Discover Samson: Find hotels for your trip

Samson brings together travel planning for the town with nature and history in the surrounding area. These include the landscape around Caracol Bay and cultural and historical sites near Sainte-Suzanne and Fort-Liberté. Highlights range from mangroves and river scenery to rock carvings and fortifications. If you are looking for hotels in Samson, you can consider which of these themes matter for your stay.

Landscape and nature nearby

The municipality of Caracol is home to one of the island’s largest mangrove reserves. Another regional feature is the Trou-du-Nord River: it flows about 35 kilometers northward and empties into Caracol Bay. The area around Samson thus offers both an extensive mangrove stand and a river with a described course if you would like to explore the region’s landscape.

The historic wreck site of the Santa Maria is also in Caracol Bay. The ship sank in 1492. Sea turtles nest in the same bay. The historic wreck site of the Santa Maria and the nesting sea turtles represent history and nature in the bay. They offer a different perspective on the surroundings from the river scenery and mangrove reserve.

Petroglyphs and regional history

The petroglyphs of Sainte-Suzanne are Taíno rock carvings in the riverbed of the Sainte-Suzanne River that are more than 1,000 years old. The site connects cultural heritage with a location alongside the river. From the village of Sainte-Suzanne, the petroglyphs can be reached on foot via an easy path in about 15 minutes. Plan to spend around an hour at the site to see the petroglyphs and river surroundings. This lets you account separately for the approximate walking time from the village and the time spent at the site.

Fort-Liberté also offers a historical highlight nearby. A defense system has been preserved there, bearing witness to colonial conflicts between Spain and France. This offers a different historical perspective from the Taíno rock carvings: Sainte-Suzanne focuses on rock art and the riverbed, while Fort-Liberté centers on a system of fortifications and its history of conflict.

A canoe trip with a fisherman from the customs pier can take you to Fort La Bouque. Along the way, you can discover other historic fortifications, including St Frédérique, Batterie de l’Anse, Fort St Charles, and Fort St Joseph. The trip is described as a possibility, not a guaranteed service. If you would like to include it in your plans, check in advance whether it is available at your preferred time.

Timing for your trip planning

Allow about one to two hours for Fort-Liberté and its monuments. A boat trip at sea takes an additional two to three hours. The time for the trip is therefore an extra component, not part of the time spent visiting the town and its monuments. Compared with the approximately one-hour visit to the petroglyphs and river surroundings, Fort-Liberté calls for a different time plan, especially if you also take the boat trip into account.

In the broader travel area of the Three Bays protected area, paved National Road No. 6, or RN6, runs from Cap-Haïtien in the west to the border with the Dominican Republic in the east. The protected area is accessible via this road. Paved roads lead to the main villages; various other coastal areas can be reached via gravel roads. In the Three Bays area, RN6 provides the west–east connection, while roads with different surfaces lead to the main villages and other coastal areas.

For the broader travel overview: Nord-Est Department.