Gonâve Island

Large Haitian island in the Gulf of Gonâve, isolated between fishing villages and dry hills.

Gonâve Island is a large island in the Gulf of Gonâve, about 60 km west of Port-au-Prince. Roughly 65 km long, it is one of Haiti's most isolated regions — poor, largely deforested, and home to around 100,000 people living mainly by fishing and subsistence farming.

The island is rarely visited by travelers and has few facilities. It is reached by boat from Montrouis or from Port-au-Prince, a crossing of two to three hours depending on sea conditions and departure point. The main town is Anse-à-Galets on the north coast, where all boats arrive.

For those interested in seeing a rural, off-the-beaten-track side of Haiti, Gonâve offers exactly that — with the understanding that this means very basic conditions and no tourist infrastructure whatsoever. The coastline has coral reefs that see little diving pressure, and the isolation that makes the island hard to reach is the same quality that has preserved it from the worst of Haiti's environmental pressures.

Guide

Getting There

Gonâve Island has no airstrip. The only way to reach it is by boat from the Haitian mainland.

The most direct connection is from Montrouis, a coastal town about 80 km north of Port-au-Prince on Route Nationale 1. Small motor boats (lanchas) make the crossing to Anse-à-Galets, the island's main town, in roughly two hours depending on conditions. Boats also depart less frequently from Port-au-Prince itself, from the dock at the Portail Léogâne area. Journey times from Port-au-Prince by sea are longer — three hours or more.

There is no formal ferry service with a published schedule. Boats leave when they are full, which generally means early morning. Come to the dock before 7am and expect to wait. The crossing can be rough in afternoon winds, so morning departures are both more likely and more comfortable. The fare is negotiated, typically a few hundred Haitian gourdes.

Supplies, petrol, and communications on the island are limited. Bring everything you need from the mainland — including any medicines, cash, and water purification. There are no ATMs on Gonâve Island.

Guide

Things to Do

Gonâve Island offers almost nothing in the way of tourist infrastructure, and that is precisely the point. Visitors who come here do so to experience one of Haiti's most isolated communities, to see largely undeveloped coastline, and to travel in a part of the Caribbean that sees virtually no outside visitors.

The western and southern shores have reefs in reasonable condition — but diving requires bringing your own equipment. The main town of Anse-à-Galets has a market and a waterfront worth a walk. The interior of the island, while largely deforested, has hillside paths and views over the Gulf of Gonâve that reward the effort of getting to them. Moto-taxis are available in Anse-à-Galets to explore further afield.

Go with realistic expectations: no restaurants beyond basic food stalls, no guesthouses beyond bare-bones local options, no reliable electricity outside of a few hours in the evening. The people are welcoming and the landscape is striking in its austerity.