Wednesday 12^th July – Port-au-Prince

• Arrival into Port-au-Prince at your convenience and transfer to our centrally located hotel
• Meet at 4:00pm in the hotel lobby to meet your YPT guide and fellow travellers
• Begin early evening walking tour to explore some of the famous graffiti in the city and the unique taptaps – painted trucks and buses – very cool photo opportunities
• Take a ride in one of these taptaps to the restaurant where we’ll grab dinner of local Haitian fare and a cold beer or sample a crémas, a local drink of coconut and vanilla
• Overnight in Port-au-Prince

Thursday 13^th July – Port-au-Prince – Fermathe – Kenscoff – Port-au-Prince Morning

• After breakfast we’ll begin further exploring the capital with our first stop being the famous ‘gingerbread houses’, large mansion type buildings that look like they’re from Victorian England and the most stunning architecture in Haiti
• Head onto the Champ de Mars, the capital’s largest park for a bit of people watching. The park is also the Square of the Heroes of Independence where national parades used to be held
• See the site where the National Palace, the president’s residence, used to stand until it was destroyed in the 2010 earthquake, as well as the cathedral which was also reduced to rubble
• Visit the Statue of the Unknown Slave, testament to Haiti’s history as a slave colony and its revolutionary liberation war. We’ll also see the statues of the first emperor and king and of course a certain Christopher Columbus

Afternoon

• After lunch we’ll be going to the Pantheon National History Museum to learn more about Haiti’s revolutionary past
• Stop by St Trinity Episcopal Church for photos before we head to Boutillier viewpoint for great views of the city
• We’ll go further into the hills and drive to Fermathe where we visit a self-aid shop and a market village in Kenscoff commune.
• Visit Fort Jacques, built over 200 years ago in honour of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, leader of the Haitian Revolution and first leader of independent Haiti
• After a long day of exploration we’ll grab dinner and drinks
• Overnight in Port-au-Prince

Friday 14^th July – Saut D’eau Festival Morning

• After breakfast we’ll drive out to Saut d’Eau commune (about a 2 hour drive)
• The waterfall here is one of the key sites of pilgrimage for Catholics and voodoo practitioners alike, and today is part of the festival of Our Lady of Carmel
• It was here that the Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel is said to have appeared on a palm tree, and just to add to the coincidence the voodoo loa, or spirit, Erzulie Dantor also appeared here

Afternoon

• Picnic lunch in Saut d’Eau
• Watch the Eucharistic rites and voodoo rituals before the locals bathe in the falls asking for favours from their gods on one of the most stunning days you will ever experience
• Drive back to Port-au-Prince
• We’ll head for a quick dinner and then in the evening watch a RAM concert in the Oloffson Hotel, Haiti’s most famous mizik rasin band who play a weekly show here
• Overnight in Port-au-Prince

Saturday 15^th July – Croix des Bouquets – Port-au-Prince Morning

• After breakfast we head to the Plaza de Hugo Chavez, the former Venezuelan leader was treated as a hero by the Haitians after his criticism of the American occupation of Haiti “in the name of aid”, and of course maybe due to generous gifts of oil
• Visit the Marché de Fer, the Iron Market, which may have been damaged by fire in 2008, destroyed by the 2010 earthquake and then again ravaged by fire in 2018, but which has been restored and is a public market of historical heritage

Afternoon

• Grab lunch around the market
• Head to Fort Dimanche, a former prison notorious for torture during the reign of Francois Duvalier, or Papa Doc as he was popularly known
• Explore the Grand Cemetery with its vast network of necropolises and raised tombs
• Visit the Atis Rezistans, self-taught artists whose work is based on junkyard, survivalist recycling
• From here we head to the Noailles Artistic Village to see more local artists at work
• We’ll try to find a Voodoo Ceremony. An incredible experience that shows you what Haiti’s most famous for!
• Dinner and overnight in Port-au-Prince

Sunday 16^th July – Port-au-Prince – Jacmel  Morning

• This morning we head to Jacmel on the south coast
• We’ll stop at Baby Doc’s tomb, the ruler who led Haiti after his father’s death, and who was deposed and lived in exile before returning to his fate
• Visit to the Blue Basin
• The Blue Basin is a stunning series of pools with clear blue water set along the river and waterfalls linking them together
• Take a dip in the water!

