Oiapoque in Brazil is not your typical tourist destination, that’s for sure.
It’s a transit town.
It’s on the banks of the Rio Oiapoque. The town across the river in French Guiana is Saint-Georges-de-l’Oyapock.
Having travelled from Kourou in French Guiana, I arrive in Oiapoque, in a pirogue:
If you are travelling through Guyana, Suriname and French Guinana, you will end up coming through here on your way to/from Macapá and Belém.
Only hardcore travellers would opt to stay overnight.
It’s that sort of place.
I wanted to get the feel of a small Brazilian town, so I stayed the night at the Hotel Kayama which I found on Google Maps.
Someone had listed the price as 160 Reais. The others were much higher. So the Kayama was where I went. As of May 2026 the room rate was 170 Reais.
I had arrived early, like at 8.30 am and they were very accommodating, letting me check in immediately.
if you need cash, there is the Bradesco Bank with free ATM withdrawals.
I went up the street a few blocks to get stamped in at the Policia Federal.
I went to the Terminal Rodoviario to check out the buses to Macapá.
The only options are night buses to Macapá, run by three different companies:
- AmapaTur: 8 pm
- Santanense: 6 pm and 9.30 pm
- Amazon: 7 pm and 10 pm
They are all scheduled to take 12 hour and charge 190 Reais.
I chose Santanense based on the departure time.
The only thing of interest in town is the I Love Oiapoque sign and the small memorial with the Flag of Brazil on top.
However, watching the boats and the river was probably the high point of my stay in Oiapoque:
Sitting there quietly is the best therapy in this ever maddening noisy FOMO world.
There are a few places to get food along the river. I was there on a Sunday and everything had pretty much closed down by 6 pm.
Monday was a wet kind of a day. They let me keep my room until 1 pm. I walked around in between the heavy downpours.
I had a last feed at one of the food stalls near the river and then headed to the bus station and waited for the bus to Macapá:
Some of the best places for our mental health are quiet hub towns like this one.
FOMO is big in this world; right down to the fear of missing out on seemingly special tourist destinations to tick off of a list.
Relaxing in a place with some boats, a colorful sign and a place to grab basic food clears the mind of its attachments because there is nothing else to do or see.
Let the downpours commence. I love watching these deluges in the tropics. Therapy.
You hit the nail on the head there. That’s how it was in the old days (I started travelling in 1992). There were no distractions. We lived in the moment. Then it was normal. Now we have to really think consciously. Time out is needed!!! hence the day off from the phone.