French Guiana is a French department on the northern coast of South America, and it drives like one: same signs, same road code, traffic on the right. What changes is the geography. Everything sits along a single coastal strip, distances between towns are real, and public transport between communes is limited. Most visitors end up renting a car.
This guide covers whether your licence works, what paperwork to carry, how car hire and airport pick-up work, what the two national roads actually connect, and how to plan a stay around driving. At Amazon Conciergerie we book guests into homes across Cayenne, Rémire-Montjoly and Roura every week, and the first question is almost always the same one: do I need a car?
Does your driving licence work in French Guiana?
Because French Guiana is a French overseas department, the rules are the French rules, not separate local ones. As general information: a valid EU or EEA licence is recognised in France for as long as it remains valid, with no extra formality for a holiday. A licence issued outside the EU or EEA is generally accepted for a temporary stay, provided it is valid, and is usually expected to come with an official French translation or an International Driving Permit (IDP), the standard multilingual version of your licence. An IDP is never valid on its own, only together with the original document.
An IDP must be obtained in the country that issued your licence, before you travel, so it cannot be sorted out on arrival. Rental companies also add their own conditions: minimum driver age, minimum years since the licence was issued, and a credit card in the driver’s name for the deposit.
These rules change and depend on the country that issued your licence, so treat this as orientation and confirm the current position with the French authorities and your rental company before booking: the official reference is the public service page on driving in France with a foreign licence. In the car, carry the original licence, your translation or IDP, your passport or ID, and the rental documents.
Renting a car and picking it up at Cayenne Félix-Éboué airport
Most international flights land at Cayenne Félix-Éboué airport, in Matoury, and the main rental companies have desks there as well as offices in Cayenne. Picking up at the airport is the simplest option: you land, collect the keys and drive to your accommodation without arranging a transfer.
Fleets here are small, and demand peaks around school holidays, Carnival and rocket launches, so book early rather than on arrival. Manual transmission is the default, as in mainland France; ask explicitly if you need an automatic. Check the desk is staffed for your flight time, since agencies often keep office hours with a lunchtime break. And photograph the car all round before leaving the car park.
A standard car is enough for everything most visitors do: the coastal towns, the beaches, the restaurants, the trailheads. A four-wheel drive only matters if you plan to take unpaved forest tracks, which is a different kind of trip and better done with a local guide.
The two national roads and what they actually connect
The network is essentially two national roads leaving Cayenne, plus departmental roads branching off them. There are no motorways and no alternative routes: if a road is closed, there is generally no way round.
The RN1 runs west from Cayenne towards Kourou, then Sinnamary, and on to Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni on the Suriname border. It is the axis of the coast and the road you take for the Guiana Space Centre. The RN2 runs south-east towards Roura, then Régina, and ends at Saint-Georges-de-l’Oyapock on the Brazilian border. Both are surfaced, but they are two-lane roads through forest and savannah, not fast highways.
Beyond the coastal strip, everything changes. There is no road into the interior: communes such as Maripasoula or Saül are reached by plane or river pirogue, not by car. Service stations follow the towns, so they are frequent around Cayenne and much sparser once you head out along the RN1 or the RN2. Fill up before a long leg, not after, and do not count on fuel late in the evening in a small commune.
Distances, journey times and driving conditions
| Route | Road | Distance and time | What it is for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cayenne to Rémire-Montjoly | Local roads | Neighbouring commune, a short drive | Beaches, the airport (about 15 minutes away) |
| Cayenne to Roura | RN2 | About 30 minutes | Nature, the Comté bridge, the Kaw marshes |
| Cayenne to Kourou | RN1 | About 65 km, roughly 1 hour | Guiana Space Centre, beaches |
| Cayenne to Sinnamary | RN1 | Beyond Kourou, on the way west | Stopover on the road to Saint-Laurent |
| Cayenne to Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni | RN1 | About 250 km, roughly 3 hours | Maroni river, the west, Suriname border |
| Cayenne to Régina and Saint-Georges-de-l’Oyapock | RN2 | The full length of the RN2 east | The east, Brazilian border |
Journey times stretch: roadworks, slow lorries you cannot easily overtake, towns strung along a single line. Leave a margin and plan long legs for the morning. Night falls early and fast near the equator, and unlit roads with roadside vegetation and occasional animals are another proposition after dark.
