What Is Actually Happening in Haiti
The Risks That Actually Catch People
In Haiti the distinction between "scam" and "serious threat" is less clear than in most countries. Some of what follows is conventional tourist fraud. Other things are life-threatening. Read all of it.
Kidnapping for ransom is the primary threat to foreign visitors in Haiti. Foreign nationals — including journalists, missionaries, and aid workers — have been kidnapped. The airport road passes through or near gang-controlled territory. Random abduction from vehicles, on foot, and from residences has been documented. This risk is not confined to obviously dangerous areas; it extends to Petionville (the relatively wealthy suburb most visitors use as a base in Port-au-Prince) and to transit routes between cities.
- If you must travel through Port-au-Prince, use only trusted ground transport arranged by a verified local organisation or embassy-approved service. Never hail a random vehicle.
- Share your location, itinerary, and contact information with your embassy and someone at home who will act if they don't hear from you.
- Travel in groups and during daylight only. Movement after dark anywhere in or near Port-au-Prince is strongly inadvisable.
- Cap-Haïtien and Jacmel have significantly lower kidnapping risk than Port-au-Prince but are not immune. Maintain the same security discipline throughout the country.
Standard Caribbean taxi overcharging exists in Haiti alongside the more serious security risks. No meters. The airport to Petionville is quoted at USD $40-80 to foreigners; locals pay far less. In Cap-Haïtien, the airport to the city centre costs about USD $10-15 and is often quoted at USD $30-40. Drivers sometimes claim you agreed to a full-day hire rather than a single journey.
- Arrange airport pickup through your hotel before landing — more important here than almost anywhere else, for security reasons beyond just price.
- Agree the full fare, in USD, before getting in. State it clearly: "Combien jusqu'à [destination]?" Get a verbal confirmation.
- In Cap-Haïtien specifically, your hotel can recommend trusted moto-taxi (tap-tap) drivers they know personally — this personal reference matters more in Haiti than anywhere.
Foreign NGO workers and volunteers are perceived as wealthy by Haitian standards and have been specifically targeted for kidnapping. Several high-profile incidents involving mission groups, aid workers, and volunteer medical teams have received international attention. The security protocols that professional development organisations apply in Haiti are rigorous for this reason. Individual volunteers arriving without organisational security support are at higher risk than those embedded with established organisations.
- If you are travelling to volunteer, go only with established organisations that have current, functioning security protocols — not with groups that treat Haiti as an adventure destination.
- Legitimate organisations operating in Haiti provide security briefings, have established contacts with the embassy, and restrict movement to verified-safe routes. If yours doesn't, reconsider.
- Don't advertise your organisation's name, wealth, or resources publicly in areas outside your secure base.
Street currency exchange involves short-counting gourde notes in large stacks. Some businesses quote a "Haitian dollar" price — an informal unit worth five gourdes used in everyday Haitian conversation — and visitors unfamiliar with the distinction pay five times more than intended. One US dollar is not one Haitian dollar. Ask to confirm which currency is being quoted.
- When someone quotes you a price, always ask "American dollars or Haitian dollars or gourdes?" — the answer changes what you owe significantly.
- Count all received gourdes before leaving any exchange point.
- Use hotel exchange desks rather than street changers — the rate differential is modest and the reliability is much better.
Photography confrontations in Haiti range from demands for payment after an unsolicited photo to genuinely dangerous situations in gang-influenced areas where photography of territory or people can be interpreted as surveillance. The history of how Haiti has been photographed by foreign media also shapes how Haitians respond to cameras — being photographed in poverty by wealthy visitors has a long and painful history here.
- Ask before photographing individuals — "Mwen ka pran foto ou?" (Can I take your photo?) — and accept no for an answer gracefully.
- In gang-influenced areas or anywhere you're uncertain about, put the camera away entirely. This is not a place to push boundaries for a photograph.
- At Vodou ceremonies, photography is often prohibited or requires specific permission from the hougan (priest) — ask before you arrive, not in the moment.
