French Guiana is an overseas French department and region in the Amazonia region of South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname. It is governed as an overseas department of France with the same rights and privileges granted to all other French departments and benefits financially from the arrangement.
Area: 83,846 km2 (32,373 sq mi)
Population: 294,071
Money: Euro
GDP per capita: €15,270 (US$17,100)
Electrical: European 2-prong
Drive: On the right.
Observations about French Guiana
1. Immigration controls. I can imagine there are controls at the Cayenne Airport, but its land borders are the oddest I have ever crossed, mainly because there is no immigration control – at all. There is nowhere to get an immigration stamp, no one checks your “Sworn Statement” (basically a minimalist Covid document) and no one checks your Covid vaccination status or Covid test. You disembark from the piroque that takes you across the river and walk in. I don’t think there is even a border office. There was one police checkpoint between Saint-Laurent and Cayenne, but everyone in my share taxi had to show their document. They made a cursory look at my Canada passport but didn’t even ask me to lower my mask. I have read that there is an immigration office to get a stamp in Saint-Georges but it is at a police station, hard to find, over a kilometre from the water and only open from 8 to 5 and is closed over lunch. It is not necessary to get a stamp here either.
From the IATA information and the form required, it is presently (with Covid) impossible for a French national to come to French Guiana unless you have extenuating reasons (death in the family
Besides the airport, there are only two land access points – at Saint-Laurent on the west and Saint-Georges on the east, both accessed by tiny boats across very wide rivers. There may be ferries for cars, but I didn’t see any. I heard that they exist but were inordinately expensive.
I honestly believe there is no control because no one in their right mind would want to live here. It is expensive compared to the surrounding countries, and if you aren’t a fluent French speaker, you could not function.
2. Frenchness. As an overseas department of France, it is very French and one of the most unilingual countries in the world. My AirBnB host spoke English and one lady at the lab where I had my Covid antigen test done spoke English, but no one else knew a word of it. The license plates on vehicles are identical to the European Union license plate. The currency is the Euro €.
3. Tourism value. Basically, I saw nothing that anyone would want to come here for. The Kourou Space Site has some interest but you can’t enter the launch site and the Space Museum was described as ‘only suitable for a child’. You can’t actually disembark to land on Devil’s Island, the famous penal colony. The jungle has no interest and there is no ecotourism. There is only one beach. Cayenne is architecturally a ‘dump’ with some old buildings and a bland mix of ‘less old’ buildings. The cathedral is kind of nice but nothing out of the ordinary. When Nomad Mania has only one site to see in all of Cayenne (the Guianese Cultural Musem) that is tiny with nothing of interest (and only in French), that says something. There are no WHS or Tentative WHS.
4. Public transportation. Except for a bus system in Cayenne, there is none. The timetable posted at bus stops did not seem to have any relevance to the buses actually being there. No buses go to either border, only share taxis. I found it almost impossible to find a share taxi to take me to Saint-Georges. Hitch-hiking doesn’t even work well and I was told it would be impossible to HH to Saint-Georges as no one would pick me up (this may be worse because of Covid). I don’t even know how I could call or find a taxi as I don’t speak French and I never saw one in my 2.5km walk from my hotel into downtown Cayenne and walk around downtown. The only vehicles with little taxi-like things on their roofs were all for driving schools.
5. Covid rules. Masks are required in businesses and there is the universal hand sanitizer dispensed by someone at the doors. I wanted to eat at a Chinese restaurant on my second night in Cayenne but was refused because I didn’t have the European Union QR code. My Canadian QR code and vaccination papers were not accepted.
French Guiana – Arrondissement of Cayenne January 12-14, 2022
GET FROM PARAMARIBO TO CAYENNE, French Guiana via Albina on the French Guiana border.
Requirements
1. French Guiana declaration available at https://tinyurl.com/3wn8gvj. There are two downloads, one for French nationals and one for tourists. Oddly, French nationals are prohibited from coming to French Guiana unless there are extenuating circumstances, all need to be proved with documents. The form for tourists is a “Sworn Statement” stating that you have no symptoms and agree to covid tests and quarantines if necessary. There is a distinction between overseas visitors and those coming overland. There is no need to download vaccination cards or covid tests.
