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Haiti Gourde
Haiti uses the gourde as its official national currency. Each gourde is then divided into 100 centimes or santim (santime is the Kreyol word for centimes). The currency is issued by the Republican Bank of Haiti (La Banque de la Republique d'Haiti).
The currency is issued in the form of 5, 10, 20, 50 centimes and 1 and 5 gourdes. Notes are in the form of 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 250, 500 and 1000 gourdes. However, in reality, although the 5, 10 and 20 centimes are still legal tender, they are not in general circulation. The smallest coin that you will usually see is the 50 centimes piece.
Internationally the gourde is recognised by the letters HTG.
History of the Gourde
The gourde was first introduced to Haiti in 1813, when it became the replacement currency for the Haitian livre, which had been the currency in use until this time. Haiti had been settled by the French and as such there was a natural association between using a Haitian livre, which was equivalent to the French livre.
The gourde lasted from 1813, until 1870, when it was re-valued, due the fact that it had basically lost most of its value. But this didn't work and it had to be re-valued again, in 1872, when 300 old gourdes were worth one new gourde. However, this seems to have done the trick and the gourde is still in use and is a relatively stable currency!
Getting Hold of Gourdes
Haiti, it has to be said, is not a tourist destination in the same way as other Caribbean islands are. That is due to the fact that it is not regarded as a safe destination for travellers to go to (see safety section below). But nevertheless, it does have its fair share of facilities and there are some ATMS, but only around 4 in Port au Prince (the capital) and one at the airport.
It is however better to take some traveller's cheques with you, just to ensure that you can get hold of some cash if you need it. In that way you can be sure that if you cannot get to an ATM, you will at least be able to go to a bank to exchange money. But you should be aware that most of the banks are located in Port au Prince as well, so if you plan to travel out of the main areas, then you will find that not only are there no ATMs, but there are no banks for you to exchange money and in addition, cash is very much required, since this is quite a cash based society. So you need to ensure that you have enough cash with you, to see you through the times when you are not in Port au Prince.
Traveller's cheques are probably best taken in the form of US dollars, since these can be easily exchanged. Similarly you should take in at least some cash with you, in the form of US dollars, which you can then take to the bank for gourdes.
Safety Issues
Haiti has a bad, bad name in terms of safety. There are problems on very many fronts. There are difficulties caused by political unrest as well as politically motivated violence. Western visitors may be specifically targeted by political terrorists because of the publicity that any attack would bring, so this makes it unsafe.
Violent crime is also a real risk. Murder rates are high and there are numerous kidnapping attempts that go on (some successful) as well as car jackings and armed robberies. 29 US citizens were kidnapped in Haiti in 2007, so this is a real risk.
So it is not a welcoming country and in particular there have been problems with the police being either unwilling or unable to enforce the law. Armed gangs will often set up ad-hoc and completely illegal roadblocks, but the police are almost powerless to be able to stop them. If you are caught in one of these, you will certainly lose any goods that you are carrying.
Most governments are advising their citizens not to travel to Haiti, because of the fact that it is so unsafe. In addition, due to the instability of the area, if something did happen to a foreign national, their government may be unable to help them, because of the dangers that Embassy or Consulate staff would face in travelling into the area and trying to negotiate a release if it is a kidnapping etc.
Insurance is also a big problem when travelling to Haiti. Because governments are warning that it is not safe to travel there, it is difficult to get insurance. Yet Haiti is one country where you need insurance. Medical and health care provision is rudimentary to say the least, so if you do get ill you may have to be airlifted out. In addition, if you end up in hospital as an emergency case, doctors and healthcare professionals may want paying prior to treatment: no money, no treatment.
So do not be tempted to skimp on insurance if you do decide to go to Haiti, because you may well need it and you will want one that will provide cover for you specifically in Haiti, so that the insurance providers will be well aware of the risks that you will be facing.
Spending Gourdes
As you can imagine, not that many visitors risk life and limb (possibly literally, if they are kidnapped) and travel to Haiti. As a result, it does not have all the tourist facilities that you would expect to find in a Caribbean island. However, the lack of an infrastructure that can support tourists, means that it is a destination that offers exceptionally good value for travellers.
But when you are out and about in the marketplace, you should be aware that the locals often price things not in gourdes (as they should) but rather in Haitian dollars. One dollar is worth 5 gourdes. So if a vendor tells you that something costs 2 dollars, he means 10 gourdes. It is really easy to get caught out by this and if you are not sure, then ask whether they are talking about gourdes or dollars.
Eating and drinking in Haiti is remarkably cheap and the food is particularly delicious, since there is a real blend of African, Spanish and French cuisines, all of which have been adapted over time and have come to be a really exciting cuisine.
Fruit is abundant on Haiti and again, remarkably good value, particularly in comparison to European standards. For hygiene reasons, it is usually best to make sure that you eat fruit that can be easily skinned, so that you do not pick any bugs up from fruit.
Haiti does have a lot to offer travellers (when it is safe to visit the country). Although very isolated from many other countries, there is still legacies left over from the days when the French were settled here and the fact that some of the people in Haiti are descended from people brought over to Central America as a result of the slave trade.
There are cultured areas such as Petionville in Port au Prince, which has some outstanding restaurants and museums/art galleries as well as some very interesting architecture. In some ways it almost feels like you are in a European city as opposed to the Caribbean.
There are some amazing beaches on Haiti. These are not as touristy as the other Caribbean islands, so in some ways you feel that they are a little bit more natural and perhaps not as sanitised as some of the others.
Labadie, an area in the north of Haiti, is a luxurious beach that does actually have all the mod cons that you expect from a tourist resort. It serves the cruise ships, which drop off passengers there on both Mondays and Tuesdays. Note that this area is generally regarded as safe and people do not run the same risks when they visit Labadie. The area is basically a resort compound, where undesirables are kept out in order to protect the visitors. Whilst it does not give them a flavour of the real Haiti, it dos protect visitors and it does mean that Haiti gets at least a little revenue from tourists.
But on a more negative front, poverty is widespread in Haiti and some visitors find it hard to deal with just how poor some people are. In addition, there can often be sights that are difficult for people from affluent countries to take: you may see rubbish simply piled up in the streets and people picking through it to see what they can find. Often foreigners can be hassled for money or more usually, to buy something and this can become tiring after a few days, when it feels remorseless and as if it isn't going to end.
Overview
Even when Haiti is considered to be a safe destination, it is not a tourist destination, so if you are looking for a tourist destination with all kinds of facilities and staff who have completed all required 'Customer Care' training and are keen to please, then you will be desperately frustrated by Haiti.
However, if you want to get to know the country a little and see how people can live in sheer, abject poverty and yet still be upbeat, proud and quite a self sufficient nation, then Haiti will undoubtedly furnish you with some very fond memories.
It is difficult to foresee when the political problems that have dogged Haiti for so long, will be resolved, if ever and so it could well remain a destination labelled as 'essential travel only' for some time to come.
If Haiti is a destination that you are considering travelling to, it is vital that you check out whether or not it is safe to do so and you need to have specific insurance that will afford you adequate protection. For further and constantly updated information, check out a website such as http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travelling-and-living-overseas/travel-advice-by-country/north-central-america/haiti/ where you will be furnished with all the information that you need prior to making the decision as to whether of not travel is safe.
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