Cap-Haïtien and Jacmel have the standard Caribbean informal guide economy — individuals attach themselves to visitors, provide services or information, and establish a price at the end. Given Haiti's economic situation, the amounts involved are modest and the encounter is more about a lack of agreed terms than deception. A local guide with genuine knowledge is actually valuable here; the problem is distinguishing them upfront.
- If you accept help or companionship from someone in a tourist area, address the question of payment early: "Si ou vle ede mwen, ki pri ou?" (If you want to help me, what's your price?)
- Your hotel in Cap-Haïtien or Jacmel can recommend guides they trust personally — take the recommendation and use it rather than negotiating with strangers.
The Destinations — An Honest Assessment
Haiti's security situation is not uniform. The capital is in crisis. Some regions maintain more stability. This is not permission to visit casually — it is information for people who have specific reasons to go.
Port-au-Prince is a city of extraordinary cultural density — the Iron Market (Marché de Fer), the Musée du Panthéon National with the anchor from Columbus's ship the Santa Maria, the Pétion-Ville restaurant and art gallery scene, the Champ de Mars, the gin-gingerbread Victorian architecture of the 19th-century elite neighbourhoods. It was a city worth getting to know deeply. Right now, the gang coalition Viv Ansanm controls the main road from the airport, the container port, and large residential zones. Petionville maintains more stability than downtown but is not safe. Travel to Port-au-Prince for tourism purposes is not recommended under current conditions. Full stop.
- If you are transiting through Port-au-Prince, arrange direct airport-to-accommodation transfer with a verified, trusted service before landing
- Do not walk in Port-au-Prince or Petionville at any time without a trusted local guide who has current knowledge of which streets are safe on that day
- The US Embassy is in Tabarre; UK and Canadian services are in Petionville — register your presence with your embassy when you arrive
- Have a clear and tested exit plan before entering the country, not as an afterthought
Cap-Haïtien in Haiti's north is the country's second city and the one that visitors with a genuine reason to be in Haiti still reach with some regularity. The old city has French colonial architecture, the Marché Hyppolite still sells produce and craft on Saturday mornings, and the atmosphere is recognisably Caribbean in a way that Port-au-Prince has not felt for years. The Citadelle Laferrière — a mountaintop fortress built after the revolution by King Henri Christophe, the largest fort in the Americas at its time of construction — is 27km south and requires a horse ride up to the summit. It is one of the most significant historical sites in the Western Hemisphere. Labadee on the coast nearby is a private resort leased to Royal Caribbean — a hermetically sealed luxury experience that exists in a different reality from the rest of Haiti.
- Fly directly to Cap-Haïtien from Miami, Port-au-Prince (carefully), or Santo Domingo rather than taking the road from Port-au-Prince — the road passes through areas with documented gang activity
- Hotel Brise de Mer and Villa Kréyol have both served travellers reliably; book accommodation before arriving and ask specifically about current security conditions
- The Citadelle tour takes a full day and the horse ride is genuinely required for most visitors — book through a hotel-recommended guide, not someone who approaches you at the site entrance
- The Saturday market at Marché Hyppolite is worth a morning; keep bags secured and leave before midday
Jacmel on the southern coast is Haiti's art town. The Carnival here in February is the most creative in the Caribbean — papier-mâché masks made in the Jacmel style, satin costumes, rara bands with bamboo vaksin horns. The old French colonial warehouses on the waterfront have been converted to galleries and cafés. Haitian painters, sculptors, and iron artists have maintained studios in Jacmel through everything the country has faced since 2010. The town is 90 minutes from Port-au-Prince on a road that passes through areas of varying security — the flight from Port-au-Prince (when available) or arrival by private vehicle from the Dominican Republic are safer options than the public road.
