guide Dominican Republic and Haiti.

Thanks for this post.

Did you take the horse up the road or did you walk to the citadelle?

 

[Salsafan]

I walked from the touristoffice alone. Really hard walk in the heat. The guides at the touristoffice insist to guide you, but it is allowed to do it yourself. You don't need a guide to find the way.

 

[mofongoloco]

Thanks Salsafan.

May I ask you a few more questions?

Can you venture a guess regarding my idea to get a guide from a hotel resource once I arrive? I really want a guide/travel companion to interpret and, most importantly, to deflect street vendors and gringo price gouging. I accept that tourists are "hard currency" and I don't mind a few extra shekels. But if a taxi ride is 10 dollars I don't want to pay 40. I would like to take taptap where practical. From your postings back and forth to milot sounds like the perfect experience. Still, I would rather have a companion.

Did you see the horses? Did you walk from Sans Souci or did you walk from a nearer entrance? Is the "tourist office" visible from a zoomed in google map? Cuz if it's what I think it is it's about half way up.

Thanks.

How old were you when you did it?

 

[Salsafan]

I don't know how easy it is to find a spanish speaking trustworthy companion in CH, the people in the Hotel were friendly and helpful. Apart from the guides near Citadelle the people in CH and nearby didn't bother me at all. I walked from the Tourist Office of the Citadelle (half way between Sans Souci and Citadelle), you can see it in Google-Satellitview if you zoom enough.
My age, I was not a Boy anymore but good in shape.