Port-au-Prince

I've never been there but I'm interested. The buses from SD to Petionville take 8 hours or so and cost something like $75 US. I think that may include some of the border fees but I'm not sure. Both sides charge in either direction.

The US State department has a travel advisory warning of the specific threat of kidnapping. This is kidnapping for ransom not especially political. The advisory says 60 Americans have been kidnapped and there have been deaths and injuries. Most of them have been in the Port-au-prince area (which certainly includes Petionville which is the major center for foreigners as well as domestic elites).

On balance I think the only reasonably safe way to travel to haiti is to be embedded with some NGO, Mission, or other entity that is locally connected and knows what's going on. That and staying out of the P-au-P area. Neither is well suited to most travelers on this board.

Well I've been trying to go to Haiti for a few years now. I've been all over the rest of the Caribbean and for some reason Haiti still draws me.

However each time I get ready to go - I read all the warnings and end up backing off.

However with the fares being so low again - I took the morning and really scoured the internet for latest info.

The state department (US) has released a statement that will really scare the shit out of you. However if you go to other travel sites - like lonelyplanet and read their posts you'll find that many (or at least more than a few) people are indeed going and having a great/good/horrible time. BUT at least the threads aren't full of relatives asking for information or death notices.

I for one - just want to go to the Hotel Montana for 5 nights, swim in the pool, find a driver I can trust to go out to some of the nightlife, and I wouldn't mind driving around during the day to take some photographs..

Anyone who can give me some feedback about what clubs are available - what nightlife - would be fantastic.

Thanks!

I have just spent two months working in PAP and and the clubs in Petionville are alive and rocking. I usually went to Extreme and Barak and both have lots of p4p available with no bar fine. I had an apartment and no shortage of girls. Prices range from USD 15 to 100 depending on what you want and what you negotiate. Lots of SW after about 9 pm in several locations in Petionville. Streets are relatively safe if you are not taking stupid chances. Best to rent a car and drive around as there are not many Taxis.

If you are looking for a hotel I would recommend El Rancho. It has a casino and is close to the street and club action and is girl friendly from what I saw. Montana is also good but a bit farther from the action. Villa Creole is next door to the El Rancho and also good.

There are lots of good restaurants, La Soufenance is excellent. Also Quartier Latin, Brasallie, Cafe Albert, Boucain Gregoire, La Plantation. If you are in Port au Prince on a Wednesday night, the Petionville club has a happy hour that attracts a lot of the expat community and quite a few working girls and entry is free for everyone. Beer is USD2 and there is music for dancing.

If you go, rent a car at the airport or arrange for your hotel to pick you up. Taxis are scarce.

Speaking some French or Creole helps. Girls often quote prices in Haitian dollars so check when dealing. A Haitian dollar is 5 gourde or about US$0. 15. One hundred Haitian dollars ("cien dollar") is 500 gourde or about USD15. The Haitian dollar doesn't exist as a currency note but is widely used in stores and restaurants. The government is trying to get all prices quoted in gourde but its a slow process. Check price tags on goods. If it has a "$" then its in Hatian dollars, if a "G" its in gourde.

Just wanted to let you know that Haiti is getting safer and the mongering scene is great.

[QUOTE=Wine Guy]I have just spent two months working in PAP and and the clubs in Petionville are alive and rocking. I usually went to Extreme and Barak and both have lots of p4p available with no bar fine. I had an apartment and no shortage of girls. Prices range from USD 15 to 100 depending on what you want and what you negotiate. Lots of SW after about 9 pm in several locations in Petionville. Streets are relatively safe if you are not taking stupid chances. Best to rent a car and drive around as there are not many Taxis.

If you are looking for a hotel I would recommend El Rancho. It has a casino and is close to the street and club action and is girl friendly from what I saw. Montana is also good but a bit farther from the action. Villa Creole is next door to the El Rancho and also good.

There are lots of good restaurants, La Soufenance is excellent. Also Quartier Latin, Brasallie, Cafe Albert, Boucain Gregoire, La Plantation. If you are in Port au Prince on a Wednesday night, the Petionville club has a happy hour that attracts a lot of the expat community and quite a few working girls and entry is free for everyone. Beer is USD2 and there is music for dancing.

If you go, rent a car at the airport or arrange for your hotel to pick you up. Taxis are scarce.

Speaking some French or Creole helps. Girls often quote prices in Haitian dollars so check when dealing. A Haitian dollar is 5 gourde or about US$0. 15. One hundred Haitian dollars ("cien dollar") is 500 gourde or about USD15. The Haitian dollar doesn't exist as a currency note but is widely used in stores and restaurants. The government is trying to get all prices quoted in gourde but its a slow process. Check price tags on goods. If it has a "$" then its in Hatian dollars, if a "G" its in gourde.

Just wanted to let you know that Haiti is getting safer and the mongering scene is great.[/QUOTE]

Thank you man, great report!

Hey Wine guy!

Thanks for the update on Haiti, I am considering going there soon.

Other than mongering: any good beaches to kick it near POP? Other cities that may be worth checking out?

Thanks!