Afternoon

• After lunch we’ll continue our ride to Jacmel
• On arrival we’ll check into our hotel before going out for dinner and drinks
• Overnight in Jacmel

Monday 17^th July – Jacmel Morning

• In the morning we’ll grab a coffee and pastry in one of the New Orleans style coffee houses in Jacmel
• Stop by the Manoir Alexandre, once the grandest building in Jacmel and now under restoration
• Visit the historic Jacmel Cathedral before we move on to the former home of Simón Bolívar, it was here that he stayed before assembling his army to eventually liberate and create Gran Colombia

Afternoon

• Head to the Jacmel local market where we’ll also grab lunch
• Visit a local artist residence and galleries to see how the thriving Jacmel art scene differs from Port-au-Prince
• In the afternoon we’ll head to Cyvadier beach and relax with the locals and go for a dip
• Dinner of creole food and drinks with a beach view
• Overnight in Jacmel

Tuesday 18^th July – Jacmel – Leogane – Port-au-Prince – Cap Haitien (Group A Tour Concludes) Morning

• After breakfast we’ll drive out of Jacmel towards Port-au-Prince
• On the way we’ll stop at Leogane, a coastal commune which was the epicentre of the earthquake in 2010 which destroyed almost the whole settlement. Much of Haiti’s history has seen natural disaster and here we see how the rebuilding effort has gone

Afternoon

• Upon arrival in Port-au-Prince we’ll say goodbye to those from Group A, YPT can assist with airport transfers or extra accommodation as needed
• Group B continue on to the airport to catch our 3:00pm flight to Cap Haitien
• Upon arrival we’ll check in and head for dinner with drinks in town
• Overnight in Cap Haitien

Wednesday 19^th July – Cap Haitien – Milot Morning

• In the morning we head to Milot a short drive away from Le Cap
• Visit the Sans-Souci Palace, one of the most famous sights in all Haiti
• This was the royal residence of King Henri I, Henri Christophe, and is over 200 years old, built to prove to the French and foreigners alike the ability of the black race
• King Henri is said to have shot himself with a silver bullet on the grounds of the palace after being crippled by a stroke, whereupon he was buried in the citadelle
• Which is our next stop, the Citadelle Laferrière, a fortress on top of a mountain, built to guard against French invasion, a UNESCO heritage site and all-round impressive place

Afternoon

• Grab lunch in Milot
• Visit the Lakou Lakay Cultural Centre and then we will watch a voodoo dance
• Drive back to Cap Haitien
• Dinner and overnight

Thursday 20^th July – Labadie – Cap Haitien Morning

• After breakfast we go on a city tour of Le Cap taking in the Heroes Monument of Vertières, the last battle of the Haitian Revolution, and the site of the actual battle
• Visit the Bois Caiman, site of voodoo rituals performed at the beginning of the slave revolt
• We jump on a boat for the short sail to Labadee

Afternoon

• We’ll have a lunch of freshly caught lobster or fish
• Labadee is a privately run resort beach where we can lap up the Caribbean feeling
• While rum may be the main drink in the region, we check out a clairin distillery – clairin is the locally produced distilled spirit, made in the same way as rum, and made from cane sugar
• We’ll head out for a dinner of seafood and drinks in town to celebrate our last night in this amazing country
• Overnight in Cap Haitien

Friday 21^st July – Cap Haitien – Port-au-Prince

• Board a morning flight back to Port-au-Prince where the tour will conclude – YPT are able to assist you with any onward travel or accommodation

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