But no one was at the border to check this, so it is irrelevant.
2. Covid antigen test. 48 hours. Obtained at Midilab on Welhelmina Street in Paramaribo 300 SD, wait 30 minutes for the result. But no one was at the border to check this, so it is irrelevant and a waste of money.
Transportation to Albina from Paramaribo
1. Bus. There are no buses that do the route from Paramaribo to Albina on the French Guiana border.
2. Plane. I did not look very hard for fights. A return flight was required for the Suriname e-visa. As I was going overland and there was only provision for flights, I used Fakeflighttickets.com. In a cursory search, there were no ongoing flights between Paramaribo and Cayenne so I made my return flight back to Georgetown.
3. Share taxi. This was hard to find but Terry from Dugla & Terry (+597 896-9658, who I used to get from Georgetown to Paramaribo), was able to find a driver (Doth – WhatsApp +597 895-5551) with less than 24-hours notice. The first I heard from the driver was at 03:48, 20-minutes before he picked me up at my hotel. We were driving at 04:15.
There was one other passenger so I was very comfortable with the whole back seat to myself. He drove extremely fast maintaining 130-140km/hour in the dark (you can understand why speed bumps exist), even when it rained heavily for about 10 minutes.
I am unsure why we left so early for the border but arrived in the dark at exactly 6 am. I paid 1000 SD to the driver and gave him a 50 SD tip. He was very happy. This is assuredly much cheaper than flying.
Boat across the Maroni River from Albina, Suriname to Saint-Laurent, French Guiana. We were immediately hustled by several boat operators and in 5 minutes were in a long narrow boat loaded with large sacks of produce. There were 5 other passengers and were on the Guiana side by 6:30 on the placid water. I had failed to negotiate the price and gave all the rest of my Suriname money (120 SD) plus 5€. I have no idea if this was a good deal or not?
The border. I had been told by Leo at my hotel that the border rules were very lax, and they were. I didn’t go through Suriname immigration. Simply take a small boat across the Maroni/Marowijne River and walk into French Guiana showing no documents!!
On the French Guiana side, I was immediately hustled. One guy offered me a “special deal” of 250€ to leave immediately for Cayenne. This was blatantly ridiculous. He later came down to 100. So I found a crate to sit on near the water waiting to see what turned up. No one spoke English, only French. Another guy offered the trip for 60€. It is 255 km (3 hours on Google Maps) to Cayenne. Another offered 50€ and I was told this was a good price (transportjackie@outlook.com, 0694 494442). So I had a ride at 7 but then waited to fill the van. It was 9 before we left the riverside and another 45 minutes driving aimlessly around Saint-Laurent. Once on the highway, a sign said it was 256 km to Cayenne. We then made a detour to Jackie’s house to deliver baguettes. One must have patience here.
I arrived in Cayenne at 1 pm but had failed to put my AirBnB address into Google Maps and was dropped off about 4 blocks from the actual location. I walked to the address but there was no 1994 Route de Montabo. This number indicates the lane down which one walks called Lot Tome. The only instructions were in French. A lady at a house directed me down into Lot Tome. The road turned into dirt and potholes full of water. From the instructions, I saw orange and guessed that the place was signed with an orange ball, and voila. The owner appeared, introduced me to my apartment, and gave me the wifi codes.
CAYENNE (pop 63,652; 144,501 metropolitan area 2018)
Is the capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France. The city stands on Cayenne island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic coast. The city’s motto is “fert aurum industria”, which means “work brings wealth”.
It is 268 kilometres (167 mi) from Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni and 64 kilometres (40 mi) from Kourou.
Climate. Cayenne has an equatorial climate bordering on a tropical monsoon climate. Average high 30 °C and the low of 23 °C. Cayenne sees copious precipitation (3,750 millimetres) of rain each year with a very lengthy wet season and a very short dry season (September and October).Demographics.
Economy. Cayenne is an important seaport in South America on the estuary of the river Mahury. Timber, rosewood essence, rum, and gold are exported in small quantities. In the mid-1960s sugarcane and pineapple were planted around the city, and a pineapple cannery and a shrimp-processing plant were later built. Historic landmarks include the Church of the Holy Saviour and a prefecture on the Place d’Armes. The Félix Eboué International Airport is the only international airport serving Cayenne.
