Nord · Haiti
Cap-Haïtien travel guide
Cap-Haïtien is a city in Nord, Haiti, home to about 190,000 people.
- Nearest airport
- CAP3 km · Cap Haitien International Airport
- Currency
- HTGgourde
- Time zone
- America/Port-au-Prince
- Language
- French, Haitian Creole
Things to do
What to see and do in Cap-Haïtien
See
The downtown area is full of French colonial architecture — it looks like New Orleans may have looked in the past. There is a wide promenade, Bouleved du Carenage, along the bay offering a nice view and sea air. A number of restaurants line the Boulevard. The downtown has shops and restaurants, but most cater to locals. The Cathedral and Grand Place downtown are also rather impressive.. The nearby town of Milot is the gateway to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Sans Souci Palace and the Citadelle Henri Christophe, both built by King Henri Christophe. The palace ruins are impressive, as is the Citadelle, a massive castle that has been renovated and is really pretty amazing to see.
- Our Lady of the Assumption Cathedral
Do
The Boulevard du Carenage along the water is a nice walk and there are bars, restaurants and craft shops. Beaches north of the city are very nice, and outside of town are the Citadelle and Palais Sans Souci.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
When to go
The best time to visit Cap-Haïtien
Cap-Haïtien has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. August is the warmest month, with average highs of 32 °C; November is the wettest, with about 219 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Cap-Haïtien: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Cap Haitien International Airport (CAP), about 2.7 km from the city centre in a straight line; Toussaint Louverture International Airport (PAP, 131 km) is also within reach.
Getting around
The city is small and compact enough that you can walk most places. There are, however, many taxis and motor-taxis available. Most restaurants and bars are in the central, gridded part of the city.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
CAP · Cap Haitien International Airport
PAP · Toussaint Louverture International Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Cap-Haïtien
Eat
There are various restaurants, many near the waterfront or the Hotel Roi Christophe. Many places serve good seafood dishes (lobster and conch especially), French food, American food or a mix. Traditional Haitian food often includes rice and beans, flattened and fried plantains (but not sweet ones) and pikliz, a spicy cole slaw.
Drink
Most of the restaurants are also good for drinking places, but there are a few bars too. Prestige, the local beer, is tasty, and rum drinks are popular. Barbancourt 5 star is the best local rum (and most expensive!) Try a rum sour, made with lime, lemon and sugar. Kleren is the local moonshine which you can buy on the street or from some stores. It's strong and variously flavored -- fruit, cinnamon, even conch (sea snail!) It can be tasty but drink at your own risk, as it's often homemade.
Stay safe
General warnings about Haiti are true also for Cap-Haïtien, though the city is, on the whole, safer than Port-au-Prince. Arranging transportation through your hotel maybe be safer and easier than finding it on the street, but probably a bit more expensive.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Cap-Haïtien: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Cap-Haïtien?
Cap-Haïtien has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. August is the warmest month, with average highs of 32 °C; November is the wettest, with about 219 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Cap-Haïtien?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Cap Haitien International Airport (CAP), about 2.7 km from the city centre in a straight line; Toussaint Louverture International Airport (PAP, 131 km) is also within reach.
What currency is used in Cap-Haïtien?
gourde (HTG).
Nearby
Destinations near Cap-Haïtien
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.