How to get to Guyana: airports, flights and border crossings

Book a flight into Cheddi Jagan International Airport (GEO) unless you are coming overland from Brazil or Suriname. Georgetown is the arrival base, and the interior — Kaieteur Falls, Iwokrama, the Rupununi — is reached by light aircraft or long rough roads from there, so most travellers fly in, spend 2 nights in Georgetown, then join a lodge package.

There is no nonstop service from Europe, Australia or New Zealand. You connect in New York, Miami, Toronto, Panama City or Port of Spain. From the US east coast the nonstop is short; from further afield plan a full travel day or an overnight in the connecting city.

Cheddi Jagan International Airport (GEO) at Timehri handles almost all international arrivals. It sits about 40 km south of central Georgetown on the road to the interior, so a taxi into the city takes roughly 45–60 minutes depending on traffic. Agree the fare before you get in, or pre-book through your hotel.

Ogle Airport, closer to Georgetown, mostly serves domestic and regional flights — including the small planes to Kaieteur Falls and the Rupununi lodges. If your itinerary includes an interior flight, check whether it leaves from Ogle or from GEO; they are different airports.

Eugene F. Correia International Airport is the other name you may see for Ogle; treat them as the same place.

1. Check your entry paperwork first. Most visitors need a visa, available as an e-visa or on arrival for many nationalities; confirm the current rule for your passport before you book anything non-refundable. See Guyana visa and entry requirements.

2. Pick your gateway. From the US, New York and Miami give the shortest trips. From Canada, Toronto. From Europe, connect through New York, Miami or Panama City. From Australia and New Zealand, expect at least two connections and a long transit.

3. Book the Georgetown nights before the interior. Lodges at Iwokrama, Surama, Karanambu and Rewa work as packages with their own airstrip transfers, and they fill in the dry season (Sep–Apr).

4. Arrange the airport transfer. Taxis are the normal option from GEO; there is no train. Confirm the price in Guyanese dollars or US dollars before departure.

5. If you are coming overland, plan the border day separately. From Brazil the route runs Boa Vista – Lethem; from Suriname it is a river crossing in the south of the country. Both are slow, and both need a check on current transport and opening times.

Guyana uses the Guyanese dollar; carry some cash for the airport taxi and small purchases, and check the current rate before you land. Plugs are a mix of types A, B, D and G at 110 V and 240 V, so bring an adapter that handles both.

The interior is not reached by ordinary rental car. Light aircraft from Ogle, or organised 4x4 transfers on rough roads, are the standard ways in — book these as part of a lodge package rather than improvising.

Travel insurance that covers domestic light-aircraft flights and remote-area medical evacuation is worth having for an interior trip. Check the policy before you fly.