Americas · South AmericaUsable guide

French Guiana

Overseas department of France

Photo: Didwin973, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Overview

French Guiana (French: Guyane or Guyane française) 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 it benefits financially from the arrangement. Compared to the other "Guianas" (Suriname and Guyana), French Guiana has the most visible preserved rainforest and a more relaxed and organized lifestyle, but also the highest prices and the least backpacker infrastructure.

Know before you go

Answers to what travellers most often look up about French Guiana.

Exchange rate: €0.89; for 1 US dollar · Euro
Local time: · Cayenne

Language

French

Being a part of France, French is the official language of French Guiana, although a French-based creole language is widely spoken.

French phrasebook

Phone and internet

For cheaper local calls and calls to mainland France it's advisable to buy a local prepaid SIM card.

Health and drinking water

Vaccination against yellow fever is necessary; without a yellow fever vaccination certificate you are not allowed into French Guiana.

Customs and etiquette

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.

All Saints' DayNov 1, Sunday
Armistice DayNov 11, Wednesday
Christmas DayDec 25, Friday
New Year's DayJan 1, Friday

Banks and offices close on these days; lunar holiday dates can move. Dates from Nager.Date

Explore French Guiana by category

Attractions, food, stays and travel essentials, with ratings, reviews, opening hours and directions.

Sights & nature

Culture & history

Food, stays & fun

Practical

Cities and places to visit

Cities

Cayenne

Cayenne is the largest city in and capital of French Guiana. Cayenne lies on the Atlantic coast, on marshland surrounded by hills.

Kourou

Kourou is a town in French Guiana. Together with the Îles de salut (Salvation's Islands) outside the coast it used to be part of a penal colony for the worst criminals in France, but in 1946 the prisons were closed.

Saint-Laurent

Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni is a city in French Guiana. It is also the name of the commune.

Saint-Georges

Saint-Georges (also known as Saint-Georges-de-l'Oyapock) is in French Guiana.

Other destinations

Île du Diable (Devil's Island)

the ruins of the infamous offshore penal colony

Guiana Amazonian Park

the largest national park in the European Union making up for 41 per cent of French Guiana's land area

Salvation's Islands

a group of small volcanic islands off the French Guianan coast

Getting around

Public transport and paid services in French Guiana.

Public transport

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 department. Transport Interurbain de la Guyane operates bus routes between major towns.
Read in the guide

Taxis, car hire and flights

By taxi
It's quite easy to find a taxi, but this is a very expensive way of getting around.
By car
As the public transportation is limited, renting a car is also an option for getting around. Hitchhiking is a good and free alternative. A lot of locals do it as well.
By plane
There aren't really any roads in the inner parts of the country. If you don't want to travel by boat, Air Guyane Express has flights from Cayenne to major inland settlements.
Read in the guide

Taxi and ride-hailing apps

Apps for booking a taxi or a ride in French Guiana.

Airports and nearby hotels

Choose an airport to see hotels, stations, taxi ranks and car rental desks around it.

Cayenne – Félix Eboué Airport

Matoury · International · CAY

Search stays near CAY

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Best time to visit French Guiana

Mildest, driest months

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug: Recommended month
Sep: Recommended month
Oct
Nov
Dec

Calculated from climate averages: mild daytime highs and lower rainfall. It does not account for festivals, crowds or prices.

Weather by month

Average conditions in Cayenne

Avg. highAvg. lowRainfallRecommended month

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg. high	28°	28°	28°	28°	27°	27°	28°	28°	30°	33°	32°	29°
Avg. low	21°	21°	21°	22°	22°	22°	21°	21°	21°	22°	22°	21°
Rainfall (mm)	273	271	275	358	422	278	200	105	53	60	98	275
Humidity	89%	89%	88%	91%	93%	93%	92%	90%	83%	72%	74%	86%

Monthly averages, January 2001 - December 2025. Source: NASA POWER.

Visa and entry requirements

Your passport

Choose your passport and destination to see whether you need a visa.

Safety and travel advice

We do not label countries as safe or unsafe. Below is the official advice from two governments, with the date it was last updated. Always read the full advice before you travel.

US Department of State

Level 1 of 4

Exercise normal precautions

Summary of the advice

Exercise normal precautionin French Guiana. French Guiana is generally a safe destination for travelers. There is no official U.S. consular representation in French Guiana. Consular services are provided by the U.S. Embassy in Paramaribo, Suriname. Review our Travel Guidance for French Guiana to learn how to prepare for a safe trip.

