VOODOO RITUALS AND CARIBBEAN VIBES

December 22 ⇾ December 29

In addition to our regular group departures to Haiti, we also offer tour services for private travel parties and lone wolves alike. As a traveller-oriented boutique operator, tailored trips and bespoke adventures are our bread and butter. Get in touch for more info on our customised journeys to Haiti! 

ITINERARY

DAY 1 – Port au Prince

  • Meet-and-greet at Port au Prince International Airport and transfer to our hotel of choice in Petion Ville, the nicest and safest neighbourhood of Port-au-Prince.

  • Introductory briefing about the country, the route of the tour, and the set of rules to observe while travelling in Haiti.

  • We’ll spend the rest of the day touring Haiti’s chaotic and colourful capital, an edgy and inspiring city full of hidden charm, fading colonial grandeur and authentic humanities.

  • Highlights of our stay in Port au Prince will include:

    • elegant architectonic shapes, chaste religious buildings and mouldering stone memories dating back to the French rule when the island was known as the colony of Saint-Domingue;

    • eclectic gingerbread mansions from the late XIX and early XX century when Haiti became the first modern black state outside of Africa following an epic slave uprising led by Toussaint Louverture, aka the Black Napoleon;

    • bustling food markets, colourful street stalls, loud urban hubbubs and a visit to a school project in Jalousie, a highly misunderstood working-class hood that is being slowly revived and reshaped thanks to the heroic work of community-based organizations;

    • Petion Ville’s wild nights of creole rhythms, Afro-Caribbean dance moves and rum cocktails;

    • the unique chance to witness a traditional voodoo ritual: an elaborate ceremony of music, dance and spirit possession!

  • Overnight in Petion Ville.

DAY 2 – Haitian Highlands

  • After an early-morning wake-up call, we’ll travel deep into the staggering lush mountains rising south of Petion-Ville.

  • Our first stop will be Fort Jacques, a 200-year-old fortress that bears the name of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, leader of the Haitian Revolution and first ruler of independent Haiti.

  • After a quick visit to the fort, we’ll drive further south to the lively coffee town of Kenscoff, where we’ll pause for a tour around the plantations and a sip of the local brew.

  • By lunchtime we’ll eventually reach the idyllic mountain village of Furcy, the getaway to the La Visite National Park, a marvellous lost world of terraced hillsides, high mountain peaks and forested plateaus.

  • We’ll spend a couple of hours in the wild, taking a short hike around the village and meeting with the local mountain dwellers, who will share with us their food, their stories and the secrets of their culture.

  • Before sunset we’ll transfer back to the Haitian capital and get ready for our gallivanting around the Tiburon Peninsula.

  • Overnight in Petion Ville.

DAY 3 TO DAY 5 – Jacmel

  • We’ll leave Port-au-Prince after breakfast and embark on a cultural adventure across the Tiburon Peninsula, a finger-shaped narrow strip of hilly land extending into the Caribbean Sea towards Jamaica.

  • We will spend three full days in the peninsula visiting the beautiful colonial city of Les Cayes and Jacmel, the dream-like Bassin Bleau, and the traditional Haitian fishing towns scattered around the peninsula.

  • Overnights in Jacmel.

DAY 6 TO DAY 7 – Cap-Haitien

  • In the morning we’ll board a shot domestic flight to Cap-Haitien, often simply referred to as Le Cap, the capital of Haiti’s northern department, renowned during the colonial time for its wealth and sophistication.

  • We’ll devote our first day in the north to the city of Cap-Haitien itself and hit the nearby postcard-like Caribbean beaches (an extra boat ride around the bay can be arranged for those who are up for it), whereas on our second day in the area we’ll undertake a day-trip to the colonial city of Milot.

  • Milot is home to Haiti’s most famous historical attractions and UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the graceful ruins of the early XVIII century Sans-Souci Palace and the coeval Citadelle Laferrière, an imposing mountaintop fortress dominating a tropical-bucolic hilly landscape of lush forests, small villages and fertile plantations.

  • Overnights in Cap-Haitien.

Day 8 – FAREWELL TO HAITI

  • After sharing a last Haitian meal together, we'll take care of your transfer to Cap-Haitien International Airport for your flight back home or your connection to yet another exciting destination in the region such as Venezuela or Cuba.

  • End of the tour.

2990 €

INCLUSIONS
Double/twin-room accommodation (breakfast included), private transport in Haiti (car/minivan), all domestic flights within Haiti, all entrance fees, English-speaking guiding service, 24/7 on-site and remote assistance.

EXCLUSIONS
Single supplement, international flights, main meals (lunches and dinners), extra drinks, visa fees (if required), tips, travel insurance.

Citadelle by Greta.jpg

HAITIAN VOODOO is a syncretic religion based on West African Vodun, originated in what is now Benin and developed in the French colonial empire in the 18th century among West African peoples who were enslaved, when African religious practice was actively suppressed, and enslaved Africans were forced to convert to Christianity. Practitioners are called "vodouists" or "servants of the spirits". Vodouists believe in a distant and unknowable supreme creator, Bondye. According to Vodouists, Bondye does not intercede in human affairs, and thus they direct their worship toward subservient spirits called loa. Every loa is responsible for a particular aspect of life, with the dynamic and changing personalities of each loa reflecting the many possibilities inherent to the aspects of life over which they preside. To navigate daily life, vodouists cultivate personal relationships with the loa through the presentation of offerings, the creation of personal altars and devotional objects, and participation in spectacular and slightly unsettling ceremonies.