Kourou to Oiapoque, including crossing the Río Oiapoque in a Pirogue

This is how I travelled overland from Kourou in French Guiana to the town of Oiapoque in Brazil, a journey that took just over four hours.

Upon arriving in Kourou, the number one priority had been to find a way of getting out.

I hadn’t found anything concrete in my research.

And to make it harder for myself, the day I wanted to leave was going to be a Sunday and nothing much moves on a Sunday in France, even less in the remote outpost of French Guiana.

Ideally, I wanted to get to Cayenne and get straight on a bus or whatever existed to Saint-Georges, also known as Saint-Georges-de-l’Oyapock, the border with Brazil.

If I am to trust/believe any travel blogs, I want photos.

If someone said they took a bus, why not go all in and take a photo? That goes a long way to gaining credibility as a travel blogger on the road less travelled.

So I am travelling blind here. Trail blazing the public transportation in French Guiana.

Filling the massive void to help you guys plan your trip.

Don’t tell me you found the buses in French Guiana on Ai.

I am the boots on the ground.

I have been doing this for a long time. Finding transport in the arsch end of the world places is something I am good at. But here it was fucking difficult.

Having arrived in Kourou, I headed straight to the tourist office, even before dropping my bag off at my hotel.

I knew that buses went from Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni to Cayenne via Kourou.

I needed confirmation on the Sunday bus.

As per Google Maps, there was also a Ligne 5 service running between Kourou and Cayenne, even with one service on a Sunday. But I needed confirmation that this service still existed.

The tourist office was closed.

The lady in the florist’s next door didn’t know either. Of course she didn’t.

But she put me in the direction of where I could find the shared taxis, not that I could find them straight away, though.

I went to my lodgings, The N’ House, an apartment on Rue des Calabasses.

I let myself in, messaged my host to say I was here and then went looking for my way out.

There was no indication at the market in Kourou, where I was dropped off when arriving here, that it doubled as a bus station or even a place where buses occasionally stopped.

How do the bus companies expect people to use their buses if you don’t make it easy for them?

Seems everyone has a car, so what’s the point in even having buses?

I walked around. I asked a few people. Nobody knew anything.

Seems like the way things are here. No one knows anything.

I walked around some more. I asked two guys near the pharmacy, who thankfully put me right (they were from Suriname).

And there, tucked away off the main street (sort of near where the florist had said) were a few cars.

I walked over. Indeed I had found the parking lot where the shared-taxis went from.

It’s been years since I spoke French, but thanks to God, I could still remember what to say.

The ride would cost €60 for 4 people. So €15 each for just 60 km.

I said anytime was good. Even 6 am.

We swapped numbers and I would message him on Friday night to confirm, hoping that he managed to find three others.

But he didn’t find anyone.

My host came up trumps, though. She put a message on a FB group and found me a ride all the way to Saint-Georges for €50.

I couldn’t believe my luck. The only downside was that we would be leaving at 4 am.

Maybe you are wondering why all the stress?

French Guiana is not a backpacker’s paradise.

But there are no hostels in French Guiana.

There are two places that I found that offer hammock space, thanks but no thanks.

My hotel in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni cost me 4 times as much as I like to pay. Kourou was slightly cheaper but not a lot.

So, waiting another day until transport became available was not really an option.

Here’s how the day went:

The day started early. Very early. My driver, a guy from Peru, living in French Guiana, messaged me at 3.50 am to say he was on his way to pick me up.

At 4.20 am, we were on the way.

We stopped on the outskirts of Cayenne to pick up a Brazilian guy serving in the Foreign Legion.

Cayenne was successfully bypassed.

I did the Transportation Camp in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni and backpacked the town.

In Kourou, I went and saw the Dreyfus Tower:

Then I walked to the Space Centre and back, clocking up more than 15 km in the heat and humidity, wrapped up against the sun:

Mockup of the Ariane5 at the CSG in Kourou:

I had seen more of French Guiana than most. And I was content with what I had seen.

I didn’t care if I skipped Cayenne which had nothing of interest anyway. Ok if it’s cheap, but not ok when a room will cost you more than a hundred euros a night.

Another country visited without visiting the capital.

I let the Legionnaire sit in the front.

The ride to Saint-Georges passed easily enough, and then every idea, thought, and contingency plan I had made all turned out to be for nothing.

This is how I crossed the border from Saint-Georges in French Guiana to Oiapoque in Brazil.

The guy drove me to the French border post which is located just before the bridge.

The immigration office in town has been closed down since the new bridge was built.

I was expecting to have been dropped in town and have to walk the 6 km to the bridge, then I would need to walk across the bridge. And then walk into town. Quite a ways. More than 12 km and after yesterday’s excursion, my feel were a bit sore.

But no.

I went to the immigration office. They flicked through my passport and asked where I was going and the purpose of my trip.

They handed my passport back. No stamp given.

Back in the car, we drove back to the town of Saint-Georges and down to the river.

The Legion guy got out and took one boat (completely unsure why, as I saw him later in Oiapoque).

I was taken to another boat.

My driver came too. Dunno what his reason was.

It didn’t matter.

Then we set off up the Río Oiapoque in a pirogue, to the Brazilian town of Oiapoque, a journey which took 20 minutes.

Passing under the road bridge that connects French Guiana to Brazil:

I had planned on a whole lotta walking.

As I said, completely not what I was expecting.

The boat was 50 Reais, or 10 USD. I paid €10, which was a little more.

I dunno if this was the tourist price, but based on the distance/timing and the cost of what I paid when I crossed from Suriname to French Guiana at Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, it was about right.

No good fretting over it.

I didn’t have to walk more than 10 km with all my stuff in the stifling humidity.

And for that, I was happy!

The boat pulled in, just opposite the Hotel Hotel Kayama, the place that I had booked marked as a possible place to stay.

Bearing in mind, it was still 8.30 in the morning.

None of this “Check in is at 2 pm” bollocks that you get in the UK and French Guiana.

I was given room 19.

They know people are coming in on a night bus from Macapá. Here they are flexible!! Accommodating.

Oiapoque is a rough and ready little port town and compared to the almost clinical vibe in Kourou (it certainly is compared to Georgetown and Suriname), I immediately liked it.

The room wasn’t up to much. It’s based on two people sharing, so a bit steep for a solo backpacker, but hell, still a lot cheaper than French Guiana.

I collected my thoughts and then headed to the immigration office at the Policia Federal:

…where I got my entry stamp (there is also the immigration office on the Brazilian side of the bridge):

I changed €50 into Reais.

For information purposes for those going the other way, I asked the cost of the taxi to the bridge:

• Oiapoque to the Brazilian immigration: 30 Reais
• Oiapoque to the French immigration: 50 Reais

But if you used the taxi to the bridge, then what? You’d be 6 km from Saint-Georges

Time to rest and then check out the bus for Macapá tomorrow.

I have a Latam Airlines flight from Macapá to Belém on Friday.

The journey is unfolding well.