Airports: Cayenne (CAY)
Musee des Cultures Guyanaises. In a tiny 2-story house, there is not much to see especially as only French.
Botanical Garden. Initially it was a place arranged to ventilate the city after the demolition of the walls in 1810. The place being occupied by herbs, it was therefore called Place de la Savane. Later they planted royal palms of Guisanbourg, and it became the place of the Palmistes. In 1880, a bronze column was erected bearing the bust of the Republic commemorating the taking of the Bastille. Under Governor Gerville-Reache transformed the place into an English garden, with artificial hills, flower beds and ornamental plants. Because of the rains, the place was regularly flooded, which is why Governor Chanel in 1925 bordered it with a network of cemented canals that can still be found today. There is a statue of Félix Éboué, an illustrious Guianan character, in place of the Merlet fountain. Today it is a place of life, meeting Cayenese. In the evening, trailers sell French fries, sandwiches, bamis and nassi (Javanese specialties), local juices, and other takeaways. In 1786, Louis XVI had a garden that served as a deposit and nursery for various plants and trees from various destinations. Louis Claude Richard, director of the garden was responsible for bringing from India muscadiers, rattans, trees in, feet of cardamom and pepper. During this period, it was called King’s Garden. In 1821 a house was built for the botanist. In 1879, he changed his name and became Botanical Garden, a floral park in the city center. It covers an area of three hectares. There is a Gaston Monnerville statue in the center of the garden.
The market and the Place du Coq. These two adjoining buildings are located near the old port of Cayenne. As early as 1703, a Place du Port appears on a map of the city of Cayenne, it then becomes Place du Marché in 1842. In 1888, a covered market and a public garden were built there. In 1907 the municipal council led by the mayor Eugène Gobert decides the removal of the garden for the construction of a new covered market, the one that we know today. In 1920 on the site of the old market was inaugurated the war memorial of the First World War surmounted by a rooster, which gave it the current name of the place.
Saint-Sauveur Cathedral. In 1823, it was decided to replace the old church of Cayenne, the Church of St. Nicholas to the current place Leopold Heder. Work begun in 1825 and the church was inaugurated in 1861. The high altar, the pulpit, and the confessional of the chapel of the penitentiary of Ilet la Mère were transferred to the cathedral in 1876.
In 1933, the church became a cathedral. Between 1952 and 1954 to the east on 13 m, the ceiling, the stained glass windows, and the floors of the tribune were replaced.
This nice 5-nave church has lovely stained glass in many variations.
CULTURE
Carnival of Cayenne. The carnival is one of the major events of the Capital. It takes place between Epiphany in early January and Ash Wednesday in February or March.
This festival belongs to the Guianan Creole culture. It is originally carnival as practiced in Europe. At the beginning of the colonization, the colonists practiced the carnival, but it was forbidden to the slaves. Braving ban, the slaves practiced the carnival, in the clandestine festivals. They were regaining some freedom, commemorating Africans, fertility, and harvest, and making fun of settlers.
The fat days close the carnival: Fat Sunday: this is the day of the grand parade, the biggest carnival parade. concurrent groups to get prizes based on their performance. Fat Monday: burlesque marriages, men dress up for brides and women for married couples. Mardi Gras: the carnivals go by in Diab rouj, everyone dresses in red and black. Ash Wednesday: black and white devils bury Vaval, the king of the carnival.
Groups disguised according to the theme of the year, and around decorated characters, to the rhythm of drums and brass. The preparation of the groups lasts from the month before the carnival. The groups parade in front of the thousands of spectators who are massed on the sidewalks and the stands arranged for the occasion.
Brazilian bands similar to those at the Rio Carnival are also appreciated for their alluring rhythms and costumes. The Asian community of Cayenne also participates in the changes made by a characteristic touch, with the dragons. The night business, called “Universities”, organizes masked balls during which men come to dance with the Touloulous. Evenings are held on Friday and Saturday nights. This tradition is peculiar to French Guiana, it does not exist anywhere else.
