French Guiana

Join the Hipporoller Challenge

Help the Travel Guide reach 20,000,000 characters and we'll donate 63 hipporollers worth over $6000. Read more.

Quick Facts

[edit]

Capital

Cayenne

Population

178,000

Government

Overseas territory of France

Religions

Christianity (Catholic)

Languages

French

Calling Code

+594

Nationality

French Guianese

Local name

Guyane

Contributors

• Utrecht (85%)
  from http://utrecht.travellerspoint.com

as well as Peter (10%), Lavafalls (3%), dr.pepper (1%)

Help contribute to this article to share the ad revenue.

Introduction

Cayenne

© All Rights Reserved rd wrld1yr

French Guiana was to France what Australia was to Britain: a dumping ground for convicts. French convicts had a hard time here, as the vast majority died within years from disease and the rainforest covering the country turned out to be a prime breeding ground for malaria.

Since French Guiana's role as a convict colony came to an end in the middle of the 20th century, France's contribution to the country has been a little more favourable. French investment has seen the standard of living in French Guiana become the highest in South America. In the cities and towns, French class is impressed on traditional South American style. French Guiana is the best place to enjoy Caribbean music and the Carnival while drinking coffee at a sidewalk café.

Brief History

Geography

French Guiana is a mountainous rain forest covered country. Beyond the coast it is still virgin jungle. French Guiana shares international borders with Suriname and Brazil.

Regions/Arrondissements

French Guiana is divided into 2 departmental arrondissements.

• Arrondissement of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni
• Arrondissement of Cayenne==

Cities

• Cayenne - The capital
• Kourou
• Maripasoula - A jungle town.
• St Laurent du Maroni - Near the border with Suriname
• Matoury
• Mana

Sights and Activities

Îles du Salut

The Îles du Salut are a group of islands about 10 to 15 kilometers off the coast of French Guiana. The closest town is Kourou from where boats travel to and from the islands. There are three islands: Île du Diable, Île Royale and Île Saint-Joseph. The first one (Devil's Island in English) is probably the best known because of the novel by Henri Charriere named 'Papillon' (Butterfly in English) in which the islands were featured. The islands were used as a penal colony from 1852 onwards and life here was extremely tough but since 1953 the islands were closed as a prison and nowadays the islands are a popular tourist destination.

Awala-Yalimapo

These small communities are located in the extreme northwest of the country close to the border with Suriname. They are communicties with Amerindian people but the main feature here includes the massive amount of giant leatherback turtles which nest here and lay there eggs on several of the nearby beaches. This occurs during the March to July period and therefore is the best time to pay a visit to these mosquito infected coastline and Hattes Beach is the best one to be a witness of this. There are around 4500 to 7500 female leatherbacks making it one of the largest anywhere in the world.

Amazon jungle

Although up until recent years much of French Guiana was not established as national parks, the Amazon Rainforest is one of the best anywhere in South America because most of it is not used for logging nor are there any roads whatsoever. The main gateways are Saül and Marispasoul, which are only reachable by plane or (more time consuming) boat. The best way is to organise a tour in the capital Cayenne but make sure you will stay at least for 4 or 5 days in the interior as distances are vast because of the slow travelling by boat. In 2007 a new huge Guiana Amazonien National Park was created which provides one of the biggest protected rainforest areas anywhere in the world (at 12 million hectares), forming a zone together with Brazilian and Suriname parts.

Other sights and activities

• Space Center of French Guiana - near Kourou at the central coastal parts
• Hmong villages! - Yes, Hmong refugees from Laos are living in the interior, reachable by car in a few hours from Cayenne.

Events and Festivals

Weather

French Guiana has a tropical climate with hot and humid conditions year round. Temperatures hoover around 30 degrees Celcius during the day and above 20 degrees at night. The rainy season lasts from January to June. Obviously the drier (but even warmer) season of July to early December is the best season to visit the country.

Getting there

Plane

Cayenne-Rochambeau Airport (CAY) near the capital receives all international arrivals and departures. Air France has flights from Cayenne to Paris, Paramaribo, Miami, Haiti, Guadeloupe and Martinique. Air Caraibes flies to Santo Domingo and a few destinations mentioned above, while TAF Linhas Aereas has flights to several Brazilian cities like Belem, Fortaleza and Recife.

By Car

A bridge is about to be completed between French Guiana and Brazil making it much more easy (and cheaper, bringing the car on the boat used to cost over 200 euro) to travel between those countries. The Brazilian roads are not in a very good shape though so be prepared. The border towns are Saint Georges (French Guiana) and Oiapoque (Brazil). Be sure to have an international driving permit, documentation and insurance. A 4wd is recommended for going to Brazil, though the coastal route towards Suriname and Guyana is quite ok.

By Bus

Buses/minibuses travel between Cayenne and Paramaribo in Suriname, stopping en route in several other coastal towns and villages. Other than that, there are no direct international connections, you need to do the trip towards Brazil in stages by taking transport to the border and onwards across the border.

By Boat

Boat travel across the rivers that divide French Guiana (Saint Georges) from Brazil (Oiapoque) and Suriname. To and from Suriname, the crossing is over the Marowijne River from Saint Laurent du Moroni.

Getting around

Plane

Air Guyane Express has flights between Cayenne, St Georges de l’Oyapock, Maripasoula and Saül. Helicopters are available from Héli Inter Guyane and Héli Union Guyane, both at Cayenne international airport.

By Train

There are no domestic rail services in French Guiana.

By Car

French Guiana has a relatively good functioning road system but mainly along the coastline and several roads leading from Cayenne partly into the interior. Hiring a car is probably the best way of getting around as most destinations outside the main urban centres can only be reached when you have your own vehicle (or doing a tour of course). Avis has one of the most extensive systems in the country. Note that there are hefty fees when leaving your car somewhere else than you hired it from (drop off costs). You can hire cars (and motorcycles) in Cayenne, Kourou and Saint Laurent du Moroni. Traffic drives on the right and your national driver's licence will suffice when it is readable, otherwise an international driving permit is required.

By Bus

Minibuses travel between the main cities and towns and connect Cayenne with Kourou (1 hour) and Saint Laurent du Moroni (4 hours) and places in between like Sinnamary and Iracoubo. Buses ply the same route but are slower, albeit a bit cheaper. Buses don't run on Sundays.

By Boat

Most visitors only use the boat that travels between Kourou and the Iles du Salut, but the interior of French Guiana is only navigatable by boat so if you are going on a expedition, this is the way to get around.

Red Tape

As an overseas department of France, the entry requirements are the same but a Schengen visa is not valid. A separate visa is required.

Money

See also Money Matters

As an overseas department of France, French Guiana has adopted the Euro (ISO code: EUR, symbol: €) as its official currency. One Euro is divided into 100 cents, which is sometimes referred to as eurocents, especially when distinguishing them with the US cents.

Euro banknotes come in denominations of €5, €10, €20, €50, €100, €200, €500. The highest three denominations are rarely used in everyday transactions. All Euro banknotes have a common design for each denomination on both sides throughout the Eurozone.

The Euro coins are 1 cent, 2 cents, 5 cents, 10 cents, 20 cents, 50 cents, €1 and €2. Some countries in the Eurozone have law which requires cash transactions to be rounded to the nearest 5 cents. All Euro coins have a common design on the denomination (value) side, while the opposite side may have a different image from one country to another. Although the image side may be different, all Euro coins remain legal tender throughout the Eurozone.

Work

Study

Language

Eat

Sleep

Drink

Health

See also Travel Health

Safety

See also Travel Safety

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

Post