Overview

Guyana is an untouched wilderness located between Venezuela, Brazil and Suriname. Relatively few travellers have visited this pristine and unspoilt destination with amazing bio-diversity of over 800 species of birds and hundreds of species of mammals and reptiles. Here you can see the Neo-tropical ‘big five’ – jaguar, giant river otter, giant anteater, black caiman and harpy eagle. From breath-taking waterfalls and spectacular wilderness scenery, to community tourism in indigenous villages, Guyana will provide a real adventure.

Day by Day Itinerary

Day 1 | Thursday

Pickup and transfer from Cheddi Jagan International Airport to Georgetown and your selected hotel.

Cara Lodge was built in the 1840s. It has a long and romantic history and was the home of the first Lord Mayor of Georgetown. Over the years, the property has been visited by many dignitaries including King Edward VIll who stayed at the house in 1923. Other dignitaries have included President Jimmy Carter, HRH King Charles III and Mick Jagger. This magnificent wooden colonial home turned hotel offers the tradition and nostalgia of a bygone era.

Overnight at Cara Lodge.

Day 2 | Friday

Early start to have breakfast and tour of Bourda Market, the largest market in Georgetown. Heading outside you can see, touch and taste a variety of local fruits and vegetables unique in this part of the world. Continue on a tour of the city of Georgetown with an experienced guide who will give you the history, rumour and facts on Georgetown and its citizens.

Visit the National Museum and the Walter Roth Museum of Anthropology, which houses a wonderful collection of artefacts and explains history and lifestyle of the indigenous peoples.

On this mix of vehicle and walking tour, enjoy the views of other historic buildings along this promenade such as the Public Library, City Hall, the Victoria Law Courts, St. Andrews Kirk, Stabroek Market - once described as a “bizarre bazaar, and St. George’s Cathedral, which is one of the world’s tallest free-standing wooden buildings.

Visit the Botanical Gardens, home to an extensive collection of tropical flora, and we will also pay a visit to a pond either in the gardens or the National Park, to feed the endangered West Indian Manatees.

After lunch we will slowly cruise along and across the Demerara River while your guide gives a brief history of the famous buildings along the waterfront. We then continue our trip to see the Demerara Harbour Bridge, once the longest floating bridge in the world at a total length of 1,851m long. We will cross under the bridge and tie up our boat near a mangrove that is the nightly roost for a variety of birds. As the sun sets over the river we will have a cold drink and some snacks as we enjoy flocks of brilliant Scarlet Ibis, Snail Kites, Herons, and three kinds of Egrets as they fly across the sky and settle into the mangroves for the evening.

Soon after the sun sets we return to the ferry stelling while enjoying the city and ship lights from the river.

Overnight at Cara Lodge.

Meals Included: Breakfast & Lunch

Day 3 | Saturday

Pickup and transfer to the airport for a scheduled flight over the Demerara and Essequibo Rivers and hundreds of miles of unbroken tropical rainforest to land at Kaieteur Falls, the world’s highest free-falling waterfall. 

Kaieteur which was first seen by a European on April 29, 1870 is situated in the heart of Guyana on the Potaro River, a tributary of the Essequibo. The water of Kaieteur flows over a sandstone conglomerate tableland into a deep gorge - a drop of 741 feet or 5 times the height of Niagara Falls.

Kaieteur supports a unique micro environment with Tank Bromeliads, the largest in the world, in which the tiny Golden frog spends its entire life and the rarely seen Guiana Cock- of-the-rock nesting close by. The lucky visitor may also see the famous flights of the Kaieteur Swifts or Makonaima Birds which nest under the vast shelf of rock carved over millions of years by the black water of the Potaro River.

Overnight at Cara Lodge.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Day 4 | Sunday

0430/0445hrs we will depart your hotel and travel eastward from Georgetown along the Atlantic coast to the Mahaica River. Here you will be joined by your guide before we continue to the river landing.

The narrow winding road to the landing runs parallel to the river and takes us through an area that has been mainly used for the cultivation of rice and other crops. This gives us a glimpse into the everyday lives of the farming community scattered along this road. Fortunately for us, the area along the river has been well preserved and provides an excellent riverfront ecosystem inhabited by flocks of egrets, herons, ibis, various marsh tyrants, and Guyana’s national bird, the Hoatzin.

The river offers a rare chance to see the range-restricted Blood-coloured Woodpecker which has been badly affected by habitat loss in the ‘Guianas' coastal region.

This river is one of the best places to spot Guyana's national bird, the Hoatzin (Opisthocomus Hoatzin), also known as the Stinkbird, or “Canje Pheasant". This odd bird is an unusual species of tropical bird found in swamps, riverine forest and mangrove between the Amazon and the Orinoco delta in South America.
 
After our tour we will return to the home of our boatman where we will have breakfast before returning to Georgetown.

Overnight at Cara Lodge.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Day 5 | Monday

Transfer from your hotel to the airport for your flight to Paramaribo.    

On arrival, begin your Paramaribo City tour.

Paramaribo, the capital city of Suriname, has been placed on the UNESCO “World Heritage” list of historical monuments since 2002. We start our tour in the inner city of Paramaribo with a visit to the ancient building complex, Fort Zeelandia. You will have an extensive guided tour. We continue the trip by foot and visit the Independence Square surrounded by historical buildings including the Presidential Palace, the Palm Gardens and Lim a Po Street, one of the most beautiful streets in Paramaribo. After this walk, we drive along the most prominent historical buildings with their unique architecture. We will make a photo stop at the Synagogue and Mosque which are located right next to each other. Our next stop will be the Cathedral, the highest wooden building in the Western Hemisphere. Our City Tour ends at the Waterkant along the Suriname River, the favourite meeting place in Paramaribo for many Surinamese.