Concarne

No decent beaches close by. Jacmel has an OK beach but its a drive. Used to be a place called IBO beach, don´t know if it still exists nearer POP with bungalows and restaurant...swimming in mangrove colored water.

Guys,

What is the deal with money there? ATMs available or do I have to bring traveller's cheques or cold hard cash? What about credit card use in case of emergency?

TIA

hi fellas,

if anyone could contribute any answers to the below questions, i would greatly appreciate it. obviously, i'm considering haiti after reading this forum and doing some research.

1. i was wondering how far and how many minutes is petionville for port-au-prince?
2. how much would an middle to upper-class apartment / house cost for rent in both cities?
3. which city has the most action and is english / spanish-speaking friendly?
4. how much is basic car rental per day / month?
5. how is the electricity and high-speed internet service?

thanks alot.

I would love to hear the answers to Meatloafs request. I also would not mind knowing of other sources of info on mongering in Haiti...scant info in this place which I would have guess would be the one!

TIA

[quote=meat loaf]hi fellas,

if anyone could contribute any answers to the below questions, i would greatly appreciate it. obviously, i'm considering haiti after reading this forum and doing some research.

1. i was wondering how far and how many minutes is petionville for port-au-prince?
2. how much would an middle to upper-class apartment / house cost for rent in both cities?
3. which city has the most action and is english / spanish-speaking friendly?
4. how much is basic car rental per day / month?
5. how is the electricity and high-speed internet service?

thanks alot.[/quote]petionville is maybe 20 minutes from port-au-prince. it's virtually a suburb.

you can get a decent apartment for a few hundred us per month.

petionville has lots of english and spanish speaking girls, including dominican girls.

car rental, looking at at least $100/day

electricity is poor. you'd have to have at least an inverter and preferably a generator, too, as the state-run electricity is on maybe 4 hours a day. high-speed internet would have to be satellite, which runs around $60us/month.

[quote=lagocache]petionville is maybe 20 minutes from port-au-prince. it's virtually a suburb.

you can get a decent apartment for a few hundred us per month.

petionville has lots of english and spanish speaking girls, including dominican girls.

car rental, looking at at least $100/day

electricity is poor. you'd have to have at least an inverter and preferably a generator, too, as the state-run electricity is on maybe 4 hours a day. high-speed internet would have to be satellite, which runs around $60us/month.[/quote]ok, thanks. everything sounds good. a few more questions: (1) a generator (3, 000) that runs on gasoline is usually $300. is it that much more expensive there? (2) 4 hours of electricity per day? everyone sits around in the dark? that sucks. i'm having the same experience in nicaragua. (3) satelilite high-speed internet? what's that? is it easy to get connected? how many days for the installation? what companies provide this service?

thank you very much lagocache.

[quote=meat loaf]ok, thanks. everything sounds good. a few more questions: (1) a generator (3, 000) that runs on gasoline is usually $300. is it that much more expensive there? (2) 4 hours of electricity per day? everyone sits around in the dark? that sucks. i'm having the same experience in nicaragua. (3) satelilite high-speed internet? what's that? is it easy to get connected? how many days for the installation? what companies provide this service?

thank you very much lagocache.[/quote]1. i've honestly never bought a generator in haiti. most people i know buy them in the states and ship them over. but $300 sounds about right for a smaller generator.

2. everyone with the means has at least an inverter and if possible a generator. you'll never be fully in the dark in haiti.

3. satellite internet from hughes.net. here's a link for some basic info: [url]http://haitisatellite.com/ourservices_internet.php[/url]

If you are going to carry a girl to the room, it is best at the El Rancho. The Villa Creole manager is an asshole. He and I almost got into a fight because I brought a girl to the room and refused to open the door to the security guy. The Montana is too far from Petionville and you have to negotiate a deal with one of the security guys which you don' want to do. The El Rancho can get a little tricky. You can always take the girl to the casino or restaurant and slip to the room. It just depends upon the security guy on duty. Day time is no problem. I have about 28 years experience in Haiti. I will be living there permanently after this May. The girls are great. If anyone is going this later this month, I will be going March 27th for 10 days. If you don't know Haiti maybe we can get together and I can show you the ropes.

Badbear2000, you seem to be the man now. Pix are more than welcome

[QUOTE=BadBear2000]If you are going to carry a girl to the room, it is best at the El Rancho. The Villa Creole manager is an asshole. He and I almost got into a fight because I brought a girl to the room and refused to open the door to the security guy. The Montana is too far from Petionville and you have to negotiate a deal with one of the security guys which you don' want to do. The El Rancho can get a little tricky. You can always take the girl to the casino or restaurant and slip to the room. It just depends upon the security guy on duty. Day time is no problem. I have about 28 years experience in Haiti. I will be living there permanently after this May. The girls are great. If anyone is going this later this month, I will be going March 27th for 10 days. If you don't know Haiti maybe we can get together and I can show you the ropes.[/QUOTE]Badbear;

I'm also moving to Haiti/PaP end of April and interested in meeting/making all kinds of new friends, and learn the ropes. W/out becoming a paying member, Id sure like to meet you there: maybe seeking to meet atEl Rancho May 16, Friday PM or following weekend? Send back a smoke signal through this forum?

Safe travels then.