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Waypoint Journeys Presents

The Three Guianas

Guyana, Suriname & French Guiana

10 Days

Three Countries, Two River Borders, and the Least-Visited Corner of South America

10 DaysFrom $4,095 USDMax 5 guests

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The Destination

The Most Overlooked Corner of the Continent

The three Guianas (Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana) sit side by side on the northeastern shoulder of South America, speaking English, Dutch and French respectively, which tells you how thoroughly this coast was carved up and how thoroughly it has been ignored since. Guyana is the only English-speaking country on the continent. Suriname was Dutch until 1975. French Guiana is not a country at all but an overseas department of France, which makes the euro the currency and the European Union the jurisdiction, five degrees north of the equator.

This expedition takes all three, overland, in ten days. It opens in Georgetown with the scenic flight to Kaieteur (a single 226-metre plunge into an unbroken jungle gorge, with no guardrail, no cable car and almost no other visitors), then crosses the Courantyne by ferry into Suriname for the UNESCO wooden capital of Paramaribo and two nights deep on the Upper Suriname River with the Saamaka Maroons.

A second river border, the Maroni, opens French Guiana: the penal transportation camp at Saint-Laurent, the prison islands of the Îles du Salut where Alfred Dreyfus was held, and the Guiana Space Centre at Kourou, Europe's working spaceport. The route then returns overland to Paramaribo for the flight home. Three countries, two international river crossings, nine nights: all of it handled.

"Nearly five times the height of Niagara, dropping into an unbroken jungle gorge with no guardrail and almost no other visitors."
Guianas Paramaribo
Colonial Paramaribo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Why the Guianas

The Extraordinary, the Obscure, and the Wild

Kaieteur Falls

A single unbroken 226-metre plunge (nearly five times the height of Niagara) into a gorge carved by the Potaro River. No guardrails, no cable car, and only a handful of other visitors. Reached by scenic flight from Georgetown over an unbroken carpet of rainforest, with time at the rim before the flight back.

UNESCO Paramaribo

The colonial streetscape along the Waterkant waterfront looks more like Amsterdam transported to the tropics than any South American capital should. The Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral is one of the largest wooden buildings in the Western Hemisphere, and the Central Market may be the most ethnically diverse in the Americas.

The Upper Suriname River

Two nights at a rainforest lodge reached only by motor canoe, hours upriver from the last road at Atjoni. Forest trails and swimming in the rapids by day; after dark, the caimans' eyes reflecting red in the torch beam just above the waterline.

The Saamaka Maroons

Descendants of escaped enslaved Africans who established autonomous communities in the interior centuries ago and have maintained distinct languages, religious practices and craft traditions largely outside the reach of the coastal state. A guided walk to a village on the bank introduces daily life along the river.

Devil's Island & the Îles du Salut

A catamaran crossing from Kourou to the three islands where France ran its most notorious penal colony. You land on Île Royale to walk the prison ruins among coconut palms and macaws, and look across the channel to Devil's Island itself, where Alfred Dreyfus was held.

The Guiana Space Centre

Europe's spaceport sits at Kourou because a launch this close to the equator gets a free push from the Earth's rotation. The guided tour takes in mission control, the assembly buildings and the launch pads, a working facility, not a museum, which is why it wants your passport details two weeks out.

Day by Day

The Expedition

Ten days from the Atlantic coast to the deep interior and on to Europe's spaceport, three countries, two river borders, and the largest single-drop waterfall on Earth by volume.

Route map of the Georgetown to Paramaribo: Georgetown, Paramaribo, Upper Suriname River and Kourou.
The Route

Georgetown to Paramaribo

Ten days east along the Guiana coast: Kaieteur by air from Georgetown, the ferry to Suriname, two nights up the Upper Suriname River, then Kourou and the Iles du Salut before returning to Paramaribo.

  1. Days 1–2Georgetown
  2. Days 3 · 6 · 9–10Paramaribo
  3. Days 4–5Upper Suriname River
  4. Days 7–8Kourou
Explore the route
Arrive Georgetown
Day 1
Arrive Georgetown

You are met at Cheddi Jagan International Airport and driven the hour into Georgetown, Guyana's Atlantic capital, wooden colonial architecture bleached silver by the tropical sun, and a seawall that is the only thing between the streets and a sea sitting above the level of most of the city. The rest of the day is at leisure to rest and settle in. The expedition opens on a Friday for a reason: the scheduled flights to Kaieteur run at weekends only, so the falls come first thing tomorrow.

