A first-timer’s guide to Guyana

12.06.2024 - 14:29 / lonelyplanet.com

Jun 12, 2024 • 10 min read

A multicultural, vibrant country teeming with rare wildlife, Guyana is yet little-known and little-visited. Even those who live there don’t tend to venture too far from the coast. Those who do make the effort to explore are met with one of the most untouched and majestic landscapes to be found, populated with bright rainforest birds and giant mammals, untrammeled trails and charming lodges. The relatively underdeveloped tourist infrastructure leads to both delightful adventure – as well as practical obstacles.

Consider a trip to Guyana if you want to go where few tourists have ventured; you love wildlife; you want to experience a mix of cultures; you find allure in rustic and roughing-it travel; and you have a yen for astonishing landscapes that haven’t changed in hundreds of years. 

From the heat and humidity that hits you in the face as you land to the view of stars blanketing the sky above a boat on the Rupununi River, Guyana is a feast for the senses, and it is just waiting to be explored.

Flights to Guyana don’t run directly from many regions, but the number is increasing all the time. International flights usually land in Cheddi Jagan International Airport just outside Georgetown, Guyana’s capital and most populous city.

Flights to Cheddi Jagan run from the UK, the Caribbean, and various cities in northern, central and southern America. The border to Brazil can be crossed via taxi from Lethem, which will leave you in Bonfim. Lethem has a small airport for mainly domestic flights, or you can drive on the main road from Georgetown (roughly 550 kms). Access is not possible to Venezuela, where the border is disputed. There is also a ferry to Suriname that runs once a day, but it is busy and you will need to queue from early morning to get onboard.

Internally, travel isn’t seamless. The Georgetown to Lethem road is unpaved red clay, and currently takes 14 hours in a 4x4. There are plans for it to be paved, but the work is slow, and locals are not optimistic about it getting finished any time soon. When that road is paved, though, it will make domestic travel a lot easier. At the moment there is very little traffic on the road except during rodeo. Off this main road, you’ll be on rough, bumpy trails or traveling by river.

Domestic flights are by far the quickest way to get around the country, but they don’t run cheap. Trans Guyana Airways flies between Lethem and the Ogle airport in Georgetown once a day for USD$200 each way (at time of writing). Keep in mind, if you’re planning to take domestic flights, planes are small and weight limits are low. You will need to pack light. Considering these obstacles, the easiest way to get around Guyana is with a pre-booked itinerary. 

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