Harvey World Travel - The Travel Professionals.
Call our Travel Professionals on 0800 75 87 87 or search for your nearest agent
  • Home
  • Flights
  • Holidays
  • Tours
  • Cruise
  • Hotels
  • Insurance
  • Search Deals
  • Travel Tools
  • About Us
  • Request A Travel Quote
  • Franchising Information
Home - Haiti - 

Haiti

Overview

The Basics

Attractions

Health

Contacts

Airports

Climate

Currency

Visa & Passport


Tools

Print this guide

E-mail this guide


   

Overview

Haiti Overview
Haiti Overview © Ken Bosma

Travellers will notice a striking landscape of hills, mountains and deep valleys as they descend into Port-au-Prince. Culturally, they will appreciate how distinct Haiti is from the Dominican Republic, even though the two countries share the island of Hispaniola. The overwhelming majority of Haitians are of Afro-Caribbean ancestry, while the Dominican Republic is far more diverse demographically. Haitians have also developed a number of unique cultural and linguistic trends, highly influenced by the nation's African heritage. Indeed, some say Haiti is really a West African country located in the Caribbean.

Known as 'the pearl of the Caribbean', Haiti was once among France's richest colonies. Today, it endures widespread crime, poverty and civil disturbance. What's more, a catastrophic earthquake struck the country in January 2010, killing nearly 300,000 people and devastating local infrastructure. It destroyed many major landmarks in Port-au-Prince, including the Presidential Palace, Port-au-Prince Cathedral, and the National Assembly building. Hospitals, transport facilities and communication systems remain inadequate.

The fact that dozens of sleek cruise liners still visit a corner of Haiti is a beacon of hope for future tourism. The glittering white liners head out from Miami and deliver passengers to the cordoned off port of Labadee. The destination lies adjacent to Haiti's colourful city of Cap-Haitien. Visitors are safe to shop for souvenirs, sample local cuisine and generally enjoy themselves on Haiti's lovely northern coastline. Cap-Haitien is arguably preferable to Port-au-Prince as a tourist destination because it suffered little damage in 2010.

Though most governments discourage travel to Haiti, intrepid visitors will find surviving natural beauty and many exciting volunteer opportunities. Foreign aid and local ingenuity are steadily improving conditions, but travellers will struggle to explore the country if they aren't on a cruise or part of a volunteer programme. On the plus side, visitors are often surprised by Haitians' friendly and hospitable nature.


Travel Guide powered by Word Travels, copyright © 2021 Globe Media Ltd. All rights reserved. By its very nature much of the information in this travel guide is subject to change at short notice and travellers are urged to verify information on which they're relying with the relevant authorities. Neither Globe Media nor Harvey World Travel can accept any responsibility for any loss or inconvenience to any person as a result of information contained above.

Site Map | Terms & Conditions | Privacy | Security | Flight Booking Fees


© 2009 Harvey World Travel. All Rights Reserved.

Welcome to Harvey World Travel , The Travel Professionals.
Compare cheap airfares and cheap flights from some of the worlds leading international and domestic airlines, such as British Airways, Qantas , Thai Airways, Emirates, Air New Zealand , Malaysia Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines , Virgin Blue, Pacific Blue and Jetstar. This site allows you to search compare and book cheap flights to Australia and cheap flights from Australia. It is also possible to book cheap holidays , both domestic holidays and international holidays. Users can also book cheap hotels and book car hire, all from the Harvey World Travel website or contact one of the Harvey World Travel franchisees to make your travel booking.