Nord-Est Department

Haiti

The reef is very interesting as it is cut through by large channels where water movement in and out of the Caracol bay has eroded the reef away. 

The reef does not have lots of coral growth on it but it attracts fish due to its irregular formation. 

To get to the Caracol Reef you need to hire a boat from Ft. Lberte town.  There are a number of fishermen who will take you for the day for the equivalent of $30-40 USD.  From Ft. Liberte and one of the 40hp motors, they can get you to the center of the outer part of the reef in 15-20 min. 

There you have to do a backwards roll entry as the boat are too small for a giant stride.  The return to the boat will require that you hand all your gear to the boat driver and with your fins still on you will have to do a hard fin kick to get back in the boat. 

Caracol

Caracol Barrier Reef

The best entry is directly south of Fort La Bouque where there are two cuts in the walls of the bay's entrance.  You can easily walk into the water over sand and grass beds to a coral garden.  After a short swim you will reach the wall's edge. Lots to see, including trumpetfish, barracuda, cleaner shrimp, lots of wrasse. There are all kinds of soft corals and sponges as well. If you are lucky you will find the chain that was once used to block the bay. Also, in the area are an anchor and a large long cannon. 

One can access the site either by boat or by land. Boats can be hired from Fort Liberte but one must be ready to deal with engine trouble as the motors are not maintained as they should.  The other way is to take a dirt path around the East side of the bay to Fort Labouque on the tip of the eastern side of the entrance of the bay.  There are many dirt tracks and in order not to get lost always take the left in order to follow the edge of the bay to the Fort. 

Liberty Wall

The site is marked with lots of tube sponges and purples sea fans.  There is quite some cover in hard corals at this site as well. 

If you get a chance to see the Fort Labouque, it is interesting with a subterranean chamber in the middle which goes all around the fort.  Several cannons are still on the site. 


Site name given after the fort which is just on the eastern shore of the mouth to the Ft. Liberte bay.  The site can be reached by either hiring a fisherman in Ft. Liberte or driving out to the site and doing a shore entry.  The drive is tricky as there are many dirt tracks leading out to the fort.  Remember to always take the left on the way out and always the right on the way back so you don't get lost.  

Entry by boat is backwards roll as for the shore entry it is very rocky and boots are a necessity.  Watch out for sea urchins in this area.

Fort Labouque

Rock Steps has a good number of hard corals including acropora and brain.  One can also find very large barrel sponges at this site.  Where many sites in Haiti are sadly lacking in fish, this site is visited by schools of fish.  

There is often presence of a long shore current and having a boat there to allow for a leisurely drift dive is the best way to go. 


Named after the rock steps formed naturally on the shore, this site is best accessed by boat from Ft. Liberte but can also be accesses by road.  About 20 meters from the turn off to Ft. Liberte from the main highway is a dirt road going East.  Take this road and at every crossroads take a right to stay close to the edge of the bay.  This will eventually take you to Fort Labouque.  From Ft. Labouque, Rock Steps is a considerable walk along the shore.  

The entry from shore is over a rocky bottom with sea urchins and one must take care in walking over the rocks.  It is doable but hiring a boat is the safest method. 

Rock Steps

The reef off Paradise Beach is mostly soft corals with some hard brain corals interspersed among them.  There is a high concentration of fire coral, so be careful to stay well above the coral to avoid getting stung. There are patches of staghorn coral with fish hiding in the.  The fish life is rather sparse as is the case with much of coastal Haiti but there are still some wrasses, parrotfish, tangs and surgeonfish to study as you swim by.  This site has a good number of purple gorgonian fans as well. Always fun to inspect for a flamingo tongue snail. 

To get to Paradise you need to take a Boat Taxi from Labadie village taxi port.  The 20 minute ride costs 1,000 Gourdes (Aug 09) or approximately 25 USD for the round trip.  Once on the beach the entry is a gradual sandy slope dropping down quickly to 13 meters over a short distance where it levels off again at about 18meters to a sandy bottom. 

Paradise Beach is also known as Malfini.

Paradise Beach

Once to the site the shoal offers a top with sea grass with lots of snails and urchins.  

Around the periphery there are coral formations where fish and eels have been spotted. 

These tear drop shaped shoals are accessible by taxi boat from the Labadie port.  They take about 15 minutes to reach on one of the 15 hp motorized boats.  


Tear Drops - 50 Turquoise Shoals

The reef at this site has more stag horn coral that seem to be home to more fish.  The Western side of the site is more abundant in reef life.  

The site is an old cruise ship resort destination but has been abandoned for 20 years.  There are walls still standing where buildings used to be but everything else has been removed.  The beach is beautiful with white sand and lots of shade trees. A great place for a picnic surface interval. 

This site can only be reached by boat.  A taxi boat from Labadie taxi port can get you there in about 25 minutes.  The cost is around 1000 Gourdes or 25 USD (Aug. 09). There is an old pier structure where the boat can accost and let passengers off. 

The beach is sandy and has a gradual slope, there are coral reefs to both sides of the beach. The slopes are gradual as well. 

Cachal Reef

A gradual slope to 10-11 meters with hard coral formations in the 3-5 meter zone.  Lots of small wrasses, fingerprint cowry and nudibranch to be seen. 

A 10-15 minute boat ride from Labadie taxi boat port. 

The Cut - 50 Turquoise Shoals

The site has coral and sandy bottom interspersed.  Interesting fish life with stingray and eel spotting.  Some reef fish but not overly abundant.  There are many sponges and sea fans with staghorn coral in between.  

It is best to have a hire boat taxi on the surface as the current can pick up especially in the afternoons.  This will allow you to do a leisurely drift dive without having to surface swim back against the current. 

Like with Cachal Beach, you will need to hire a taxi boat.  See Cachal for details. 

Cachal Point

Named after a jellyfish due to its shape, the northern part is a wall dropping to 12-15 meters with hard and soft corals.  

Pelagics will come near the reef like barracuda in search of smaller fish. 

A 20 minute boat ride from the Labadie taxi boat port.  The reef is shallow in places and one must be careful in doing a back roll entry not to do so over too shallow an area. 

Jellyfish - 50 Turquoise Shoals

The bottom drops gradually and is relatively flat with interspersed coral outcroppings.  Some hard corals and little soft coral.  Lettuce leaf hard coral formations especially common.  

One must hire a taxi from the Labadie taxi boat port.  The trip time is form 20-25 minutes. It is a bit hard to locate as you have to distinguish from other shoals in the area. A GPS would be helpful in locating this site. 

Caracol Barrier Reef

Snorkeling and Scuba Diving at Caracol Barrier Reef