Since the 1990s, Tololo parties have been held, where men disguise themselves and play the role of the Touloulous. These evenings are more and more popular and take place several times during the carnival. The carnival dances are mazurka, biguine and piké djouk. It is the Touloulou who invites men to dance, and they can not refuse. Only the Touloulous have the right to dance, if a woman is not disguised, the orchestra stops.
Main Sights
Cayenne centres on its main commercial street, the Avenue Général de Gaulle. At the east end of the avenue near the coast is the Place des Palmistes and the Place de Grenoble (also known as the Place Léopold Héder). Most of the official buildings are located in this area: the Hôtel de Ville (the town hall) built by Jesuits in the 1890s, the Post Office, the Préfecture, the residence of French Guiana’s Préfect, and the Musée Départmental Franconie. To the west of this area lies Fort Cépérou, built in the 17th century, though now mostly in ruins. To the south lie the Place du Coq and Place Victor Schoelcher (named in honour of the anti-slavery activist) and a market.
To the south of this compact region is the Village Chinois (known as Chicago), separated from the rest of Cayenne by the Canal Laussat. It has a reputation for being a dangerous area. Other buildings in the city include Cayenne Cathedral, the municipal library, the municipal museum, and a museum of French Guianese Culture (Musée des Cultures Guyanaise). The Jardin botanique de Cayenne is the city’s botanical garden.
Transport
Cayenne is served by the Cayenne – Félix Eboué Airport located in the neighbouring commune of Matoury. There are two 8+ hour flights a day to Paris (Orly Airport), served by Air France and Air Caraïbes. There are also flights to Fort-de-France, Pointe-à-Pitre, Belém, and Fortaleza.
French Guiana’s main seaport is the port of Dégrad des Cannes, located on the estuary of the Mahury River, in the commune of Remire-Montjoly, a south-eastern suburb of Cayenne. Almost all of French Guiana’s imports and exports pass through the port of Dégrad des Cannes. Built in 1974, it replaced the old harbour of Cayenne which was congested and could not cope with modern traffic.
Cayenne is connected to Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni via the Route Nationale 1, and to Saint-Georges via the Route Nationale 2. Transportation is only by share taxi. 50€ each way seems to be the lowest price possible. There are no buses.
CAYENNE TO BRAZIL
Cayenne to Saint-Georges. I was thinking of hitch-hiking my Air BnB host thought it would virtually impossible to hitch-hike in the times of Covid.
I caught a share taxi in Cayenne at the ‘station’, the area where city buses start and end. The share taxis congregate across the street (and a canal) on the SW corner of Rue Paul Amulant Sant and Avenue de la Liberte. The driver was from Transport Didier, the main company that drives from Cayenne to Saint Georges (0694437851). The driver was Yohan, the owner’s son (+330664871350). We left when the vehicle was full (8 passengers) at 09:00 for the 193 km drive (2¾ hrs, 40€). The road was a shoulderless two-lane, windy affair passing through ‘bush’ of second-growth trees.
We were stopped twice, first by police and second by customs (douane). At the second, I commented on the lack of immigration at Saint-Laurant, and they said “no problem’!
Saint-Georges, on the Oyapock river, is the natural border between Brazil and French Guyana. Cross the Oyapock River on a piroque. At Saint Georges, I was advised by Yohan to not go to the police station where immigration is.
Crossing the river. As soon as we arrived at the Oyapock River, we were hustled aggressively by several boat operators, and were off in 5 minutes. The boat cruised upstream for about 3 km passing under the bridge across the Oyapock (I was told there is an immigration office here). Sitting beside me was Jukka, a Finnish guy, a wealth of information and a great help all day. He suggested that the bus to Macapa would be full and that it would be much better to take a Toyota Hilux (400 vs 137 BR, 8 hours vs 13 uncomfortable hours). The bus departed at 6 and the Hilux at 3, so I would be able to sleep in Macapa.
Oiapuque, Brazil. We mooched wifi at a hotel and I saw the monument nearby. I booked an Air BnB as there was nothing on Hostelworld or Booking.com.
It was raining heavily and we hired a taxi to do the necessary chores. I stopped at a bank and got rials.
