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Voykit pocket guide · Guyana
Georgetown
Georgetown is a base-and-mornings city: see the market, the cathedral and the gardens in the morning, rest indoors at midday, be off the street before dark, and use a taxi your hotel trusts for every ride after sunset.
Georgetown is a low, hot capital of wooden colonial buildings below sea level, with a large market, a cathedral, botanic gardens and a seawall. It is the base for Kaieteur Falls and the interior lodges. Street crime is a real risk, so the plan is daytime walking inside small areas, taxis between them and none after dark. Four clusters cover a first visit; two nights is enough before the interior.
- Country
- Guyana
- Best months
- Feb · Mar · Apr · Sep · Oct
- Time zone
- America/Guyana
- Stay
- 1 days: Stabroek Market and the cathedral in one morning
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- GYD
- Money
- Cash in Guyanese dollars for everything outside hotels; cards work in larger hotels, some restaurants and tour offices. Carry small notes and keep a US-dollar backup.
- Daily spend
- Budget G$8,000–15,000 excl. bed · Mid G$15,000–35,000 excl. bed · High G$35,000+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- Buy a prepaid SIM from a mobile-network shop with your passport (Digicel and GTT are the main networks); check current plans and airport counters.
- Emergency
- Police 911 · Ambulance and fire check
- Plugs
- About 240 V, 60 Hz. Sockets in use include types A, B, D and G: bring a universal adapter.
- Tipping
- Not compulsory. 10% at sit-down restaurants where no service charge is added; round up for taxis.
- Water
- Do not drink the tap water; use bottled or filtered water and skip ice from unknown sources.
- Toilets
- Hotels, cafés and the few malls; carry tissues and some small notes.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Cook-up or curry lunch | G$1,200–3,000 |
| Roti with curry | G$800–2,000 |
| Bottled water | G$200–400 |
| Short taxi ride | G$1,000–2,500 |
| Airport transfer | G$8,000–12,000 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- Cheddi Jagan International Airport (GEO), Timehri
- GEO to Georgetown: one hotel-arranged car for about 41 km (25 mi), 45–75 minutes — the risk is the airport road at night and a driver you did not book.GEO to Georgetown: one hotel-arranged car for about 25 mi (41 km), 45–75 minutes — the risk is the airport road at night and a driver you did not book.
- Eugene F. Correia International Airport (OGL), Ogle
- OGL to Georgetown: one hotel-arranged car, 20–40 minutes for about 10 km (6.2 mi) — the risk is a late small-plane landing with nobody waiting.OGL to Georgetown: one hotel-arranged car, 20–40 minutes for about 6.2 mi (10 km) — the risk is a late small-plane landing with nobody waiting.
By rail and road
| Station | Serves | To the centre |
|---|---|---|
| Cheddi Jagan International Airport (GEO) | Most international arrivals | Hotel-arranged car, 45–75 min |
| Ogle Airport (OGL) | Internal flights to the interior and regional charters | Taxi, 20–30 min |
Typical fares
- Airport to town
- G$8,000–12,000, 45–75 min
- Short taxi ride in town
- G$1,000–2,500
Show 8 more sections and the pocket cardHideGet around, See and do, Eat, Sleep, Phrase card, Etiquette, safety and scams, One and two days, Sources, Pocket card
Get around
Walk inside a cluster by day; taxi between them and always after dark. Minibuses exist but are crowded and not for visitors with bags.
| How | Fare | Use for |
|---|---|---|
| Walking | Free | Inside one cluster, in daylight |
| Hotel-arranged taxi | G$1,000–2,500 in town | Between clusters, with bags, after dark |
| Minibus | Low | Locals |
Fares are estimates; check before you ride.
- Passes
- No pass. Minibuses exist but are crowded and not for visitors with bags: use hotel-arranged taxis and agree the fare first.
- Late at night
- No rail. Taxis are easy by day and scarcer late: ask the hotel to book the ride back before you go out.
See and do
01St George's Cathedral
The most distinctive wooden landmark in the city.
02Stabroek Market
The everyday heart of Georgetown, best early.
03Botanical Gardens
Shaded, calm and home to the manatees.
04Kingston seawall and Umana YanaKingston seawall
The seawall and Umana Yana, best on a Sunday afternoon.
05Georgetown City Hall
A quick, striking timber Gothic building.
06National Museum of Guyana
A useful indoor stop for heat and rain.
07Castellani House (National Gallery of Art)
Guyanese art in a period timber house.
Hours and prices are desk estimates (checked 2026-09); anything marked (check) is not confirmed. Coordinates open in any map app.