The rainy season, roughly December to June, deserves its own reflex. Downpours are heavy and sudden, visibility drops within seconds, and the surface turns slippery after a dry spell. Slow down, lengthen the gap to the car in front, and if the rain is torrential, pull over somewhere safe and wait it out. Side tracks that are fine in the dry season can turn to mud in the wet one.
Parking, and where to stay if you want to drive as little as possible
Parking is free and easy almost everywhere outside central Cayenne. In the centre it is another story: the streets around the Place des Palmistes and the covered market fill up on weekday mornings and market days, so a home with its own parking space is worth a lot. Wherever you park, leave nothing visible in the car. From there, two strategies work.
Walkable central Cayenne
If you would rather not drive for part of your stay, base yourself in the historic centre. L’écrin tropical is a modernised creole house with a garden and its original well, sleeping six in three air-conditioned bedrooms, with the Place des Palmistes, the covered market, Fort Cépérou and Saint-Sauveur cathedral all on foot. Spend two or three days there without touching a car, then hire one for the excursions. Book it on Airbnb or Booking.
Homes with parking on site
If you have a car for the whole stay, choose a home where you can park it. Our guests most often pick:
- Studio Jacuzzi Privatif, Rémire-Montjoly: an air-conditioned studio for two with a private outdoor jacuzzi, free parking and self check-in by key box, which suits a late arrival. Book on Airbnb.
- Cocon Montabo, Montabo district of Cayenne: an air-conditioned studio for two with equipped kitchen, Wi-Fi and parking, close to the beach. Book on Booking.
- T2 central Cayenne: a one-bedroom flat downtown with private parking, the hardest combination to find in the centre. Book on Airbnb.
- Natura Lodge, Roura, about 30 minutes from Cayenne: a fully private lodge on 5,000 m2 with a natural stream, sleeping 14, parking on site, reached by standard car. Book on Airbnb or on Booking.
The full selection is on our accommodation page, and our English guide to where to stay in French Guiana compares the neighbourhoods in more detail.
FAQ
Do I need an International Driving Permit to drive in French Guiana?
It depends where your licence was issued. EU and EEA licences are recognised as they are. Licences from elsewhere are generally accepted for a temporary stay with an official French translation or an International Driving Permit. Check the official public service page and confirm with your rental company, which may be stricter than the law.
Which side of the road do you drive on?
On the right, as in mainland France, with the same signage and road code. Drivers used to driving on the left should give themselves an easy first day, especially at roundabouts and junctions.
Can I get around without a car?
Within central Cayenne, yes, easily on foot. Between communes it is harder: buses and shared taxis exist but run to limited timetables, so most visitors use a car for the beaches, Kourou, Roura and anything off the main line. A good compromise is a walkable base plus a rental for the days you need it.
Is a standard car enough, or do I need a 4×4?
A standard car handles the RN1, the RN2 and the coastal towns, and reaches all our homes, including Natura Lodge in Roura. A four-wheel drive only matters for unpaved forest tracks, which are harder going in the rainy season and best approached with local advice.
Planning a stay around your driving
The right accommodation makes the car question simpler: a walkable base if you want to leave the keys alone, a home with parking if you want the freedom to explore. Tell us how you plan to move around and we will point you to the property that fits.
Message us on WhatsApp for a fast reply, email contact@amazon-conciergerie-guyane.com, or use our contact page. You can book directly with us with no commission, see what we handle on the services page, and if you are moving here rather than visiting, our relocation and settling-in service covers the first steps. We speak French, English, Spanish and Portuguese.