- The road from Port-au-Prince to Jacmel passes through Martissant and Carrefour, both areas with significant gang activity — check current road conditions with local contacts before travelling it
- The Jacmel Carnival in February is genuinely extraordinary and attracts diaspora Haitians from across the world — accommodation books out months in advance
- Hôtel Florita on the waterfront is the established option; smaller guesthouses in the old town have more character
- The Vodou temples in and around Jacmel are active and significant — visiting requires an introduction from someone with existing community relationships, not a cold approach
The Citadelle Laferrière is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most remarkable structures in the Americas. King Henri Christophe ordered its construction in 1805, two years after independence, to defend Haiti against any return of French colonial forces. It sits at 910 metres and its walls are 40 metres thick at the base. 20,000 workers died building it. It was never used in battle. The cannon balls stacked at its base weigh 200 tonnes. The Sans-Souci Palace at the base of the hill, also ruined, was once compared to Versailles by European visitors. Together they represent the will of a formerly enslaved people to build something that would outlast any empire that came for them — and they were right.
- 27km from Cap-Haïtien; the standard approach is by car to Milot then horse to the summit (a 45-minute ride up steep terrain)
- Official guides are available at the base in Milot; a tip of USD $10-15 is appropriate for a good guide
- Bring water. The summit is exposed and the climb in tropical heat is serious
- Start early — by 10am the site is at its busiest and the light is better in the morning
Saut-d'Eau waterfall in the Artibonite department hosts the largest Vodou pilgrimage in Haiti every July 16th. Thousands of pilgrims gather at the falls — a sacred site associated with the Vodou lwa (spirit) Erzulie Dantor, syncretised with the Catholic Our Lady of Mount Carmel — for three days of ceremony, music, and bathing in the falls. It is one of the most significant and specific cultural events in the Caribbean world. Getting there from Port-au-Prince involves roads through areas of variable security. The experience, for those who reach it respectfully, is unlike anything else available in Haiti.
- The July 16th date is fixed; the route from Port-au-Prince requires current security intelligence in the days before travel
- Go with a Haitian guide who has existing relationships at the site — arriving as an obvious outsider without introduction is inappropriate for a sacred ceremony
- Photography is sensitive here — ask your guide specifically what is and isn't acceptable before the event, not during it
Haitian art deserves mention on its own terms. The Haitian painting tradition that emerged from the Centre d'Art in Port-au-Prince in the 1940s produced some of the most original work of the 20th century — Hector Hyppolite, Philomé Obin, Castera Bazile, and dozens of others painted a country in vivid colour with formal inventiveness that European critics tried to call "primitive" and that was nothing of the kind. The iron sculpture tradition from Croix-des-Bouquets, the papier-mâché carnival masks of Jacmel, and the sequined Vodou flags (drapo) made for ceremonies are among the most specific and beautiful material culture in the Americas. Buying art in Haiti — from galleries in Jacmel or Cap-Haïtien, from studios in Petionville — is a direct economic contribution to the artists and communities who have kept Haitian culture alive through everything.
- In Jacmel, Galerie Monnin and Atelier Machin are galleries worth visiting for work with documented provenance
- In Petionville, Galerie Nader has been the city's most established fine art dealer for decades — their stock reflects serious Haitian art history
- Be cautious of "antique" Vodou objects offered to tourists — a genuine ceremonial flag or spirit vessel should not be for sale to strangers; authenticated contemporary work by living artists is the right thing to buy
Before You Go — The Checklist
- ✓ Read your government's current Haiti travel advisory the week before departure, not when you book. The situation changes rapidly and the advice reflects current conditions.
- ✓ Register your presence with your embassy as soon as you arrive in Haiti. The US, UK, and Canadian embassies all have registration systems — use them.
- ✓ Arrange all transport through your hotel or a verified local organisation before landing. Never hail taxis from the street anywhere in Haiti.
- ✓ Fly directly to Cap-Haïtien or Jacmel rather than transiting by road through Port-au-Prince whenever possible.
- ✓ Bring sufficient USD in cash for your full stay plus an emergency buffer — ATMs are unreliable throughout the country.
- ✓ Buy comprehensive medical evacuation insurance with 24-hour assistance — and keep the emergency number somewhere other than just your phone.
- ✓ Have a clear, tested exit plan agreed before you enter the country, including what to do if air service is suspended.