I love sharing my stories about my trips to Haiti. Last summer we visited Labadee, Haiti. Labadee is located on the northern coast of Haiti. You can travel to Labadee by car or by taking a 23 minute flight from Port-au-Prince to Cap-Haitien. You’ll take a small plane into Cap then drive about 30 minutes through the city to the private and secured resort area that encompasses about 80 acres owned by Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. Typically the only way to enter the resort area is by getting off of the cruise ship since the entire area is fenced off to ensure that only authorized people enter.
Before you arrive to Labadee, I think some history on this part of the island would be helpful. Cap-Haitien, or “Cap,” is the closest city to Labadee and was the former capital of Haiti. You can arrive to Cap by car, however, it will take you about seven to eight hours or more, depending on the conditions of the roads. Although some Haitians do go to Cap by car, I would not recommend it. Not all the roads are paved and you can run into road blocks, horrible traffic jams, or other issues that will add hours to your trip. A round-trip flight from Port-au-Prince to Cap is about $130.00 and well worth the convenience.
My father lived in Cap from 1957-1960 and at that time it was the equivalent to a Martha’s Vineyard. My grandfather, who in 1960 was appointed to serve as the Executive Director of the National Port Authority of Haiti, would travel to Cap with the family even after they moved. Wealthy Haitians would spend summers at their beach homes. My dad described Cap in those days as a booming vacation town.
Today, the city center of Cap is devastated with poverty and over population. It is difficult to imagine what it looked like decades ago. Cap was not affected by the earthquake of 2010, but what I saw looked worse than some parts of Port-au-Prince. Once you pass the city center, you arrive to the beautiful coast where there are several resorts and then there is Labadee.
In December of 2009, Royal Caribbean Cruises built a new destination port only 30 minutes by car in a nearby town called Labadee, Haiti. Labadee is stunning coastal village embedded in the mountains. RC’s development did great things for the local economy. Currently, R.C. employs 200 local Haitians that work in the port. Almost 400 more work on the ships that come to this destination. The ships that travel to this port have between 3,400 to 6,200 hundred passengers and makes about 150 stops a year. The port has a large marketplace with stands for the local artisans to sell their crafts which helps many more locals earn some income.
The water and the scenery is in Labadee is breathtaking.. You are surrounded by lush mountains and clear water. It reminded me so much of my trip to Kauai ten years ago. We took an excursion boat to an area just around one side of the mountain that is mostly uninhabited. The mountain is too steep for roads. As you arrive to the coast you see beautiful homes scattered in the mountains that are owned by Haitians, French, and Germans. From the excursion boat we took a little canoe called “Searious Dreams” to get to the shore.
After we swam a little, we walked a trail that resembled a path out of a tropical forest in Brazil or Hawaii. There were mango trees, lime trees, avocado trees, pineapple, aloe, almonds, and corisol trees lining the path. Then out of nowhere was a fresh water creek with beautiful flowers lining it.
Back at the resort, everything was quiet as there were no ships at port yet. We left to eat lunch and then returned to our hotel.
Many people don’t expect beauty when they travel to Haiti. After traveling to Labadee you’ll definitely understand why so many people visitors return to Labadee and surrounding resorts each year.
Traveling to Haiti? Share your questions in the comments below.
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