French Guiana Holidays: Space Centre, Devil's Island & Rainforest from the UK

T By Thomas · Updated 21 October 2026 · 4 min read

Airports

Cayenne Félix Eboué Airport (CAY), around 20 minutes from Cayenne and 50 minutes from Kourou

Flight time

about 9h from Paris Orly, so around 11-13h from London with a connection

Best time to go

August-November for the dry season; April-July for leatherback turtle nesting

Currency

Euro (€)

French Guiana is an overseas region of France on the north-east coast of South America, between Suriname and Brazil. It is a curious mix: legally as French as Brittany, with euros, baguettes and French road signs, yet around nine-tenths covered by Amazon rainforest and home to a diverse population of Creole, Indigenous, Maroon, Hmong, Brazilian and European communities. Most people live along the coast, and much of the interior is reachable only by river or light aircraft.

For visitors, the highlights are distinctive: Europe's spaceport at Kourou, the haunting former penal colony of the Îles du Salut, Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni's transportation camp, beaches where giant leatherback turtles come ashore to nest, and rainforest and wetlands full of wildlife. Tourism is low-key and prices are high, so it rewards travellers who like going off the beaten track. It combines well with Suriname and Guyana for a Guianas trip.

Things to do

1. Guiana Space Centre, Kourou – Europe's main launch site offers free guided tours on some days (book well ahead) and an excellent space museum. Watching a rocket launch from one of the public viewing sites is unforgettable; launch dates are published in advance but often move.
2. Îles du Salut – a catamaran ride of around an hour from Kourou reaches these three islands, where convicts were held from the 1850s until the 1950s. Île Royale has restored prison buildings and monkeys in the trees, Île Saint-Joseph has overgrown solitary cells, and Devil's Island, where Alfred Dreyfus was held, can be seen but not visited.
3. Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni – the Camp de la Transportation, where convicts arrived, is the centrepiece of a well-preserved colonial town on the river border with Suriname. Pirogue trips run upriver to Maroon and Amerindian villages.
4. Leatherback turtles at Awala-Yalimapo – between roughly April and July, leatherback and green turtles nest on the beaches of the north-west, one of the most important nesting sites in the world. Follow local guidelines on lights and distance.
5. Cayenne – a small capital with colourful Creole houses, the Place des Palmistes, the lively central market for spices and soupe pho, and the ruins of Fort Cépérou above the town.
6. Kaw marshes and the rainforest – overnight stays on floating lodges in the Kaw-Roura marshes are good for spotting black caimans, hoatzins and scarlet ibis. Treks and river trips into the interior reveal one of the world's most intact forests.
7. Cacao – a Hmong village south of Cayenne, best visited on a Sunday morning for its market of tropical fruit, vegetables and Laotian food.

Where to stay

• Cayenne and Rémire-Montjoly – the widest choice of hotels and restaurants, with beaches just outside the centre.
• Kourou – hotels near the space centre and the boats to the Îles du Salut; you can also stay overnight on Île Royale.
• Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni – a base for the west, river trips and the turtle beaches.
• Rainforest carbets and lodges – simple open-sided camps with hammocks along the rivers and marshes, usually booked with an excursion.

Getting there

There are no direct flights from the UK. Air France and Air Caraïbes fly from Paris Orly to Cayenne in about nine hours, so the total journey from London is usually around 11 to 13 hours with a connection; you can reach Paris by short flight or Eurostar. There are also regional flights from the French Caribbean and Brazil.

French Guiana is part of the EU but outside the Schengen area, and British passport holders can usually visit for short stays without a visa. Proof of yellow fever vaccination is required for entry, and malaria precautions may be needed for parts of the interior, so see a travel health clinic well in advance. A hire car is the easiest way to explore the coast; the interior requires guided trips.

Best time to visit

It is hot and humid all year, around 25 to 32 °C. The main dry season runs from about August to November, the best time for exploring the forest. A shorter dry spell, the "little summer of March", often falls in March. The rainiest months are usually around April to June. Carnival, from January until Lent, is a huge and colourful celebration with weekly parades.

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