Updated Jul 8, 2026Read the full advice

UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

No advice against travel. Read the full advice before you go.

Summary of the advice

Before you travel No travel can be guaranteed safe. Read all the advice in this guide. You may also find it helpful to: see general advice for women travellers read our guide on disability and travel abroad see general advice for LGBT+ travellers read about safety for solo and independent travel see advice on volunteering and adventure travel abroad Travel insurance If you choose to travel, research your destinations and get appropriate travel insurance. Insurance should cover your itinerary, planned activities and expenses in an emergency. About FCDO travel advice The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) provides advice about risks of travel to help you make informed decisions. Find out more about FCDO travel advice. Get travel advice updates Sign up to get email notifications when this travel advice is updated.  Follow FCDO:   travel advice on X travel advice on Facebook Travel Aware on Instagram

Updated Dec 10, 2025Read the full advice

Articles about French Guiana

Stories, itineraries and practical advice for travelling in French Guiana.

Itineraries

Voyaging along the Amazon River

This itinerary details travelling downstream on the Amazon from Iquitos via Tabatinga, Manaus, Santarém, Santana/Macapá to Belem.

Wikivoyage

Nature & adventure

National parks

Wikivoyage has information about national parks, both about a host of individual ones, general information on parks in some countries and general advice for hiking and some related topics.

Wikivoyage

Travel tips

Tropical rainforests

Tropical rainforests have climates that receive high temperatures and high humidity throughout the year. While they are closely tied to the geographical boundaries of the tropics, not all the land in the tropics is…

Wikivoyage

Culture & history

French Colonial Empire

France has possessed multiple empires over its existence, but the two most recent, the First French Colonial Empire (Premier empire colonial français) of the Early Modern Era and the Second French Colonial Empire…

Wikivoyage

Culture & history

History of justice

The history of justice, the struggle to obtain and enforce it, the methods of doing so, and various struggles for legal recognition and civil rights are of interest to many travellers.

Wikivoyage

Travel tips

Talk

The world has over 5,000 different languages, of which more than twenty have 50 million or more speakers. Travel can bring you into contact with any of these.

Wikivoyage

Full travel guide

Every section of the guide. Open one to read it in full.

UnderstandOriginally inhabited by various indigenous peoples (Kalina, Arawak, Galibi, Palikur, Teko, Wayampi and Wayana), French Guiana was colonised by the French during the seventeenth century in the face of opposition from the…

TalkBeing a part of France, French is the official language of French Guiana, although a French-based creole language is widely spoken.

Get inConcerning 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 mainland or Caribbean France.

Get aroundPopulation and therefore transportation is mostly concentrated along a rather narrow sliver of land along the coast. Heading inland from there can be complicated.

See

BuyThe official currency is the euro just like in mainland France. Most purchases will be more expensive than you expect, as a lot of stuff has to be imported - even food and drinks are flown from metropolitan France.

EatA 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.

DrinkTafia 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 delicious drink called Planter. Rum and ti-punch are also common.

SleepHotels are rather expensive in French Guiana: at many of them, you'll need to spend well over €100 a night.

LearnThere are two higher education institutions in the departement: L'Université des Antilles et de la Guyane (UAG) and Le Pôle Universitaire Guyanais (PUG).

WorkFor European people coming from an EU country, working in French Guiana is allowed without a problem. If you're from outside the EU, you will probably need a work permit - check with the French Embassy in your country.

Stay safeDo not lose your passport: there are very few consulates in French Guiana as such services are provided by consulates in Paris, so you will be required to go to Paris in case you need your passport to be reissued if you…

Stay healthyVaccination against yellow fever is necessary; without a yellow fever vaccination certificate you are not allowed into French Guiana.

RespectThe 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.

ConnectFor 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.

Sources and licences

Guide text adapted from the Wikivoyage article "French Guiana" by its contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikivoyage · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
Summary from the Wikipedia article "French Guiana", available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Wikipedia
Photo: Didwin973, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Facts come from Wikidata, the World Bank, the mledoze/countries data set, Open-Meteo and NASA POWER. Safety advice comes from the US State Department and the UK FCDO.

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Overview