Saint-Georges (French Guiana) Voyage Tips and guide

Saint-Georges (also known as Saint-Georges-de-l'Oyapock) is in French Guiana.

Located at the Oyapock, the border river between French Guiana and Brazil, it used to be that you had pass through this town to cross between the two countries by boat. Nowadays, with the border bridge connecting the two countries and immigration/customs checkpoints right near the ends of the bridge, you might find yourself bypassing the town itself if you're on your way somewhere else. But it's still an interesting, lively riverside border town. The town on the Brazilian side is Oiapoque, located closer to the bridge a few kilometers upstream.

A detachment of the French Foreign Legion is stationed in Saint-Georges.

The bridge connection from Oiapoque in Brazil has been operational since 2017, and as of 2025 crossing the river by boat is now illegal, at least if you plan to continue deeper into either country. If you only plan to hop back and forth between the border towns/villages, this seems, at the very least, to be tolerated for locals, and perhaps legal - but check before assuming anything.

Conveniently for the rest of us, there are now normal immigration/customs checkpoints at either end of the bridge, and it's no longer necessary to seek out the customs/police offices in either town during short business hours to get your passport stamped. The bridge crossing may be closed at night and very early in the morning, but is now operating roughly all day, in contrast to the more limited hours back when it first opened.

You are perfectly welcome to cross the bridge on foot, but note that it's a quite a long walk from the populated part of one border town to the other (give yourself at least two hours). A more typical plan if you want to experience it is to take a taxi to the first immigration checkpoint, walk the bridge to the opposite checkpoint (still a good 20+ minute walk, with limited shade), and then continue from there by taxi or hitchhiking (some of the French border police are very friendly to hitchhikers). There doesn't seem to be any local public transportation.

In past years some travelers have reported that they weren't allowed to bring certain kinds of vans across the border. Rental cars are probably not allowed either.

From French Guiana's capital Cayenne you can get in by bus (transfer in Régina) or car. There is an airstrip but no passenger flights.

The town is small and you can get anywhere by foot.

• 3.873333-51.8161671 Oyapock river bridge. The bridge across the river is probably the most prominent landmark. It was completed in 2011, and opened to traffic in 2017 due to delays in constructing Brazilian checkpoint facilities.  
• The town hall.  

Fishing, kayaking and rafting in the river.

There are two hotels in the town:

• Caz-Calé.  
• Chez Modestine.  

Most people continue their journey either towards Cayenne by minibus €30/person (hitch hiking is possible but as the main highway only serves Saint George and the closed bridge to Brazil you may need to be patient). or across the bridge to Oiapoque, Brazil.

Possible destinations between here and Cayenne (there aren't many!) are the town of Régina and the Hmong (Southeast Asian) village of Cacao. You could probably also travel upstream along the Oyapock River into the rainforest.