Guyana · Demerara
Georgetown
The capital of South America's only English-speaking country: a wooden city below sea level, and the way in to Kaieteur Falls.
Guyana's capital sits at the mouth of the Demerara River below high-tide level, kept dry by a seawall and a grid of old Dutch drainage canals. It is a low, green, weathered city of white timber buildings, crowned by St George's Cathedral, one of the tallest wooden churches in the world, and it feels more Caribbean than South American: English-speaking, cricket-mad and proud of its rum. It has rough edges, and most visitors stay just long enough to see the centre before flying out to Kaieteur Falls or heading into the rainforest and savannah of the interior.
Suggested stay
2–3 days
Language
English
Currency
GYD
Timezone
UTC-4
Why you'll love Georgetown
The wooden city White timber buildings with Demerara windows line wide avenues laid on the old Dutch canal grid, and St George's Cathedral rises above them all.
Food Pepperpot black with cassareep, cook-up rice, curry and roti, cheese rolls and pine tarts. African, Indian, Amerindian, Portuguese and Chinese roots all turn up at the table, with aged Demerara rum to follow.
The seawall The wall that holds back the Atlantic is also the city's promenade, and on Sunday evenings Georgetown comes out to walk, eat and lime along it.
The gateway This is where the interior starts, with light aircraft to Kaieteur Falls, boats up the Essequibo and the long road south to the Rupununi savannah.
Best time to visit
Sep-Oct
31-32° days
6.803° N, 58.145° W
UTC-4 · America/Guyana
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Weather & when to go to Georgetown
Month by month: typical highs and lows, rainfall and rain days.
✓ Best Sep-Oct
Watch for May-Jul, Dec monsoon flooding risk · Jun-Nov cyclones & hurricanes risk
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
When to avoid Georgetown
The long rains run May-July and a second wet spell arrives in December, bringing heavy downpours that flood streets in a city built below sea level. September and October are the driest months. It is hot and humid all year, and the wet season is when Kaieteur Falls runs fullest.
Top things to do in Georgetown
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St George's Cathedral - the towering wooden cathedral
history culture arts ⭐ Highly recommendedThe Anglican cathedral, finished in the late 1800s largely in greenheart timber, rises to around 43 metres and is often cited as one of the tallest wooden churches in the world. The pale timber vaults inside are the reason to go. It is a working church, so dress for it and visit outside services.
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Stabroek Market - the cast-iron clock tower by the river
history shopping 👍 PopularThe city's great market hall, a Victorian cast-iron structure on the Demerara whose clock tower is Georgetown's best-known image. Produce, fish, spices, clothes and household goods fill it, with the main minibus park churning alongside. Go in daylight and keep bags close.
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The Seawall - Sunday evening on the Atlantic
culture arts scenic 👍 PopularThe long seawall that keeps the ocean out of the city doubles as its promenade, with a Victorian bandstand along the Kingston stretch. Walk it towards sunset, and on Sunday evenings join the families, snack vendors and music when Georgetown comes out to lime. Head back before full dark.
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Botanical Gardens - manatees and the blood-coloured woodpecker
nature wildlife ⭐ Highly recommendedColonial gardens of palms, ponds and canals east of the centre. West Indian manatees graze in the ponds, and birders come at dawn for the blood-coloured woodpecker, a species found only on the Guianas coast. The national zoo sits within the grounds.
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City Hall and Avenue of the Republic - Gothic in timber
history culture artsCity Hall is a white wooden Gothic Revival building of spires and tracery from the late 1800s, and it anchors a walk past the Victoria Law Courts with their statue of the queen, St Andrew's Kirk and, towards Stabroek, the colonnaded Parliament Building.
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Walter Roth Museum - Guyana's Indigenous heritage
culture arts historyA small museum of anthropology in a colonial house on Main Street, named for the doctor and ethnographer who recorded Amerindian life in British Guiana in the early 1900s. Pottery, basketry, weapons and ceremonial objects from the country's nine Indigenous nations make it the best primer before heading into the interior.
