The secret beach, or hidden resort are tropes of the travel world. It’s a safe bet to say, however, that a stretch of Haiti’s coast called the Côte des Arcadins comes pretty close to fitting the bill.

Five years after the 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit, Haiti is just beginning to find its tourism sea legs. As the number of flights from the states increases, the Arcadin coast, which lies just forty-five minutes from the Port-au-Prince airport, is a breeze to reach. And with few international guests arriving in many years, the resorts there make for a great alternative to the overbuilt Caribbean.

The waters off Anse à Galets at Gonâve Island are a popular snorkeling spot. Moulin sur Mer’s private boat takes guests across the bay.—Courtesy of Moulin sur Mer

The name Arcadins comes from several islets off the coast in the Gulf of Gonâve, which are so small that about the only thing visible from shore is a lighthouse on one them. To get to the handful of resorts there, you travel up the well-paved Route National 1, wedged between the ocean and high mountains. You’ll pass through a town called Cabaret (no high-kicking shows there that I’m aware of) and eventually come to the market town of Montrouis, where locals sell their fruits and vegetables.

With a landscape rich in coconut trees, the Moulin sur Mer property is so spread out that golf carts are a must from the parking area to the reception by the water. A multi-generational, family-run operation, Moulin was built in the late 1970s when Haiti enjoyed an active tourist scene. Having made it through the lean years, the resort of late is getting some infrastructure improvements under the management of Charles Fombrun. Last year he built a private pier/island called Zile Soley (“sun island”) which guests reach via a little bridge—just the place to enjoy drinks, especially at sunset.

Belonging to the Moulin sur Mer resort, a restored plantation house is now the Ogier-Fombrun history and culture museum.—Courtesy Moulin sur Mer

Many guests to Moulin are likely to be surprised to find a museum there. An old plantation house with a mill (thus the name Moulin), the Musée Ogier-Fombrun was restored bit and bit. In a labor of love, curator Mireille Fombrun has added ever more artifacts to build a museum devoted to the nation’s history, specifically the role of the sugarcane industry. This is no sugarcoating (pardon the pun) of history either, as instruments of slave torture are prominently displayed. In addition to old guns, swords, and agricultural tools, the art collection includes a richly colored triptych painting by local artist Maxo Blaise. The piece depicts the seminal Haitian Revolution story of a Vodou ceremony at Bois Caïman where the first slave rebellion was plotted in 1791. After a museum tour, guests are welcome to sit at the open-air bar for tasty concoctions made from Barbancourt rum, the nation’s premier distillery.

At the property’s Marina Blue next door, guests embark on fishing trips, or kayaking excursions. PADI courses are available too, or the less daring can go snorkeling. A boat ride along the coast takes you past high cliffs with cacti on top and empty beaches below, with the coastal mountains looming beyond. The marina’s boats also make their way across the gulf to the mangrove, and reef-ringed Île de la Gonâve, an island which itself is larger than most Caribbean nations. Moulin accepts day guests, and it’s a delight to see a group of school-age kids swimming in the pool and running along the beach.

The fun konpa music video, above, to a song called ”Jou A La” was shot mostly at Wahoo Bay Beach resort, and features dancers wearing gorgeous print costumes. The small property, managed by the convivial Geneviève Lemke whose family owns it, recently renovated rooms, with more in the works. Wearing hotel t-shirts to show their arrangement with the property, fishermen paddle up to shore and sell their fresh catch, which gets grilled right there for the freshest of meals (guests who like it hot should try some Haitian pikliz sauce with their plate of grilled seafood). Likewise, approved artisans sell their handicrafts on site.

Once a Club Med from the days when Haiti was a primary destination, the huge Club Indigo is fronted by a broad beach. Rooms stretch on forever at either side of an enormous central pool. Even if you’re not a guest, you can pop in for lots of nightly entertainment. They have an entire performance hall for big events, or you can sit on a wicker couch at the the outdoor bar lounge and see groups like Racine Tètè Plus perform vibrant mizik rasin, or Haitian roots music.

On the Club Indigo grounds, a folksy refreshment stand awaits thirsty guests.—Courtesy Club Indigo

No matter which property one stays at along the Arcadins coast, management can arrange for any number of outside activities. On the mountain trail up to 3,000-foot-high Kay Piat, hikers pass watercress cultivation, and can buy fresh fruit from villagers, before taking a well-deserved dip in the Piat water pool.

A bit further away, the Saut d’Eau waterfall has been a sacred place in both Catholic and Vodou traditions since the Virgin Mary reportedly appeared there in the 19th century. In July, a famous pilgrimage takes place there, but visitors can swim anytime.

Labadie peninsula in Haiti’s north, where cruise ships stop, and the artistic town of Jacmel in the south are perhaps the country’s best known tourist destinations. But as newcomers quickly discover, the Arcadins coast is far easier to reach from the capital. A visit is a chance to help the local economy as well—according to the Arcadins tourism association, the handful of resorts and related businesses there provide work for 1,000 people, who in turn support a further 9,000 residents. A tourism and hospitality school recently opened in a coastal village as well. Expect to hear a lot more about the Arcadins as Haiti’s nascent tourism industry picks up.

The sun sets over Moulin sur Mer’s private Zile Solay pier/island.—Courtesy Moulin sur Mer