Kaieteur Falls by scenic flight
Day 2
Kaieteur Falls by scenic flight

A scenic flight from Ogle Airport, out over unbroken rainforest with nothing below but canopy and river, to a grass airstrip near the rim of the Potaro Gorge. Kaieteur drops 226 metres in a single plunge (the largest single-drop waterfall on Earth by volume) with the spray rising back up in permanent mist. There are no guardrails at the viewpoints and rarely more than a handful of other visitors. Time at the rim, a snack box on the flight, and you are back in Georgetown by the afternoon with the evening free.

Georgetown · Courantyne ferry · Paramaribo
Day 3
Georgetown · Courantyne ferry · Paramaribo

An early start and a private transfer east across the coastal plain to the Courantyne River, which forms the border with Suriname and is crossed by ferry. The road continues to Paramaribo, where the streetscape along the Waterkant looks like Amsterdam transported to the tropics. The afternoon is a walking tour of the UNESCO old city: the Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral, one of the largest wooden buildings in the Western Hemisphere; Fort Zeelandia on the river; and the Central Market, where Javanese, Creole, Maroon, Chinese and Hindustani vendors sell from adjacent stalls.

Atjoni · up the Upper Suriname River
Day 4
Atjoni · up the Upper Suriname River

You drive south out of Paramaribo, out of the coastal plain and into the forest, as far as the road goes, Atjoni, where the river takes over. From there it is by motor canoe up the Upper Suriname River, deep into Saamaka Maroon territory, to a rainforest lodge on the bank. After settling in, the evening brings the first night trip on the water: caimans' eyes reflecting red in the torch beam just above the waterline.

A full day in the rainforest
Day 5
A full day in the rainforest

A guided walk to a Saamaka Maroon village introduces daily life along the river, descendants of escaped enslaved Africans who established autonomous communities in the interior centuries ago and have held their own language, religious practice and craft traditions ever since. Forest trails cover the plants used for food and medicine, there is time on the water by canoe and swimming in the rapids, and after dark a second caiman-spotting trip.

Downriver and back to Paramaribo
Day 6
Downriver and back to Paramaribo

Downriver by canoe (faster with the current than the way up) and then by road to Paramaribo, arriving by early afternoon. The rest of the day is free: the Numismatic Museum for the wide range of currencies that have circulated through Suriname, the Javanese neighbourhood of Kwatta for the best food in the country, or simply the hotel terrace with a Parbo beer and the river traffic going by.

Across the Maroni · Cayenne · Kourou
Day 7
Across the Maroni · Cayenne · Kourou

An early crossing of the Maroni River into Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni and French Guiana; the euro, the European Union, and a tour of the old penal transportation camp through which convicts bound for the islands were processed. The road continues to Cayenne for a city tour taking in the Place des Palmistes and the central market, then on to Kourou for two nights.

The Îles du Salut and Devil's Island
Day 8
The Îles du Salut and Devil's Island

A catamaran runs from Kourou out to the Îles du Salut, the Salvation Islands, where France ran its most notorious penal colony until the 1950s. You land on Île Royale to walk the prison ruins among coconut palms and macaws, and see Devil's Island across the channel, where Alfred Dreyfus was held. Lunch is served on the crossing, and you are back in Kourou by late afternoon.

Guiana Space Centre · back to Paramaribo
Day 9
Guiana Space Centre · back to Paramaribo

A morning tour of the Guiana Space Centre, Europe's working spaceport, taking in mission control, the assembly buildings and the launch pads. The site is here because a launch from five degrees north of the equator gets a free push from the Earth's rotation. After lunch in Kourou the overland return begins, recrossing the Maroni into Suriname and reaching Paramaribo in the evening for the last night.

Depart Paramaribo
Day 10
Depart Paramaribo

Breakfast, and a transfer to Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport for your onward flight. Paramaribo connects north through the Caribbean and the Americas and east to Europe, so you can route home whichever way suits you. Extra nights in Paramaribo, or a stopover on the way home, can be arranged for anyone who wants more time.

Guianas Kaieteur Falls

Small Group Expedition

Every Detail Arranged.
Every Moment Yours.

