Is Traveling to the Dominican Republic Safe Given the Crisis in Haiti?

A surge in gang violence is causing chaos on the streets of Haiti. Thousands have fled Port-au-Prince, police stations have been set on fire, and there are widespread demands for the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, the de facto leader. Haiti is facing one of its most severe crises, prompting concerns among travelers about the safety of visiting both Haiti and the neighboring Dominican Republic.

Haiti has been grappling with rampant gang violence for the past two years, a situation that worsened following the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021. Recently, Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier, the leader of the G9 gang alliance, warned in early March that civil war and genocide could loom if Prime Minister Henry does not step down.

Last July, the U.S. State Department issued a Level 4 travel advisory for Haiti, which remains in effect. This highest advisory level strongly recommends that U.S. citizens avoid travel to Haiti due to the risks of kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and the country's inadequate healthcare system.

Although travel advisories from the State Department can sometimes lack clarity regarding a destination's safety, it seems that travelers should exercise extreme caution this time or ideally follow the guidance precisely.

“I would advise against traveling to Haiti at this time,” states Stephen Bennett, a Caribbean travel expert and co-founder of Uncommon Caribbean, an online guide for Caribbean tourism. “The main airports in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and Cap-Haitien, which is over 120 miles to the north, are currently closed, making air travel to those areas impossible.”

However, Bennett assures that visiting the Dominican Republic is entirely safe at the moment and encourages travelers to maintain their plans there. While the Dominican Republic shares its western border with Haiti, the border remains shut, with increased security and patrols in place.

The U.S. State Department last updated its travel advisory for the Dominican Republic on June 6, 2023, and it currently stands at Level 2, which advises visitors to exercise heightened caution. Several other popular tourist destinations also have a Level 2 advisory, including Denmark, Costa Rica, Turks and Caicos, France, Germany, Italy, and more.

Mark Chesnut, a travel journalist focused on the Caribbean, has just returned from a trip to the Dominican Republic, including a visit to Santo Domingo, the largest city near the Haitian border.

“I have visited Santo Domingo and the Dominican Republic numerous times over the past 30 years, and during my latest trips to both Santo Domingo and Punta Cana, my sense of security felt unchanged,” he remarks. “On Dominican television, there’s extensive coverage about the border situation, which made me more aware, but I didn’t sense a heightened level of danger in the DR. The crisis was a frequent topic among locals and hotel staff, yet none of them mentioned any additional security measures. I did not perceive any change in safety concerning that issue.”

In light of the travel advisory for Haiti, here's how cruise lines and airlines are adjusting their operations.

However, the situation in Haiti is quite different.

Currently, JetBlue, American Airlines, and Spirit have suspended their flights to Haiti. Sunrise Airways has announced on Instagram that it will resume special flights between Cap-Haitien and Miami starting March 25.

Until last week, Royal Caribbean still had scheduled stops at Labadee, located on Haiti's northern coast, in its upcoming itineraries. However, as of March 14, the cruise line has halted these planned visits to the port.

“In light of the changing circumstances in Haiti, and out of an abundance of caution, we are temporarily suspending our calls to Labadee across our entire fleet,” stated Aurora Yera-Rodriguez, Royal's assistant vice president. “We are continuously monitoring and evaluating the situation with our global security and intelligence team.”

Royal Caribbean Group owns Celebrity Cruises and Silversea. Labadee serves as a private port, exclusively accessible to cruise passengers and crew members. It features a day-use resort with several beaches, a zip line, and various other amenities.

Bennett reports that officials from Sunrise Airways, which provides regularly scheduled flights throughout Haiti, are optimistic that airports will reopen soon. Once this occurs, Cap-Haitien, which Sunrise connects directly to Miami, will resume flights for travel to Haiti in the near future.

“The city's closeness to many of Haiti's top tourist attractions, along with its distance from the chaos in Port-au-Prince, should make it a viable option sooner rather than later,” he noted. He pointed out that the distance between Cap-Haitien and Port-au-Prince is greater than that between New York City and Philadelphia, for perspective.

Yet, a quick resolution seems distant. Human Rights Watch indicates that the nation is on the verge of "total collapse." Criminal organizations currently wield significant power, having reportedly taken the lives of over 1,100 individuals since the start of 2024, according to United Nations reports. From January 2022 to early March 2024, approximately 13,000 people have either been killed, injured, or abducted. A significant number of women and children have faced sexual violence, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced.

As reported by Reuters, both the U.S. and Canadian embassies have scaled back their staff, retaining only essential personnel in Haiti, while temporarily closing to the public. Consequently, travelers must adjust their plans as reaching Haiti is currently unfeasible. In the coming months, whether it becomes safe to visit will depend on the unfolding of the situation.