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Kaieteur Falls | Day flight from Ogle airport with a registered operator, about 1 h each way | Full day |
| Bartica and the Essequibo | Road to Parika (about 1 h), then a fast boat, about 1 h | Full day or overnight |
| Shell Beach | Organised trip by road and boat, check | Overnight |
Eat
| Where | What · area | Price | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| An Indo-Guyanese roti and curry shop | Roti with curry · Stabroek | G$800–2,000 | Budget |
| A local bakery for cheese rolls and pine tarts | Cheese roll and juice · Stabroek | G$150–700 | Budget |
| Seawall snack and drinks vendors | Coconut water and snacks · Kingston seawall | G$300–1,500 | Budget |
| Cook-up and curry lunch counters | Cook-up rice · Cathedral quarter | G$1,200–3,000 | Mid-range |
| A pepperpot and plait-bread lunch spot | Pepperpot and plait bread · Cathedral quarter | G$1,800–3,500 | Mid-range |
| A Chinese-Guyanese chow mein restaurant | Chicken chow mein · Cathedral quarter | G$2,000–4,500 | Mid-range |
Per person, one meal, 2026 estimate. Confirm opening days through your hotel: many small places close on Sunday.
Sleep
- Kingston hotels near the seawall
- Best first night: larger hotels with 24h desks, secure doors and car access; a taxi from every sight and no walking at night.
- Main Street and the cathedral area
- Older wooden hotels and guesthouses; close to the cathedral and the food counters, but check the door and the night desk.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Good morning | Good morninggood MOR-ning |
| Thank you | Thanks, bossthanks boss |
| How much is this? | How much this one?how much this WUN |
| Delicious | It sweetit SWEET |
| The bill, please | The bill, pleasethe BILL please |
| Please take me to this address | Take me to this address, pleasetake me to this ad-DRESS please |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greetings: Say good morning or good afternoon when you enter a shop or sit in a taxi; it matters.
- Places of worship: Cover shoulders and knees; take shoes off at mosques and temples.
- Photography: Ask before photographing people; never photograph police, military or government buildings.
- Tipping: Not compulsory; round up taxis and thank guides.
Red lines
- Ask before photographing people, especially at Stabroek Market.
- Dress modestly in the cathedral and in mosques and temples.
- Do not photograph police, military or government buildings.
Scams and watch-outs
- Unofficial taxi drivers at the airport or outside the market asking a very high fare: use your hotel car or a driver your hotel recommends.
- Street offers of currency exchange at a better rate: use banks and licensed exchange offices in daylight only.
- Anyone offering a "guide" or interior trip on the street: book Kaieteur and lodge trips through a registered operator.
- Distraction thefts in the market: keep phones and cash out of sight and in front.
One and two days
1 day
The first day of the timed plan.
Day 1 — Stabroek Market at 07:30, the cathedral, a 12:30 lunch table
- 07:307:30 AMStabroek Market
- St George's Cathedral
- Georgetown City Hall (optional)
- National Museum of Guyana (optional)
- 12:3012:30 PMLunch table 12:30 (town centre)Lunch table 12:30 PM (town centre)
- Hotel or AC café 13:00–16:00; a taxi to the seawall at 16:30 if energy allows, back by 18:00.Hotel or AC café 1:00 PM–4:00 PM; a taxi to the seawall at 4:30 PM if energy allows, back by 6:00 PM.
2 days
The first two days of the timed plan.
Day 1 — Stabroek Market at 07:30, the cathedral, a 12:30 lunch table
- 07:307:30 AMStabroek Market
- St George's Cathedral
- Georgetown City Hall (optional)
- National Museum of Guyana (optional)
- 12:3012:30 PMLunch table 12:30 (town centre)Lunch table 12:30 PM (town centre)
- Hotel or AC café 13:00–16:00; a taxi to the seawall at 16:30 if energy allows, back by 18:00.Hotel or AC café 1:00 PM–4:00 PM; a taxi to the seawall at 4:30 PM if energy allows, back by 6:00 PM.
Day 2 — Botanical Gardens at opening
- 07:307:30 AMBotanical Gardens
- Kingston seawall and Umana Yana (optional)
- Castellani House (National Gallery of Art) (optional)
- Evening: back at the hotel before dark; dinner in the hotel or by hotel taxi.
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Guyana Tourism Authority (official): guyana-tourism.com/
- Wikivoyage — Georgetown (Guyana): en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Georgetown_(Guyana)
- Wikivoyage — Guyana: en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Guyana
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Georgetown
Take me to this address, please
Please take me to this address
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
Take me to
- Kingston seawallKingston seawall and Umana Yana
Carry a copy of your passport, not the original, by day; keep cash in small notes and out of sight.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/georgetown-guyana). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.