French Guiana Space & History: 6 Days Amazon Frontier

Tour Overview

Itinerary Highlights

Day 1: Arrive Cayenne — Welcome to l’Amazonie Française

Arrive at Félix Eboué Airport. Transfer to your hotel in Cayenne. Afternoon walk through the city’s colorful streets — Place des Palmistes with its towering royal palms, Place de Grenoble (locally called Place des Amandiers for its almond trees), and the pastel-painted Creole houses with their ornate balconies. Dinner at a traditional Creole restaurant — accras de morue (salt cod fritters), colombo de poulet (chicken curry), and ti’punch (rum, lime, and cane sugar). Overnight in Cayenne.

Day 2: Cayenne — Creole Capital & Penal Colony History

Full day in Cayenne. Morning: visit the Musée Départemental Alexandre-Franconie for an excellent overview of Guianese history, natural history, and the penal colony era. Visit Fort Cépérou for panoramic views of the city and the Cayenne River. Walk through the Chinese quarter and the bustling Cayenne Market (Marché de Cayenne) — the Amazon comes to the city here with exotic spices, unfamiliar fruits, and crafts from indigenous communities. Afternoon at the beach in Rémire-Montjoly — kilometers of untouched Atlantic coast just minutes from the capital. Overnight in Cayenne.

Day 3: Guiana Space Centre — Europe’s Gateway to Space

Full-day at the Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG) in Kourou. This is one of the world’s three major spaceports (along with Cape Canaveral and Baikonur) and Europe’s only launch site. Tour the Ariane launch pad, the Soyuz launch complex, and the Vega launch facility — all surrounded by tropical rainforest. Visit the Space Museum with actual rocket engines and interactive exhibits. If you’re lucky, your visit coincides with a launch — watching a rocket blast into space from the edge of the Amazon is one of travel’s most surreal experiences. Overnight in Kourou.

Day 4: Devil’s Island — The Islands of Salvation

Morning catamaran from Kourou across the turquoise water to the Îles du Salut. Explore Île Royale (the largest island) with its prison buildings, hospital, guards’ quarters, and the ruined chapel. Walk the path to Devil’s Island itself (Île du Diable), the most notorious of the three. The island is closed to visitors, but you can see it from Île Royale. The contrast between the brutal history of this place and its current beauty — palm trees, macaws, azure water — is overwhelming. Afternoon return to Kourou. Overnight in Kourou.

Day 5: Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni — The Gateway to Hell

Drive west along the coast to Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, on the Maroni River at the Suriname border. Visit the Camp de la Transportation, the main reception center for convicts sent to French Guiana. Walk through the cells, the solitary confinement block, the hospital, and stand in the courtyard where the guillotine was used. Visit the cemetery where prisoners were buried. The camp’s well-preserved state makes this an intimate and powerful encounter with history. Afternoon: boat trip on the Maroni River to visit an Amerindian village and learn about the indigenous peoples of French Guiana. Overnight in Saint-Laurent.

Day 6: Depart French Guiana

Morning at the Saint-Laurent market where Maroon and Amerindian craftspeople sell their work. Drive back to Cayenne. Transfer to airport for departure.

Inclusions

• 5 nights (Cayenne + Kourou + Saint-Laurent hotels)
• Daily breakfast + 3 dinners
• Guiana Space Centre full-day tour
• Devil’s Island catamaran excursion
• Camp de la Transportation full visit
• Maroni River Amerindian village boat trip
• Cayenne guided city tour
• All ground transport
• English-speaking guide
• Airport transfers

Why French Guiana

• Watch a rocket launch from the edge of the Amazon jungle
• Devil’s Island — stand where Papillon escaped from
• Camp de la Transportation — the most intact penal colony site in the world
• Cayenne — Creole France with palm trees and pastel architecture
• The only part of the European Union in South America — and its most extraordinary