Port-au-Prince

Port-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of Haiti.

Understand
The city's recent history has been dominated by the aftermath of a devastating earthquake in 2010, which leveled many buildings and left hundreds of thousands dead. Reconstruction efforts are ongoing but many historic sites were lost.

By plane

 * is in operation since 2010 as the national airline based in Port-au-Prince. They offer domestic & international flights from Port-au-Prince to Camagüey, Cap-Haïtien, Fort-de-France, Havana, Holguín, Jérémie, Les Cayes, Panama City–Tocumen, Pointe-à-Pitre, Punta Cana, Santiago de Cuba, Santo Domingo–La Isabela. Domestic flights operate from a separate Guy Malary Terminal (location of marker) east of the main terminal on Blvd Toussaint Louverture. Check with the airline for check in and departure location of your Sunrise Airways flight.
 * is in operation since 2010 as the national airline based in Port-au-Prince. They offer domestic & international flights from Port-au-Prince to Camagüey, Cap-Haïtien, Fort-de-France, Havana, Holguín, Jérémie, Les Cayes, Panama City–Tocumen, Pointe-à-Pitre, Punta Cana, Santiago de Cuba, Santo Domingo–La Isabela. Domestic flights operate from a separate Guy Malary Terminal (location of marker) east of the main terminal on Blvd Toussaint Louverture. Check with the airline for check in and departure location of your Sunrise Airways flight.

Other airlines that fly into Port au Prince main terminal include:
 * Air Caraïbes (Paris Orly)
 * Air Transat (Montreal)
 * Air France (Miami, Pointe-à-Pitre)
 * American Airlines (Miami)
 * Caicos Express Airways (Providenciales)
 * InterCaribbean (Providenciales)
 * JetBlue (Ft Lauderdale, New York JFK)
 * Spirit Airlines (Fort Lauderdale, Miami)
 * Win Air (Curaçao, Saint Maarten)

By car

 * Route Nationale 1 (RN-1) heads north, passing through Saint-Marc and Gonaïves to its terminus at Rue 22 in Cap-Haïtien. It goes through downtown as the main north-south thoroughfare before becoming RN2 south of town.
 * Blvd des Industries, north of town, provides the most direct route towards the airport terminal from RN 1 via a roundabout. From the roundabout go on Blvd Toussaint Louverture to get to the main terminal.
 * RN-2 is commonly known as “Boulevard Jean-Jacques Dessalines” within Port-au-Prince and as “Route du Sud” outside the capital region. After heading south through downtown Port-au-Prince, it travels west through the capital's western boroughs and then through Petit-Goâve and Aquin to its terminus at Avenue des Quatre Chemins in Les Cayes.
 * RN-8 provides the most direct route towards the nearest border crossing into the Dominican Republic. It passes by Jct RN-3 at Croix de Bouquets, and the cities/towns of Carrefour Beauge and La Source. In Dominican Republic the road becomes RN-48 into Jimani (nearest Dominican border town, 54 km east of Port au Prince).
 * Route de Delmas (RN-101) connects from RN-1/2 in Port au Prince to the Marigot (76km /3-4hrs) in the south coast through Petionville and Marche in Ouest and Sud Est Departments.

By bus
Except Terra Bus the following bus companies offer direct connections from Santo Domingo to their own stations in Tabarre and Petion-Ville. If coming in from Santo Domingo after dark, Petion-Ville is a safer area to go to. It is recommended to arrange local pick-up from a trusted local contact for the ride from bus station to accommodations: Another, less expensive, option is to take a guagua (Dominican minibus) from Santo Domingo departing 4 blocks NW of Parque Enriquillo, just West of Av Duarte, from a small parking lot within the elevated expressways of Espresso 27 de Febrero). suggests guava buses leave every 45 min, but this is not always the case. Price is RD$400, allow about 5 hr for the journey including a quick rest/meal stop) and arrive in the border town of Jimani. From there it is a 4-km walk or a RD$50 or more ride by motoconcho to the border post. The border is apparently open 08:00-18:00 (if it respects its times).