Brazil Visa on arrival for Canadians. Covid antigen test theoretically required. At Immigration (a police station, closed from 12-2), they asked for my vaccination card but said nothing about the Covid test (another 23€ wasted) and I got my Brazil stamp. The visa is theoretically 90 days but he asked me how long I would be in Brazil, I said 40 and he only put 40 days on the visa. I should have said longer (but doubt I will be here longer than 40 days).
Jukka spoke fluent Portuguese and arranged the Hilux driver to meet us at the bus station. It was a 600 km drive to Macapa, the first 3 hours on slow, packed dirt and potholes, then 7 more on good pavement. The Hilux was in terrible condition. We were stopped at a police stop and the driver was fined 5,000 BR (~US$1,000 ouch). We arrived at 1 am and I checked into my hotel. No problem.
Jukka said it would be very difficult to get a SIM without a Brazilian ID card. He gave me the second SIM from his phone. This was the simplest getting a SIM ever. Jukka made my day.
Islands: Iles de Salut
XL: Kourou Spaceport and islands
Lakes: Lac Éloge
Rivers:
Litanie/Itany River
Oyapock River
Botanical Gardens: Macouria: Jardin Botanique de Guyane
Beaches: Remire-Montjoly Beach
The Dark Side: Devil’s Island
CITIES
Cayenne, the administrative capital of French Guiana. Cayenne has some museums and colonial architecture
Kourou, the city which hosts the space center and Arianespace
Saint-Laurent, located on the Maroni river, forms the natural border between Suriname and French Guyana.
Saint-Georges, on the Oyapock river, is the natural border between Brazil and French Guyana.
Île du Diable (Devil’s Island) — the ruins of the infamous offshore penal colony.
FRENCH GUYANA FACTS
Climate. Tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation.
Terrain. Low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains, mostly an unsettled wilderness. It also consists of hill plateaus and the Tumuc-humac mountains.
Language. French is the official language of France, although Creole is widely spoken. The majority of the population speaks French while few understand English. Lots understand basic Portuguese and basic Spanish.
Money. The official currency is the euro. Most purchases will be more expensive than you expect, as a lot of stuff has to be imported – even milk is flown in from metropolitan France. Things like electronics are really expensive. However, the local rum and objects carved out of wood are great souvenirs and relatively affordable.
For daily purchases, there is a shopping mall outside Cayenne similar to the “hypermarkets” of metropolitan France. Smaller grocery and convenience stores are in the city selling not just food but other small things you might need like insect repellent, toothpaste and other hygiene articles.
GDP per capita is around half that of mainland France and unemployment hovers around 20% which makes the economic situation pretty bad. The local economy largely depends on tourism and the spaceport but gold mining is another important factor. Sadly gold mining is often done illegally and in ways harmful to the environment.
Food. A typical local dish includes fish and other seafood or game meat served with rice, red beans or couac (flour made out of dried cassava) and can be rather fierce, as they often use liberal amounts of spices. Guyanese specialties include Bouillon d’Awara – broth of awara fruit (Astrocaryum vulgare), Colombo – a Creole dish with pork or chicken, Red beans or lentils – served with game or fish, Kalou/Kalalou – a fish dish with spinach and okra, Pimentade – peppered and lemon seasoned fish in tomato sauce, Blaf de poisson – fish prepared with court-bouillon, Roti couniad – fish barbecued with its scale.
Drink. Tafia is a local hard liquor that is widely drunk and used for medical purposes. One can drink it with lime juice or with salt and it’s used in a drink called Planter, excellent. Rum and ti-punch are also common.
Sleep. Hotels are rather expensive, well over €100 for a night. For cheaper accommodation, there are also a couple of hostels that however don’t have web pages.
The cheapest accommodation is also the most adventurous one. For a few euros, you can sleep in a hammock in a traditional carbet, a shelter without walls. This is the only type of accommodation available in the rainforest.
GET IN
Concerning immigration, French Guiana has different laws. French Guiana is not part of the Schengen Area and your passport or ID card is checked upon arrival even if you’re arriving from the mainland or Caribbean France. The department is however covered by the directive for Freedom of Movement so EU citizens have the right to stay indefinitely. For some neighboring countries (e.g. Brazil, Suriname) it is easier to go to Paris than it is to reach Cayenne.