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Umana Yana - the Wai-Wai benab
culture artsA soaring cone of palm thatch on a frame of forest timber, built by Wai-Wai craftsmen from the far south as a meeting hall in the traditional benab style. It stands in Kingston near the seawall, an Amerindian landmark in the middle of the colonial city.
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Pepperpot and cook-up rice - eat Guyanese
foodGuyanese cooking is Indian, African, Amerindian, Portuguese and Chinese at once. Order pepperpot, meat slow-cooked dark in cassareep made from bitter cassava; cook-up rice with peas and coconut milk; curry with roti; and, from any bakery, cheese rolls, pine tarts and salara.
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El Dorado rum - Demerara's aged spirit
food historyDemerara rum is the country's proudest export and El Dorado its best-known name. The distillery at Diamond on the East Bank still runs historic wooden stills salvaged from old sugar estates, and heritage visits can be arranged; otherwise taste the aged rums anywhere in town.
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Providence Stadium - West Indies cricket
culture artsCricket is close to a religion here, and Guyana plays as part of the West Indies. The stadium on the East Bank, built for the 2007 World Cup, hosts internationals and Caribbean Premier League games, and a full house on match day is Georgetown at full volume.
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Kaieteur Falls - fly in to the great single drop
nature wildlife scenic 👍 PopularThe Potaro River falls about 226 metres in one plunge off a sandstone tableland deep in the rainforest, roughly four times the height of Niagara. Light aircraft land beside it, and guides walk you to the lip past giant bromeliads that hide tiny golden frogs. There are no crowds and no railings.
Best areas to stay in Georgetown
$ Budget $$ Mid-range $$$ Premium
Cummingsburg
First-time visitors $$Main Street, timber mansions and guesthouses
Explore hotels in Cummingsburg →
Kingston
Hotel comfort $$$Seawall hotels, embassies and sea breeze
Explore hotels in Kingston →
Queenstown
Quieter stays $$Quiet residential streets, lodge-style guesthouses
Explore hotels in Queenstown →
Live nightly prices from Booking.com, Agoda and others, centred on Georgetown
Getting to & around Georgetown
Getting there
Fly into Cheddi Jagan International at Timehri, about an hour south of the city; regional and interior flights use Ogle, just east of town.
Flight
Cheddi Jagan International Airport (GEO)
About 40 km south on the east bank of the Demerara, typically 45 minutes to an hour into the centre by taxi or hotel transfer, longer in traffic. Arrange the ride before you land.
Ferry
Moleson Creek
From Suriname, the Canawaima ferry crosses the Corentyne from South Drain to Moleson Creek, then minibuses run west along the coast road through New Amsterdam. Most of a day from Paramaribo.
Coach
From Brazil, cross the Takutu bridge from Bonfim to Lethem, then take the long bus north through the Rupununi and the Iwokrama rainforest on a largely unpaved road, usually overnight.
Getting around
Walking
The flat centre, from the seawall to Stabroek Market, is walkable by day. Take a taxi after dark, even for short hops.
Free
Taxi
Plentiful and unmetered. Agree the fare before you get in, or have your hotel or restaurant call a company it trusts.
TBC
Minibus
Loud, fast minibuses on numbered routes fan out from Stabroek and nearby parks. Pay the conductor in cash.
TBC
Water taxi
Speedboats cross the Demerara from beside Stabroek Market to Vreed-en-Hoop on the west bank.
TBC
Car hire
Useful along the coast. Guyana drives on the left, and roads into the interior need a 4x4 and local knowledge.
TBC
Day trips from Georgetown
Kaieteur Falls
Half dayRainforest waterfall
One of the world's great single-drop waterfalls, alone in the rainforest with a landing strip beside it. Some trips add Orinduik Falls on the Brazilian border. Flights go when enough seats sell and the cloud allows, so keep a spare day in hand.
Getting there
flight | tour
About an hour each way by light aircraft, mostly from Ogle
Mahaica River
Half dayHoatzin birding by boat
Guyana's national bird, the hoatzin or Canje pheasant, crested and prehistoric-looking, crowds the riverside bushes of the Mahaica. Early-morning boat trips drift past them, with kingfishers, herons and farmland along the banks.
