Experiences and local guides in Guyane · Cayenne

Nature

French Guiana is a piece of Europe in the Amazon: 95% primary rainforest, wide rivers like the Maroni and the Oyapock, mangroves and a coast where the world's largest leatherback turtles nest. Cayenne, the Creole capital, faces the Salut islands, Papillon's old penal colony; Europe's rockets launch from Kourou; and inland, Saül and Maripasoula can only be reached by light aircraft or dugout.

Activities

• Dugout trips on the Maroni from Saint-Laurent: Bushinengue and Amerindian villages, rapids and nights in a carbet
• Salut islands by catamaran from Kourou: the prison, monkeys and agoutis, snorkelling off Île Royale
• Kaw marshes: caimans at night and birds by dugout, the Trésor reserve
• Leatherback turtles on Awala-Yalimapo beach (April to July), kayaking on the Kourou river and the mangroves
• Jungle trekking around Saül and on the Montagne des Singes trail, visits to the Space Centre

When to go

July to November is the dry season, best for the jungle and the islands. December to June is rainy, with a break in March (the "little summer"); April to July is turtle season. Hot and humid all year, between 25 and 32 °C.

How to get there

Félix Éboué airport (CAY) is 15 km from Cayenne, with direct flights from Paris (8 h 45), Fort-de-France, Belém and Miami. Kourou is 1 hour by road and Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni 3 hours; the Salut islands are reached by catamaran from Kourou. The interior (Saül, Maripasoula) only by light aircraft or dugout. A rental car is recommended on the coast.