Haiti
Haiti 
TRAVEL INFORMATION
Documents:
All visitors need passports except Americans and Canadians, who need only
proof of citizenship. Visas were not needed for nationals of USA, Canada,
EU and Caricom countries, Argentina, Austria, Finland, Israel, Liechtenstein,
Mexico, Monaco, Norway, South Korea, Sweden and Switzerland. Visas issued
at the Haitian Embassy in New York (60 East 42nd Street 1365, New York,
NY 10017) take 1 hr, two photos required, US$18, valid for 3 months. Visitors
must have an onward ticket. All visitors, except cruise ship passengers,
must complete an embarkation/ disembarkation card on the plane; this is
valid for 90 days, and may be extended. It is no longer necessary to have
a laissez-passer before visiting the interior, but you must have some form
of identification to satisfy the many police controls. It may also be wise
to obtain a letter from the Tourist Office or police in Port-au-Prince
confirming that you are a tourist. For more information, see the Haitian
Embassy web site.
Customs:
Baggage inspection is thorough and drug enforcement laws are strict. There
is no restriction on foreign currency. You may bring in one quart of spirits,
and 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars. There are no export limitations.
Health:
Prophylaxis against malaria is essential. Tap water is not to be trusted
(drink only filtered or treated water) and take care when choosing food.
The local herb tea can help stomach troubles. Hepatitis is common in some
areas. Good professional advice is available for the more common ailments.
Ask friends, associates, or at the hotel desk for referrals to a doctor
suited to your requirements. Office hours are usually 0730-1200, 1500-1800.
A consultation costs about US$10-15. Hospital care and comfort varies.
Pharmacies/chemists can fill out prescriptions and many prescription drugs
may be bought over the counter. 
Port-au-Prince,
Haiti
WEATHER
The climate is generally very warm but the cool on- and off-shore winds
of morning and evening help to make it bearable. In coastal areas temperatures
vary between 20° and 35°C, being slightly hotter April to September.
The driest months are December to March. In the hill resorts the temperature
is cooler. For current weather in Port-au-Prince Haiti, please see
the Washington Post
Weather Information web page.
Koyna Beach
BACK
TO TOP
MONEY
Currency:
The unit is the gourde (Cr: goud), divided into 100 centimes (Cr: kòb).
Coins in circulation are for 5, 10, 20 and 50 centimes, notes for 1, 2,
5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 250 and 500 gourdes. Some 100 gourde notes are plastic,
faded, smeared and look like forgeries; they are not. They have 'American
Banknote Company' printed on them. Small denomination notes are in appalling
condition and there is always a shortage of them. Try to break down large
notes whenever possible. 500 gourde notes are next to useless unless you
can break them down at a bank or spend them at expensive hotels: ask for
smaller denominations. Coins are few and far between.
Exchange:
Money changers express the rate as a percentage increase on the old official
rate of 5 to 1. Thus, 6 to 1 is 20%, 7 to 1 is 40%, and 13 to 1 is 160%.
Haitians routinely refer to their own money as dollars, based on the old
5 to 1 rate. Thus, 5 gourdes is called a dollar, 10 gourdes is 2 dollars,
25 gourdes is 5 dollars, etc. Prices in shops are usually in Haitian dollars,
therefore multiply by 5 to get the price in gourdes. Visitors must constantly
clarify whether the price being quoted is in Haitian or American dollars,
or gourdes, now increasingly used on bills. US coins co-circulate with
local coins. They are treated as if the old 5 to 1 rate was still in force.
Thus, a US penny is treated as 5 kòb, a nickel is 25 kòb,
and so on. The fall of the gourde has triggered inflation, but inflation
has lagged far behind the rising value of the US dollar. This means that
Haiti is currently a bargain for the visitor, except in those places catering
for UN or NGO personnel which charge in dollars. The best exchange rate
is obtained from money changers, whether those on the street or those working
out of offices. It is perfectly legal. It is foolish to come to Haiti
with any currency other than US dollars or French francs. Currencies like
sterling can be changed, but only at a massive loss. For current
exchange rates please see the OANDA
Classic Currency Convertor web page.
Credit cards:
Visa, Mastercard and American Express are widely accepted. Beware, card
users will not get a good exchange rate.
COMMUNICATIONS
Telecommunications
The international code for Haiti is 509. Always bad, the telephone system
deteriorated even more during the 1991-94 embargo. Fewer than a third of
calls get through. The Haitian international operator (dial 09) is hard
to raise. The Oloffson, Holiday Inn, Montana and El Rancho hotels have
AT&T 'USA Direct' telephones for collect calls to the USA or calls
anywhere in the world with an AT&T credit card, but even these connections
can be problematic.
Media
Newspapers:
Le Nouvelliste is the better of the two daily French-language newspapers;
conservative, but tries to be impartial. Three weekly newspapers are published
in French, all very one-sided, but on different sides. The pro-Aristide
weekly Libète is the only Créole newspaper.
Radio:
Radio stations use a mix of French and Créole. Metropole and Tropic
are best for news. The satellite-beamed Radio France Inter is rebroadcast
locally on FM 89.3. The BBC World Service can be heard on 15220 (early
morning) and 7325 (evenings). Voice of America is on 11915 (mornings) and
9455 evenings.
Television:
A commercial TV station, Tele-Haiti, retransmits American, French, Canadian
and Latin American stations (including CNN) to cable subscribers, electricity
permitting. 
FOOD
Most restaurants offer Créole or French cuisine, or a mixture of
both. Haiti's Créole cuisine is like its Caribbean cousins, but
more peppery. Specialties include griot (deep-fried pieces of pork), lambi
(conch), tassot (jerked beef) and rice with djon-djon (tiny, dark mushrooms).
As elsewhere in the Caribbean, lobster is widely available. Pétionville
has many good French restaurants. Some are French-managed or have French
chefs, and are undeniably first class. Haiti's wide range of micro-climates
produces a large assortment of fruits and vegetables. It is popular to
buy these in the regions where they grow and are freshest. The French influence
is obvious in butcher shops where fine cuts of meat, cold cuts, paté
and cheeses can be bought. The bakeries sell French croissants, together
with Créole bread and meat pasties. American influence is felt in
the supermarkets. Most common are US-brand foods along with smaller amounts
of Haitian, French and Middle Eastern brands.
DRINK
Haiti's Barbancourt rum is excellent and the Rum punch is very popular.
The local beer, Prestige, may be too sweet for some palates. The Dominican
beer, Presidente, is the best of the foreign beers sold in Haiti, but Beck's
is more widely available. Soft drinks include Séjourne, Couronne
and Sékola (banana).
This page created and maintained by Jean C. Philemond
Last updated on December 13, 1998
Please email me if you have any comments
