Travel warning is issued for traveling to Haiti. For more information please visit U.S. Department of State
Browse listings of B&B, Home Exchange, Vacation Rentals (furnished apartments, villas, cottages, condos, farmhouses and other types of accommodations) of Haiti:
Last Minute Tips Before you Travel to Haiti
- Time Zone: GMT/UTC -4
- Electricity: 1100V, 60 Hz (bring an adapter/transformer for your hair drier, laptop, cellullar phone etc.)
- Currency: Gourde (G)
- Country Dialing Code: 509
Must See - Properties on UNESCO World Heritage List by
- National History Park – Citadel, Sans Souci, Ramiers
Haiti
Location
Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Dominican Republic
Capital
Port-au-Prince
Population
8,121,622
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2005 est.)
Regions
9 departments (departements, singular - departement); Artibonite, Centre, Grand 'Anse, Nord, Nord-Est, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Est
Climate
tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds
Ethnic groups
black 95%, mulatto and white 5%
Religions
Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 16% (Baptist 10%, Pentecostal 4%, Adventist 1%, other 1%), none 1%, other 3% (1982)
note: roughly half of the population practices Voodoo
Languages
French (official), Creole (official)
Government type
elected government
Background
The native Arawak Amerindians - who inhabited the island of Hispaniola when it was discovered by Columbus in 1492 - were virtually annihilated by Spanish settlers within 25 years. In the early 17th century, the French established a presence on Hispaniola, and in 1697, Spain ceded to the French the western third of the island - Haiti. The French colony, based on forestry and sugar-related industries, became one of the wealthiest in the Caribbean, but only through the heavy importation of African slaves and considerable environmental degradation. In the late 18th century, Haiti's nearly half million slaves revolted under Toussaint L'OUVERTURE and after a prolonged struggle, became the first black republic to declare its independence in 1804. Haiti has been plagued by political violence for most of its history. It is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
Visitor's Impressions
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