Explore Georgetown's colonial wooden architecture
Guyana's capital retains a distinctive collection of colonial-era wooden buildings, including St. George's Cathedral, one of the tallest wooden buildings in the world.
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South America
Things to do in Guyana
South America's only English-speaking country, a waterfall nearly five times the height of Niagara hidden deep in untouched rainforest, and one of the least-visited destinations on the entire continent.
Explore Guyana on the map →Budget$$
Best for8-10 days
CapitalGeorgetown
VisaVisa-free entry for up to 90 days for US, UK, EU, Canadian, and Australian passport holders.
CurrencyGuyanese dollar (GYD)
LanguagesEnglish (official); Guyanese Creole widely spoken
InternetGood in Georgetown, very limited in the rainforest interior
Typical lodging$30–$85/night
Driving sideLeft
Power & voltage120/240V / 60Hz (Type A/B/D/G plug, mixed)
Time zoneUTC-4
Emergency number911
Dialing code+592
★★★★★ Wildlife★★★★★ Adventure★★★★★ Photography
Visa rules and emergency numbers can change without notice. Confirm the specifics for your nationality and dates before you travel.
Travel smart
Bottled or filtered water recommended. 10% at restaurants is common.
Kaieteur Falls, deep in Guyana's rainforest interior, drops water in a single unbroken plunge nearly five times the height of Niagara Falls, yet remains genuinely uncrowded due to its remote location, reachable only by small aircraft or a demanding multi-day trek. Guyana is also the only English-speaking country in South America, a legacy of British colonial rule, and holds one of the highest percentages of untouched primary rainforest of any nation on Earth, with over 80% of its territory still forested.
When to go
Short dry seasonFebruary–April
A brief dry window, good for the interior rainforest and Kaieteur Falls, though rain can still occur.
Long wet seasonMay–August
The heaviest rains of the year, with rivers and waterfalls at their most dramatic and full.
Long dry seasonSeptember–November
The most reliable and popular window for interior travel, with lower rainfall and easier access to remote areas.
Short wet seasonDecember–January
A second, shorter rainy stretch before the brief dry season returns.
20 things to do
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Culture & history
5Visit an Indigenous Amerindian village in the Rupununi
Guyana's interior is home to several Indigenous communities maintaining distinct traditions, visited respectfully through community-based tourism programs.
Explore Georgetown's Stabroek Market
A distinctive cast-iron market building and clock tower at the heart of the capital, a genuine hub of everyday Guyanese commerce.
Visit the 1763 Monument commemorating the Berbice slave rebellion
A landmark sculpture in Georgetown honoring a significant 18th-century uprising against Dutch colonial rule, central to Guyanese national memory.
Visit the historic Dutch-era sea walls of Georgetown
Much of coastal Guyana sits below sea level, protected by a sea wall system dating to Dutch colonial engineering, reflecting the country's unusual coastal geography.
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Adventure & outdoors
2Boat the Essequibo River, South America's third-largest river
A vast river system dotted with rainforest islands, offering wildlife spotting and access to remote interior lodges.
Fish for arapaima, one of the world's largest freshwater fish
Guyana's rivers hold healthy populations of arapaima, reaching lengths of up to three metres, with catch-and-release fishing trips offered in the interior.
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Nature & scenery
3Fly to Kaieteur Falls, one of the world's most powerful single-drop waterfalls$200–250
A single unbroken plunge nearly five times the height of Niagara Falls, remaining genuinely uncrowded due to its remote rainforest location.
Explore the savanna landscapes around Lethem
A frontier town near the Brazilian border, gateway to the vast Rupununi savanna and its distinctive cattle-ranching culture.
Explore Georgetown's Botanical Gardens and Promenade Gardens
Two historic green spaces in the capital showcasing tropical plant collections and offering a relaxed break from the city's colonial-era streets.
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Wildlife
7Spot giant river otters and caimans in the Rupununi wetlands
A remote savanna and wetland region in southern Guyana, among the best places in South America to reliably see giant river otters in the wild.
Search for the endangered harpy eagle in the rainforest interior
Guyana's dense, largely untouched rainforest holds a genuine population of harpy eagles, one of the largest and most powerful raptors in the world.
Visit the Iwokrama Rainforest Reserve's canopy walkway
A protected rainforest reserve with an elevated canopy walkway offering a rare bird's-eye perspective on Guyana's dense forest ecosystem.
Search for jaguars in the Rupununi savanna
Guyana's low population density and vast wilderness give it one of the healthiest remaining jaguar populations in South America, though sightings remain rare and require patience.
Visit the Kaieteur National Park rainforest surrounding the falls$200–250
Beyond the waterfall itself, the surrounding park holds distinctive tepui-adjacent flora and wildlife found in few other places in South America.
Explore Shell Beach's sea turtle nesting sites
A remote northwestern coastline supporting nesting for four species of sea turtle, among the least-visited nesting beaches in the Caribbean-Atlantic region.
Birdwatch for harpy eagles, toucans, and macaws in the interior
Guyana's low tourism numbers and vast intact rainforest make it an increasingly recognized birdwatching destination among serious enthusiasts.
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Food & drink
3Eat pepperpot, Guyana's national dish
A rich, slow-cooked meat stew flavored with cassareep, a cassava-based sauce, traditionally prepared for Christmas but eaten year-round.
Try Guyanese roti and curry, a legacy of Indian indenture
A significant Indo-Guyanese population has shaped the country's cuisine, with roti and curry reflecting a genuine, distinct Caribbean-Indian culinary fusion.
Try Guyanese black cake, a rum-soaked fruit cake
A dense, dark fruit cake soaked in rum, a genuine holiday tradition shared across Guyana's Caribbean and South American cultural influences.
Common questions
▾Do I need a visa for Guyana?
Most Western passport holders, including US, UK, EU, Canadian, and Australian citizens, can enter visa-free for up to 90 days for tourism.
▾How do I get to Kaieteur Falls?
Most visitors fly in on a small chartered aircraft from Georgetown for a day trip, as the alternative, a multi-day trek through dense rainforest, is genuinely demanding and requires serious logistical planning.
▾Is Guyana part of the Caribbean or South America?
Geographically it's on the South American mainland, but it maintains strong cultural, linguistic, and political ties to the English-speaking Caribbean through CARICOM membership, giving it a genuinely dual identity.
▾Is Guyana safe and easy to travel around?
Georgetown and the main interior rainforest lodges see regular, safe tourism; the country's low visitor numbers mean infrastructure is less developed than neighboring destinations, so booking through an established operator is strongly recommended for interior travel.
▾How many days does Guyana need?
8-10 days lets you combine Georgetown, a Kaieteur Falls excursion, and a rainforest or savanna lodge stay in the interior, given the significant travel time and logistics involved in reaching remote areas.
▾How much does it cost to visit Kaieteur Falls?
There's no separate entrance fee to the falls themselves, but most visitors reach them via a chartered flight from Georgetown, typically running $200-250 USD round trip given how remote the site is. That flight cost, rather than any park fee, is the real budget item for this excursion.
