THE GUYANAS
Often overlooked by so many other countries in South America, most tourists don’t even know this little region of the world exists. If you made it to this page, chances are you’re looking for an off-the-beaten-path or unusual adventure.
How Do you decide whether to fly or go overland?
Overland journeys are often the best way to see a country; you’re usually taking public transport, navigating roads that tourists hardly tread, crossing borders that take hours on end and enduring obstacles that you wouldn’t have even imagined when you started planning the trip — but that’s what makes overland journeys so rewarding.
A lot of factors go into whether or not I’m going to fly or go overland:
How big are the distances between the countries?
How much is there to do in each country?
What kind of adventure am I chasing?
The Guyanas are so small that it’s fairly easy to take public transport or taxis over the borders, and there’s not a whole lot to see in each country (don’t get me wrong, they’re amazing, but just putting it into perspective and comparing it to, say, Brazil). Since I was also doing the Amazon ferry, I thought it would be perfect to continue overland and combine the two journeys. If you haven’t read my journey traveling by cargo ship from Manaus to Macapa, check it out here!
The Route
I’m starting the map at Macapá since technically that’s where we started overland, but I’ll begin this guide crossing the border from Brazil to French Guiana.
Saint Georges, French Guiana
The water taxi to Saint Georges is R$50 or €10 per person. It’s a beautiful boat ride across the water, but when you get to French Guiana you must ask the shuttle service to take you to Cayenne. The immigration office is close to the bridge (I’m not sure why they insist on the water taxi when it’s probably easier to walk across) so make sure you get stamped in. The shuttle will take you from the boat to immigration to Cayenne for €50 per person.
Cayenne, French Guiana
You can see nearly everything in a few hours in Cayenne and it’s pretty expensive (welcome to France), so I didn’t spend too much time there. Rather than going into the sights, I’ll continue with the logistics of the journey. If you want to read more about what to do in French Guiana, you can check it out here!
You can find a shared taxi to Kourou for €10, and you can ask if they can come back to take you all the way to the border as well since many drive the same route. The taxi to the border was €50, and the water taxi was €5. Immigration closes at 5:30 PM so make sure you arrive by then to get stamped out.
Suriname
To enter Suriname, you need to fill out a tourist card online beforehand and print out the QR code to be stamped. This is a new system instead of getting an e-visa. You also need to fill out an entry form upon arrival. After immigration, the shared taxi was €25 to Paramaribo.
Something to note, if someplace accepts credit card they usually only take Mastercard. Visa is apparently too expensive for the, otherwise cash is the best way to pay. There’s a good money exchange right before crossing the Jules W Bridge into Paramaribo; exchange rates are higher in the city.
From Paramaribo, I took a shared taxi towards the border for €50. It’s a four hour drive and there’s only one ferry that leaves at 11 AM each day so I stayed at the Residence Inn in Nieuw Nickerie (there’s not a whole lot of options). The next morning I went to the port at 7 AM to line up; they open the gates by 8 AM and check your passport, yellow fever card, and covid vaccination so it’s important to be there early. Ferry tickets are $15 USD.
I would’ve loved to go into the interior of Suriname, but unfortunately there was not enough time. If you’re looking for things to do in Paramaribo, Suriname check out my blog post here!
Guyana
Getting shared taxi drivers was like passing on the torch; it started in French Guiana and we would ask the driver, “do you have a friend that could take us from Point A to B?” and sure enough, there would be someone waiting at our next border crossing. We had one more taxi driver take us from the Guyana border to Georgetown, where I would fly out of to end the overland journey. Hotels were quite expensive if you look online; a friend of mine who lived in Georgetown recommended Rima Guesthouse. I couldn’t seem to get a hold of them over email or phone, so I just showed up and they had a room available. I paid $40 (cash only) for a private room with AC and bathroom, whereas everything else online was at least $100. Honestly it’s not the most aesthetically pleasing place I’ve stayed, but it was clean, the wifi was fast, and it was the cheapest option available.
As for things to do, I’ve created another blog post on the best things to do in Guyana including an in-depth guide on how to secure a spot on the famously sought-after Kaieteur Falls tour.