In the past it was very easy to cross the border without submitting to any immigration procedures on either side, and although probably illegal, saved a few dozen dollars in bribes and was much faster too. Things are changing: passport control is now generally required leaving the Dominican Republic, not just entering the DR. Entering Haiti legally is quick: fill out the green form and pay whatever amount the official asks (around RD$100). There are no ATMs at the border. Moneychangers give Haitian gourdes for Dominican and US currency. Rates are fair. Protect Haiti's small green card in your passport, allowing you to leave Haiti without risking a penalty.

There's usually plenty of local transportation from the border to Port-au-Prince. Crowded tap-taps and buses can take you to Croix-des-Bouquets for about G75 (1-2 hr), from where it is another hour to Port-au-Prince (bus, G5+ per route, summary network map. Road ranges from very bad to good, and is prone to flooding. Peruvian UN soldiers at the border have confirmed that the road to Port-au-Prince is safe to travel with no incidents of robbery or kidnappings, but definitely try to arrive in Port-au-Prince before dark.

Get around
Tap-taps run along prescribed routes throughout the city. Most routes cost G15-25 (US$0.25-0.50), although to get across the city you may need to utilize multiple routes, each of which charges separately.

Street taxis are typically about G500 and should be used only during daylight. After dark, prices rise substantially, and you are at substantially greater risk of being mugged. Street taxis downtown are signified with a red ribbon hanging from their rear-view mirror.

Premium Rapid taxi has an app can be downloaded from iTunes and Google Play stores. Al's Taxis in the Thomassin area serve the whole of PAP and can be reached onoy by phone. Nick's Taxis (fleet of 6-7 yellow cars) can still be found but are looking very dated and tired. These taxis all have positive reports for safety and reliability giving visitors and locals more options to get around both during the day and at night.

See




Banking
ATMs are widely available throughout the city at bank branches such as Unibank and Sogebank. ATMs can also be found at some of the larger supermarkets and hotels such as Marriott and Karibe. The US embassy recommends that travellers stay safe by changing currency in advance (so you can avoid banks and ATMs).

Eat
Eating out in Port-au-Prince is surprisingly expensive. Even at modest restaurants a full plate of food will usually cost around G200. A good amount of food from street vendors will even cost up to G100.

Budget

 * Foodies (near the National Palace) A clean fast food joint serving hamburgers and fries. Expect to spend about G120 for a cheeseburger, fries, and drink. Ask for the owner, a Haitian of Lebanese ancestry, who will answer your questions in Brooklyn English.

Self-catering
There are grocery stores all over town among which: the in the Champ-de-Mars area.

Drink

 * Crémas, an alcoholic beverage made of coconut and vanilla.
 * Rhum Barbancourt
 * Biere Prestige
 * bottled water

Sleep
There are no cheap places to stay, just less expensive choices.

Stay safe
See the warning on the Haiti article for information on the security situation.

You should not be outside on the streets after dark unless you are wandering around the busy Champs-de-Mars area.

Embassies and consulates
The majority of embassies and consulates are in Pétion-Ville in the south part of town. They can also be in other parts of town too. Other countries maintain (non-resident) diplomatic representation to Haiti through their embassy in Mexico City, Santo Domingo, Washington DC, their UN Mission in New York or elsewhere in the region:
 * 🇧🇸 Bahamas
 * 🇧🇷 Brazil
 * 🇨🇦 Canada
 * 🇨🇳 China
 * 🇨🇺 Cuba
 * 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic
 * 🇫🇷 France
 * 🇯🇵 Japan
 * 🇲🇽 Mexico
 * 🇵🇦 Panama
 * 🇷🇴 Romania
 * 🇪🇸 Spain
 * 🇹🇼 Taiwan
 * 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
 * 🇺🇸 United States

Go next

 * Pétionville, a wealthy suburb with lots of nightlife, bars and restaurants.
 * Fort Jacques cool air in one of Haiti's few national parks, together with the view, should refresh you; about 45 min up a mountain