Haiti
Lost a wedding ring on a beach in Haiti?
Labadee and Cormier on the north coast, the resort beaches of the Côte des Arcadins, and the coves and beaches around Jacmel.
Whether a ring, watch or phone lost on a Haitian beach turns up again comes down mostly to the ground under it: soft sloping sand, a rocky cove, pebbles or the sea around an islet. A remembered table, lounge chair or patch of shallows then gives the search a place to begin.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewelry recovery service that works with experienced local metal detectorists to search for a ring, wedding band, watch, keys or phone lost in Haiti. Tell us what happened and where. We choose an experienced detectorist who knows the beach, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
From mountain coves near Cap-Haïtien to the soft sand of the south
Near Cap-Haïtien on the north coast, green mountains run down into the sea, and several beaches, Belly Beach and Île-à-Rat among them, are reached by boat. North of Port-au-Prince, the Côte des Arcadins is a long line of white sand on Port-au-Prince Bay, with mangrove forests and a coral reef formed by the Arcadins islets.
Most beaches on the south coast have soft, smooth sand and a gradual slope into the water. Around Jacmel the shore also breaks into coves, a pebbled surf beach and a beach under cliffs that only boats can reach.
The service behind this page
One reader for your whole story
Your account is read, followed up and closed by one person on WhatsApp.
Your photos, their first look at the beach
The map pin and pictures you send become the detectorist's brief, and the table, chair or rock in them is the first ground covered.
If the ground is against you
Deep water off a boat or gaps between big rocks can make a find very unlikely, and we say that plainly at the outset.
What we want to hear from you
Name the beach or cove, say whether a boat or a staircase was part of the day, and describe what you were doing when you noticed it was gone.
No guessing about cost
We explain the costs before any search is booked.
From the Cap-Haïtien shore to Jacmel and Île-à-Vache
The north coast comes first, then the Côte des Arcadins, then the south coast around Jacmel, Les Cayes and Île-à-Vache. A beach you cannot find in a card is still named in the full list.
Beaches and islets visitors head for in Haiti
Labadee and Cormier Plage
Labadee, on the north coast, is where cruise passengers come ashore for their day on the beach. Cormier Plage, a short drive from Cap-Haïtien, is a long sandy beach in front of a resort, dotted with lounge chairs. The chair you had is the landmark to give us.
Belly Beach and Cadras
Belly Beach is reached by boat. Its water is calm and clear, with lounge chairs under coconut trees along the shore, and on weekends and public holidays it fills with people from the nearby villages and the city. Cadras lies at the base of a V-shaped cove with turquoise water.
Île-à-Rat, also called Amiga Island
Île-à-Rat lies off the coast of Plaine du Nord, a short boat ride from the northern coast. It is an islet of powdery sand and wild vegetation, ringed by clear water, where people snorkel and picnic in the shade of the trees.
Côte des Arcadins and Montrouis
The Côte des Arcadins is a long stretch of white sand beaches north of Port-au-Prince, lined with palm trees, and the Arcadins islets offshore form a coral reef where people dive and snorkel. Montrouis is the hub of this coast. The resorts sit along the beaches, so the one you stayed at already narrows things to its own stretch of sand.
Jacmel, the boardwalk and La Saline
Jacmel is a coastal town known for its beaches. A mosaic boardwalk follows the shore, and boats for Plage Baguette leave from it. La Saline, a cove-shaped beach a short moto ride from downtown, has calm, clear water. It is mostly empty on weekdays and busy with local groups and food sellers on weekends.
Cyvadier Plage
Cyvadier Plage is a rocky cove below a hotel, reached through the property and down a steep, winding staircase to a sliver of soft sand. Giant rocks frame the water, and the curve of the cove keeps the sea calm enough to swim. The stairs, the sand, a rock and the water each mean a different search.
Raymond les Bains
Raymond les Bains lies between Jacmel and Cayes-Jacmel, on the road toward Marigot. It is a long stretch of soft white sand with a shallow shelf, good for swimming. Tables under parasols line the shore, vendors walk the beach, and on weekends it becomes a party after dark, so the table where you ate is the natural starting point.
Ti Mouillage and Kabik, Cayes-Jacmel
Ti Mouillage, on the coast of Cayes-Jacmel, is a vast golden stretch of sand you can see from the road, where the water stays shallow for a good while before dropping off sharply. Kabik, a short walk up the coast, is a pebbled shoreline with little sand, known for its surf.