A yellow fever vaccination certificate is mandatory regardless of citizenship or where you’ve recently been. Be prepared to show this certificate before boarding a plane to French Guiana or at the border if you are arriving overland.
By plane. Félix Eboué Airport (CAY) just outside Cayenne is the only international airport and the main point of entry to the territory. Air France and Air Caraibes each have a daily flight from Paris Orly Airport. Air France and Air Guyane Express fly to Martinique and Guadeloupe – probably the best way to get in from North America and the Caribbean. Suriname Airways connects to Paramaribo and Belém (in Brazil) with connections to other parts of South America.
By boat. From Brazil and Suriname, getting into French Guiana overland includes a 15-minute crossing by boat across Oyapoque (from Brazil) or Le Maroni (from Suriname). French Guiana’s main seaport is the port of Dégrad des Cannes, a south-eastern suburb of Cayenne. Freighter travel is the only possibility to get into French Guyana from further away by boat.
GET AROUND. Population and therefore transportation is mostly concentrated along a rather narrow sliver of land along the coast. Heading inland from there can be complicated. There are no passenger railways.
By boat. 3,400 km of French Guiana’s waterways are navigable by native craft; 460 km
navigable by small oceangoing vessels and coastal and river steamers.
By bus. There is limited public transportation throughout the territory. Minibuses go between major towns but there may only be a few per day. They leave when they are full. By taxi. Very expensive – the 15 minutes ride from the airport to central Cayenne will cost €35, Share taxis are reasonable and the only way to get from Suriname to Cayenne and from Cayenne to St Georges on the border with Brazil.
By car. Renting a car is also an option. Hitchhiking is a good and free alternative. An asphalted road from Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni on the Surinamese border to Saint-Georges de l’Oyapock on the Brazilian border.
By plane. With no roads in the inner parts, travel by boat or Air Guyane Express has flights from Cayenne to major inland settlements.
SEE
Guiana Space centre close to Kourou. There is a free tour twice a day. And for a few euros you can visit a museum. Check the rocket launch schedule for a special experience
Îles du salut and Kourou used to form a penal colony, colloquially known as the Devil’s Island (although in reality that’s the name of just one of the islands). From Kourou you can visit the islands by boat, however the Devil’s Island proper isn’t open for visitors.
Some parts of the department are patrolled by the French Foreign Legion, including the Kourou space center and areas where illegal gold mining has occurred.
Health. Vaccination against yellow fever is necessary; without a yellow fever vaccination certificate, you are not allowed into French Guiana. Also, two other tropical mosquito-borne diseases, namely malaria, and dengue fever are endemic to the region. In other words, do protect yourself from mosquitoes and ticks – long-sleeved clothing and insect repellent are recommended. The risk is smaller in the cities and towns. Swimming in still-standing water is not a good idea as it often contains parasites. This is less of a problem in rivers. However, water in nature is not safe for drinking.
Poisonous snakes and spiders also pose a risk, and you should definitely wear boots in the rainforest and not “explore” hollow trees where these creatures often lurk. Remember that it can take very long to get to a hospital if you get bitten. Other health risks include cholera, typhoid fever, and rabies.
Respect. The Creole culture is deeply rooted in French Guyana, but the population is still proud of being French. Hence insinuating they aren’t really French is likely to cause offense. For example, mainland France should be referred to as metropolitan/mainland France (“métropole”), not “France”. The locals are happy to answer any questions about their culture, history, and religion. However, slavery is a sensitive subject that should be avoided.
Connect. For cheaper local calls and calls to mainland France, it’s advisable to buy a local prepaid SIM card. The Alizé cards by France Telecom offer 13 hours of communication for €15. There are three GSM operators: Orange Caraïbe, Digicel, and Only.
French Guiana – Arrondissement of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni
NOMAD MANIA French Guiana – Arrondissement of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni
Borders
Brazil-French Guiana
French Guiana (sea border/port/river)
World of Nature
Guiana Amazonian NP
Rivers: Maroni/Marowijne River