Getting there
car | tour | ferry
About an hour east by road along the East Coast, then a small boat upriver
Fort Island and the Essequibo
Full dayRiver island fort
In the mouth of the Essequibo, Fort Island holds the brick walls of Fort Zeelandia and the Court of Policy, where the Dutch governed the Essequibo colony in the 1700s. Boat trips from Parika usually combine it with other islands on the wide, island-studded river.
Getting there
car | bus | ferry | tour
About an hour west by road over the Demerara Harbour Bridge to Parika, then a speedboat
A little history of Georgetown
Arawak, Carib and Warao peoples lived along this coast before the Dutch planted sugar colonies on the Essequibo, Demerara and Berbice rivers, worked by enslaved Africans. Georgetown began in the 1780s at the mouth of the Demerara, laid out during brief British and French occupations and named Stabroek by the returning Dutch. The British took the colony for good in the early 1800s, renamed the town for George III in 1812 and made it the capital of British Guiana in 1831. Dutch-style drainage canals and sluices, and the seawall built under British rule, are why a city below high-tide level stays dry at all.
As slavery ended in the 1830s, planters brought in indentured workers from Madeira, China and above all India, which is why the city eats curry and roti as readily as pepperpot. Guyana became independent in 1966 and a republic in 1970: the only English-speaking country in South America, and home to the CARICOM secretariat. The discovery of offshore oil in 2015 has since brought a building boom to the capital.
Back in control after British and French occupations, the Dutch give the new town at the mouth of the Demerara the name Stabroek.
The British, in control since 1803, rename Stabroek Georgetown in honour of George III.
Thousands of enslaved people rise on the East Coast Demerara plantations in the Demerara rebellion, which is put down within days.
Demerara-Essequibo and Berbice are united as British Guiana, with Georgetown as its capital.
Apprenticeship ends and the first indentured labourers from India arrive, the start of a migration that reshapes the country.
Guyana becomes independent, with Georgetown as its capital.
Guyana becomes a co-operative republic.
Providence Stadium, built on the East Bank for the tournament, hosts Cricket World Cup matches.
Oil starts to flow from offshore fields found in 2015, and money and construction pour into the capital.
Know before you go
Payment
Cash preferred
English
Everywhere
Wifi
Workable
Power
Type A / B
110/220 V, 50/60 Hz
Dialing
+592
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Cyclones & hurricanes risk in this window; check current conditions before you go.
The months our climate read flags to avoid: the wettest, lowest-rated weather of the year.
FAQs about Georgetown
▸ When is the best time to visit Georgetown?
September and October are the driest months and the easiest time to visit. The long rains run May-July and a second wet spell arrives in December, with heavy downpours and flooded streets in a city built below sea level. It is hot and humid all year. Kaieteur Falls runs fullest in the wet season, though flights are likelier to be held by cloud.
▸ How many days do I need in Georgetown?
Two or three days is plenty. Spend one on the centre: the cathedral, Stabroek Market, Main Street, the Botanical Gardens and the seawall at sunset. Give another to the flight to Kaieteur Falls, and a third to the Mahaica River or Fort Island on the Essequibo. Most visitors then head into the interior, to the Rupununi savannah or the Iwokrama rainforest.
▸ Is Georgetown safe to walk around?
Street crime is a genuine concern, so be deliberate rather than nervous. Explore the centre on foot by day, keep phones and jewellery out of sight, take taxis after dark even for short distances, and stay off the seawall and quiet streets at night. Stabroek Market is fine by day with bags held close. Check your own government's current advice before travelling.
▸ What language do people speak in Georgetown?
English is the official language, making Guyana the only English-speaking country in South America. On the street you will hear Guyanese Creole, an English-based creole that takes a little tuning in to. Culturally the city looks to the Caribbean as much as to the continent around it.
▸ What should I eat in Georgetown?
Pepperpot is the national dish: meat stewed dark in cassareep, a sauce made from bitter cassava, traditionally eaten with bread at Christmas. Try cook-up rice, metemgee with dumplings and ground provisions, curry and roti, and bakery staples like cheese rolls, pine tarts and salara. Finish with a glass of aged Demerara rum.