Port-Salut, Les Cayes and Île-à-Vache
At Port-Salut, Pointe Sable is a stretch of golden sand with palm trees and thatched roof bars. Gelée Beach near Les Cayes is lined with seafood restaurants. Île-à-Vache, in the Bay of Les Cayes, is reached by boat from Les Cayes, and at Abaka Bay the beach has white sand and calm water framed by rolling hills.
Places we cover in Haiti
- Labadee
- Cap-Haïtien
- Cormier Plage
- Belly Beach
- Cadras
- Île-à-Rat (Amiga Island)
- Côte des Arcadins
- Montrouis
- Jacmel and its boardwalk
- La Saline, Jacmel
- Plage Baguette
- Cyvadier Plage
- Raymond les Bains
- Ti Mouillage, Cayes-Jacmel
- Kabik, Cayes-Jacmel
- Pointe Sable, Port-Salut
- Gelée Beach, Les Cayes
- Île-à-Vache and Abaka Bay
Gone at the water's edge in Haiti
Gold and silver on hands and ears
- Wedding bands and engagement rings
- Single earrings
- Gold chains and the pendants on them
- Bracelets and anklets
Metal carried down to the beach
- Watches, smart or mechanical
- Oura rings
- Phones kept in a beach bag
- Car keys and hotel room keys
- Sunglasses with metal frames
At the table, on the stairs, off the boat
- A long lunch at a table on the sand at Raymond les Bains
- The steep staircase down to Cyvadier Plage
- Climbing into a boat for Île-à-Rat or Belly Beach
- Surfing off the pebbles at Kabik
- Wading out through the shallows at Ti Mouillage
What happens after you write to us about Haiti
All of it happens by WhatsApp, so it carries on the same way once you are back at home.
A first message, however rough
Start with a WhatsApp message naming the item and the beach, and describing the last moment you know you had it.
Showing us the stretch of sand
Drop the pin on your chair, your table or the point where you climbed into the boat, and add whatever pictures you took there along with one of the missing piece.
Lining up a detectorist
We look for a metal detectorist able to reach that part of the coast, and your messages, pin and photos go to them as the brief.
The search, when you say yes
No one sets out without your agreement. Afterward you hear which ground was covered and whether the item came up.
Questions about Haiti
Raymond les Bains was crowded with tables and vendors the day my wedding band went. Does a busy beach make it harder?
The crowd matters less than where you were. The beach has soft sand and a shallow shelf, so say whether the band went while you ate or while you swam, and how deep you were standing. A picture from your table that takes in the nearest palm trees helps place it among the others.
My phone went missing somewhere between the staircase and the water at Cyvadier Plage. Which part of the cove do you need to know about?
Tell us where you last had it in your hand. The steep, winding staircase ends at a sliver of soft sand among giant rocks. Say whether you took a photo on the stairs, sat on a rock or went straight into the sea, as each points to a different part of the cove.
A watch came off on a boat day out to Île-à-Rat, and we are not sure whether it was on the islet or the boat.
That difference matters most. The islet has powdery sand and wild vegetation, with clear water all around, so a loss on the sand or in the shallows where you swam can be looked for. If it could have gone over the side during the crossing, that is a long shot, and you would hear that from us first.
Car keys went missing while we waded at Ti Mouillage. What should we tell you about the water?
How far out you went. The water stays shallow for a good while and then drops off sharply, so keys lost before the drop went into shallow water. Pin where you parked and where you walked in.
I lost an earring in front of our resort on the Côte des Arcadins. Is the resort's own stretch of beach enough to go on?
It is a good start. Name the resort and the part of its beach where you spent the day. This coast is a long run of white sand north of Port-au-Prince, with a coral reef formed by the Arcadins islets offshore, so also say whether you went snorkeling, diving or out on a boat that day.
A bracelet came off while I swam at Plage Baguette, the beach across the water from Jacmel.
Plage Baguette is reached only by boat from the boardwalk in Jacmel, with cliffs on one side and calm shallows in front, so getting there is part of what we look into before anything is agreed. Tell us where along the beach you swam and how long you were in the water.
A necklace went missing at Abaka Bay on Île-à-Vache. Will the hills behind the beach help?
They can. Abaka Bay is a white sand beach with calm water, framed by rolling hills, so a photo with the hills behind you helps place you along the sand. Drop a pin on the part of the bay where you lay and swam.
Haiti
A few lines and a pin on the Haitian coast
Send us a WhatsApp message about the beach and the missing piece, and drop a map pin where you last had it.