What to Pack for Cap-Haïtien and Fort-Liberté

Northern Haiti is hot and humid nearly year round, the itinerary mixes beach days with a serious uphill walk, and the evenings at Le Marien Hotel are social. Pack for those three realities and you will not need anything else.

The weather you are packing for

Expect daytime highs in the high 80s to low 90s Fahrenheit with high humidity and evening lows in the mid to high 70s. Rain, when it comes, tends to arrive as a short heavy shower rather than a grey day. Nothing you bring should be heavy, and everything should dry fast.

Clothing

• Six to seven lightweight tops in cotton or linen, plus a couple of spares. You will change more often than at home.
• Shorts, light trousers, and two or three dresses or resort outfits for dinners and the evening entertainment.
• Two swimsuits so one is always dry, plus a cover-up for walking between the pool, beach, and restaurant.
• One long-sleeve breathable layer for the mountain, sun protection, and mosquitoes at dusk.
• A light rain shell or compact umbrella.
• One dressier outfit. The Réveillon, Carnival, and Independence rotations have evenings people genuinely dress for.
• A hat with a brim and sunglasses.

Shoes

• Closed-toe shoes with real grip for the Citadelle Laferrière. The cobbled ramp is uneven and polished smooth in places. This is the item guests most often get wrong.
• Sandals or flip-flops for the pool and beach.
• One comfortable pair for town walking and evenings.

Documents and money

• Passport valid for the length of the stay, plus a photocopy or phone photo kept separately.
• Your reservation confirmation and flight details, printed as well as on your phone.
• Travel insurance documents including a medical evacuation policy number.
• U.S. dollars in small bills for tips, artisan vendors, and the Milot market. Card acceptance outside the hotel is limited.
• A note of your bank's international number, and a heads-up to the bank that you are travelling.

Health and toiletries

• Prescription medication in its labelled container, with enough for the full six nights plus several extra days.
• Insect repellent with DEET or picaridin, and an after-bite treatment.
• Reef-safe sunscreen at SPF 30 or higher, and aloe or after-sun.
• A small first-aid kit: pain reliever, antihistamine, anti-diarrheal, rehydration salts, blister plasters.
• Hand sanitizer and wet wipes for excursion days.
• Your usual toiletries. The hotel supplies the basics, but bring anything specific to you.

Electronics

Haiti uses 110–120V with the same flat two-prong and three-prong plugs as the United States, so U.S. devices need no adapter. Bring a power bank for the Citadelle day, a charging cable per device, and a headlamp or small flashlight — the fortress galleries are unlit and power in town can be intermittent. A dry bag or zip-top bags protect phones on boat and beach days.

Nice to have

• A refillable water bottle. The hotel provides safe drinking water to fill it.
• A daypack for excursions.
• Downloaded music, offline maps, and a few Kreyòl phrases. Bonjou and mèsi go a long way.
• Space in your bag for ironwork, paintings, coffee, and rum on the way home.

Leave at home

• Expensive jewelry and watches.
• Drones, unless you have arranged written permission well in advance.
• Camouflage-patterned clothing.
• Anything you would be upset to lose.

Everything on the packing list that relates to the tour itself — meals, drinks, ground transport, excursions, entertainment — is already included in the package, so you are only packing for yourself. Questions about a specific rotation? Call (800) 509-1804.