Transfer to the pier at Leonsberg where you will be picked up for the Sunset Dolphin tour. Normally we see them swim by in groups of up to 20 dolphins. Sometimes they’re very curious and if we are lucky they will jump and play close to the boat. Afterwards visit the restored plantation Rust & Werk. Here the descendants of the contract workers from Indonesia live. After the sun has set we will get back on board, and slowly make our way back to Leonsberg. Transfer to your hotel.

Formerly a townhouse, it has been transformed into the most charming lobby of one of Paramaribo’s most favoured hotels with numerous eco-friendly features. The Eco Torarica is located within a 5-minute walk of the historic centre of Paramaribo and the tantalizing city life. Rooms offer either a breath-taking view of the Suriname River or a beautiful view of the lovely garden. The hotel is simply ideal for guests who want to visit Suriname to relax and unwind.

Overnight in a standard room at Eco Torarica.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Day 6 | Tuesday

Begin the day with a tour of Commewijne, which is situated right across the river from Paramaribo, with a drive over the bridge. The tour takes you along the former colonial plantations, most of which are now abandoned and have become residential areas.  Make a stop at the former Peperpot plantation for a visit of the premises and the workers living area called a Kampong. We will also visit the recently installed nature park at the plantation, famous for bird life and small rainforest animals, such as monkeys.
 
After Peperpot the next stop will be a visit to the outdoor museum at Fort Nieuw Amsterdam. Fort Nieuw Amsterdam is situated in a strategically important location: on the precise meeting point of the Commewijne and the Suriname River, close to the ocean. The large fortress was built by the British as a defense for the plantations that were situated along the upper parts of both rivers. The fortress was originally an earthwork construction. It has the shape of a polygon (5 equal sides) and features 5 bastions. At the outdoor museum, there are several restored buildings, including the gunpowder storage building from 1740 and the coach house with a few coaches dating from the 19th century. In one of the ponds you can find the famous giant water lily, Victoria Amazonica.

Lunch will be served at a local restaurant.

Overnight in a standard room at Eco Torarica.

Meals Included: Breakfast & Lunch

Day 7 | Wednesday

Make an early start to comfortably pace ourselves through the journey. The first leg of our travels takes us eastbound along Suriname's coastal road, to the Albina border station.

Soon we find ourselves in Piaka canoe crossing the Maroni River headed for French Guiana or "Guyane" as it is frequently (and confusingly) called locally. Arrival at St. Laurent du Maroni is relatively uncomplicated, and our French guide will be on hand to help.  French Guyana is a Department of France, so technically you have entered the EU upon landing here. And, evidence of this connection to the "1st world" is immediately evident: every car seems to be a late-model Mercedes, Volkswagen or Peugeot, the roads are in near perfect condition, espresso coffee is on tap nearly everywhere, and the Euro is the currency of choice.

Upon arrival in St. Laurent, we will pay a brief visit to the well-preserved Camp de la Transportation. The facility once served as the transit point for slaves and indentured servants and later for political prisoners and convicts from France. They were sorted here and then assigned to the various locations around French Guiana.

Hotel Atlantis is a modern business hotel on the edge of Bois Devil Lake with air-conditioned rooms, telephone, WiFi, satellite television and refrigerator. The spacious open lobby includes a patio overlooking the pool, lake and tennis courts. The trendy restaurant offers French and Creole cuisine and has an excellent selection of wines.

Overnight in a standard room at Hotel Atlantis.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Day 8 | Thursday 

After an early breakfast we will transfer to the dock in Kourou for our departure for the Iles du Salut. What is commonly referred to as "Devils Island" is really a triangle of three islands - Îles du Salut, or the Salvation Islands - seven miles off the coast of Kourou. We set sail aboard a catamaran towards our first stop, Île Royale. The islands played a central role in French history as far back as 1762 when they were first employed as a transit point, first for explorers, then slaves and later for political prisoners and convicts. Île Saint-Joseph is the southernmost island and was known as the silent island as inmates were not allowed to speak to either the guards or fellow convicts. Papillion claimed to have spent two years here in solitary confinement. St. Joseph was known as the ‘man-eater’ for obvious reasons.

Île Royale is the site of the oldest and most extensive buildings on the islands, featuring an old church, administration buildings, officers' quarters, and today, a good restaurant and lodging facilities. Ironically, the actual Île du Diable (Devil's Island) is inaccessible to visitors due to dangerous shoreline conditions. This is the island where the prison's best-known occupant, Alfred Dreyfus, was famously secluded. Papillion claimed that he escaped the island on a coconut raft.

Your boat will dock on Ilse Royale. The prison buildings here are quite well preserved, and you can meander at will through the cell blocks, dormitory buildings, and other structures. Be sure to check out the children's cemetery behind the old hospital. If your walking tour wraps up early, there are plenty of shady trees with benches under which you can catch a cool breeze down by the dock. Keep an eye out for sea turtles that like to scavenge among the rocks near the dock.

Return to Kourou by catamaran and transfer back to your selected hotel.

Overnight in a standard room at Hotel Atlantis.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Day 9 | Friday

Transfer to the Center Spatiale Guyanaise (Guiana Space Center) for a tour. Launch schedules are a closely-held secret so our schedule today may be amended on short notice. The usual tour includes a motor coach tour which criss-crosses the centre's mammoth facility, including stops at various assembly buildings, launch pads and control centres.

Hotel Central is located in the heart of Cayenne close to the historic Palmistes Square just a short walk from the shopping streets and the business district.

Overnight at Central Hotel in a standard room. B

Meals Included: Breakfast

Day 10 | Saturday - Tour Ends

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