Expedition Details

What's Included

Duration10 days / 9 nights, Georgetown to Paramaribo
Group SizeSmall group expedition: maximum 5 guests
CountriesGuyana, Suriname and French Guiana: entered overland across two river borders
Kaieteur FallsScheduled scenic flight Georgetown–Kaieteur–Georgetown with time at the rim viewpoints (Day 2); private charter available on request for a weekday departure
GuideExpert English-speaking guide throughout; all overland, river, ferry and border transfers, including the Courantyne and Maroni crossings
AccommodationNine nights in comfortable three-star hotels and one rainforest lodge: Georgetown (x2), Paramaribo (x3), lodge on the Upper Suriname River (x2), Kourou (x2)
Included ExperiencesParamaribo city tour; Saamaka Maroon village walk and guided forest trails; caiman spotting by torchlight on two nights; the Saint-Laurent penal camp and Cayenne city tour; the Îles du Salut catamaran; the Guiana Space Centre guided tour; all park, entrance and tour fees
MealsDaily breakfast, and full board at the rainforest lodge (Days 4 and 5), reached only by canoe with nowhere else to eat. Other lunches and dinners are at your own expense.
Not IncludedInternational flights into Georgetown and out of Paramaribo, the Suriname multiple-entry permit and any visas, travel insurance, lunches and dinners not listed, drinks, and gratuities

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Common Questions About This Expedition

Scheduled flights to Kaieteur Falls run at weekends only, so the trip opens with a Friday arrival in Georgetown and the falls on the Saturday. If you would rather fly on a weekday, a private charter is available at additional cost and we rebuild the week around it.
The route enters Suriname, crosses into French Guiana and then re-enters Suriname for the flight home, so you need a Suriname multiple-entry permit rather than the single-entry tourist card. Guyana has its own requirement depending on your passport, and French Guiana is an overseas department of France, so French entry rules apply there rather than Schengen ones. We guide every traveller through the full set before departure.
You fly into Cheddi Jagan International Airport in Georgetown at the start and out of Johan Adolf Pengel International in Paramaribo at the end. Both are well connected: Georgetown routes through the Caribbean, Panama City and the North American hubs (Port of Spain among them, which makes this a natural continuation of our Caribbean Arc expedition) while Paramaribo adds a direct link to Amsterdam for anyone coming from Europe. Flights sit outside the expedition price. Tell us where you are travelling from and we will advise on the routings and timings that fit the itinerary.
Two of the nine nights are at a lodge on the bank of the Upper Suriname River, reached only by motor canoe and deep in Saamaka Maroon territory. It is simpler than a city hotel: full board, forest on every side, and no road for hours in any direction, and it is the highlight of the trip for most travellers. The other seven nights are in comfortable three-star hotels in Georgetown, Paramaribo and Kourou.
It can. The centre is a working spaceport rather than a museum: it needs passport details roughly two weeks in advance, runs on set tour times, and can close at short notice on launch days. If that happens we rework the day around Kourou and the coast.
The long dry season (February–April) and the short dry season (August–November) are the best windows for the interior and for the Kaieteur flight, which is weather-dependent and can be delayed by morning cloud. The route runs year-round; in the wet season expect heavier afternoon rain and a fuller, faster river.

Expedition Investment

$4,095USD

per person, twin share

Fully inclusive of nine nights' accommodation, the Kaieteur scenic flight, the Îles du Salut catamaran and the Guiana Space Centre tour, an English-speaking guide throughout, all overland, river, ferry and border transfers, daily breakfast and full board at the rainforest lodge

Excludes international flights into Georgetown and out of Paramaribo, travel insurance, the Suriname multiple-entry permit and any visas, and meals not listed. Single supplement $980 USD. Combined Caribbean Arc + Guianas pricing available on request

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A Note on Safety & Logistics

The three Guianas are rewarding precisely because they are logistics-heavy: a scenic flight that only operates at weekends, two international borders crossed by river ferry, hours by motor canoe into the interior, and a working spaceport that needs passport details two weeks in advance and can close at short notice on launch days. Because the route enters Suriname, leaves for French Guiana and re-enters, it also needs a Suriname multiple-entry permit rather than the single-entry card most travellers are given; we handle that for you. We use trusted drivers and accommodation partners throughout, travel with an expert English-speaking guide, and manage every connection, permit and river transfer. Georgetown, Paramaribo and Cayenne call for the same common-sense precautions as any port city; with a guide, all three are entirely manageable.