Haiti Explorer

Day 1: Port-au-Prince We begin our Haiti tour on arrival into Port-au-Prince, where you will be met by your guides and set off to take a walking panoramic tour of the historic gingerbread houses (which are over 120 years old) en route to the Le Plaza Hotel. After checking in, we will take a comprehensive tour of the Caribbean's second largest city to include the newly-constructed Marché de Fer (Iron Market), Champ de Mars, and the Pantheon Museum (which has relics from the historic past of Haiti). Overnight at the Le Plaza Hotel. Day 2: Port-au-Prince After breakfast, we will into the suburbs to the Le Grand Cimetière (also known as The Grand Cemetery), which is hundreds of years old and known for its brightly-colored, above-ground vaults and raised tombs. After exploring the grounds, we will head to the suburbs of Pétionville to attend the once-weekly and authentic, 2-hour Vodou ceremony at Samba EL, where the priest was a former student of Max Beauvoir, the late head of the Vodou religion. Just like a church services, where they pray together, they will explain many things about Vodou rituals. Casav and coffee is offered to everyone (however, visitors do need to have this if they don't want to, and it doesn't offend anyone). Later on there will a lot drumming dancing and singing and they will finish the ceremonies with a last ritual where people will start getting possessed. When it ends, we will have some time apart from the ceremony to talk with the priest and learn more about Vodou. From there we will continue our tour around the city to see the damages that have lingered on since the January 2010 earthquake at the damaged Catholic Cathedral, St. Trinity’s Episcopalian and the loss of its native art murals, as well as the National Palace. Day 3: Port Salut via Les Cayes This morning on our Haiti tour, we will set off towards Port Salut, where after a roughly three and a half hour drive we arrive in the town of Les Cayes. Due to its isolation from the political turmoil of the capital, Port-au-Prince, it is one of Haiti's major ports and is world's largest supplier of vetiver, an ingredient of perfume and fragrances. We will then travel down to Port Salut where we will check into our hotel and have lunch before driving out to the magnificent Marie Jeanne Caves in Port-à-Piment, which is known as the wildest known cave in the Caribbean. After a short walk up the mountainside, a set of steep stairs, and some thick jungle vegetation, we will enter the cave itself, which is the longest cave known to this day in Haiti. The cave is a veritable 2.5 mile-long labyrinth with three levels of galleries. Accompanied by a guide, you will be able to explore its depth and discover numerous types of underground landscapes and caverns. After this fascinating tour, we will return to Port Salut. Overnight at the L'Auberge du RayonVert. Day 4: Île-à-Vache This morning on our Haiti tour, we will set off on the short drive back to Les Cayes passing pleasant scenery and rice paddies en route. We will then travel by 15-20 minute boat over to the obscure and seldom-visited Île-à-Vache, which is a secluded and exclusive island known by few outside of Haiti. We will have a very interesting and enjoyable day exploring this roughly 10 mile long and mountainous island with various activities on offer such as long walks across the interior and around the gorgeous coastline, visiting a local market and fishing village, kayaking, and snorkeling. Overnight at the Abaka Bay. Day 5: Jacmel via Saint-Louis-du-Sud and Zanglais Transferring back to the mainland from our wonderful stay in Île-à-Vache, we will continue our overland adventures heading up through the great plain area to the wild coast of Saint-Louis-du-Sud. Next we will continue our way to Zanglais (named after the English in colonial times) where we will have lunch at Jardins sur Mer, a pretty hotel on top of a peninsula with wonderful bay views surrounding it. After lunch we will continue our drive to Jacmel, which has a colonial city center that is tentatively listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Jacmel makes a wonderful place to stroll around to admire the wrought-iron buildings and stunning beachfront location, complete with a relaxing and laid-back vibe. Later we will head out to the Bassin-Bleu, which simply means “blue pool", a protected little forest oasis with natural blue pools and waterfalls in a beautiful nature setting where you can take a swim or simply marvel at the beauty of the area. Overnight at Colin's Hotel. Day 6: Artibonite via Saut d’Eau  A very interesting and long day is in store for us today on our Haiti tour, as we will drive from Jacmel roughly four and a half hours to the waterfall in Saut d’Eau Waterfalls near Mirebalais in central Haiti. For over a century, thousands of people head to the 100 foot waterfall every July over three days on a religious pilgrimage (even more so since the devastating 2010 earthquake) to bathe in the waters, praying for healing and asking for favors from the Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel. Every July over three days the sick and the needy let the water of the falls wash over them as they perform various rituals of both Vodou and Catholicism in a religious festival. Next we will pay a visit to Musée Ogier-Fombrun, a restored sugar cane plantation and colonial mansion which has an interesting collection of artifacts used by the intrepid freedom fighters during the time of slavery lead by the European conquistadors in the West Indies. Overnight at the fantastic Moulin Sur Mer in Artibonite, one of the most charming places to stay within the country. Day 7: Cap-Haïtien via Gonaïves After breakfast, we will head for a short visit to the town of Gonaïves, which was founded in 1422 by Indians who named it “Gonaibo”. It has a deep history of importance within the country. In 1802 the French captured the revolutionary hero François Dominique Toussaint Louverture at his farm outside the town and Jean-Jacques Dessalines proclaimed Haiti’s independence from France at the town’s Place d’Armes on Jan. 1, 1804. Another notable site is the Musée du Centenaire, inaugurated in 1904 to commemorate the nation’s first century of independence. Later we will continue our drive to Cap-Haïtien, where we will be based for two days exploring this fascinating and historical region. Dinner and overnight at the Cormier Plage Hotel, which is located in an attractive area on the beach. Day 8: Cap-Haïtien and Milot This morning on our Haiti tour, we will head outside of town to Milot to visit the truly imposing and UNESCO-listed Citadelle LaFerriere, a stunning battle fortress which was built in the early 1800s atop a 3,000 foot mountain. We will reach the fortress by horseback where we will have time to thoroughly explore this stunning piece of history. Later we will continue back to Cap-Haïtien for lunch and then visit visit the Citadelle and Sans Souci Palace, which is a crumbling former royal residence of King Henri I of Haiti, Queen Marie-Louise and their two children. Dinner will be at a local restaurant and the evening will be at leisure. Day 9: Port-au-Prince and departure Today we will board our short flight back to Port-au-Prince this morning to connect to our onwards flights home after this diverse and interesting exploration of Haiti.