French Guiana is a place I haven’t traveled to (yet). I came quite close at the end of 2015 when I took the very first Nomad Cruise to Brazil. Then in 2017, I was in Colombia, which latitude-wise was also pretty close. Unfortunately, I had to return to university in early 2018 to finish that bitch. But the French single territorial collectivity of French Guiana has been always very high on my mental list of places to travel to.
I hope that in the future, you can find posts about French Guiana on this page. For now, perhaps read about other countries, such as France, Brazil, or Spain?
Things I’d Like to Do in French Guiana
- Hitchhike around the country with the locals
- Explore the capital Cayenne: the history, the culture, the people, the sights
- Learn about the Indigenous peoples that live further inland—but only if this can be done without harming these communities
- Experience a space launch at/nearby the Kourou spaceport Guiana Space Centre. This honestly sounds like an amazing thing to witness
- Imagine hiking up Bellevue de l’Inini (851masl), the highest point of French Guiana. But not eventually doing it because there’s no trail up there and it would cost an arm and a leg to chop a path up there with a machete
- Pick up a few words or phrases of French Guianese Creole
- Learn about the dark history of slavery and colonization, prison colonies (e.g. Henri Charrière’s experiences in the book Papillon), and leper colonies
- Wander around to find remnants of the old railroads that have been long forgotten
- Visit some islands, such as the history-laden Îles du Salut (especially Devil’s Island) and Îlets du Rémire (especially La Mère)
- Take boat trips (by pirogue) up the river to visit really remote places. There are so many rivers in this territory. Definitely into the Guiana Amazonian Park
- Visit the lighthouses on the Atlantic Ocean coast
- When arriving in or departing from French Guiana, hitchhike across the Oyapock River Bridge. On the Surinamese side, there are ferries across the Maroni River
- Go kayaking on a river or on the sea somewhere and enjoy the abundance of nature
Once there are ideas of visiting or if I find inspiration on the internet, I might add it here on the list above.
If you know cool places and things to do in French Guiana, comment below so I can always find your suggestions again once I start making the dream come true! Tips are especially welcome if you are French Guianan or have lived there for a while
Are you a travel blogger and do you have good posts about French Guiana? Drop them in a comment below and I’ll read them!
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