SouthAmerica.travel, a tour operator specializing in trips to South America, has announced a new Three Guianas Adventure tour that will take travelers to three relatively lesser-known countries in South America: Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.
The launch of the new itinerary coincides with the first-ever direct service from American Airlines out of New York – JFK to Georgetown, Guyana, on December 18, 2019. JetBlue is scheduled to start its own service on April 2, 2020.
Guyana in particular has been making a big push to market itself as an ecotourism destination to the North American market. Last year, the destination recorded a total number of visitor arrivals of 286,732 passengers, up 15.93 percent year-over-year, according to SouthAmerica.travel.
The itinerary is fully customizable, with the standard schedule starting at 14 days / 13 nights at $6,760 per person for a group of six. The trip starts in Guyana’s capital, Georgetown, with an exploration of Dutch and British colonial architecture and visits to landmarks such as Stabroek Market and St. George’s Cathedral, capped with a tour of Bourda Market with local chef Delven Adams followed by lunch at his traditional Guyanese restaurant, Backyard Café. After that, guests will head into the rainforest to stay at the Amerindian-run Surama Lodge, learning about the indigenous community, hiking up Surama Mountain for views to the Pakaraima Mountains, spotting black caiman and giant river otters and heading to Kaieteur Falls, which is five times as high as Niagara Falls.
In Suriname, guests will tour the capital of Paramaribo, including a tasting of Javanese cuisine at the traditional restaurant Warung and a sunset boat trip. After a day in the city, guests will travel by boat along the upper Suriname River and stay at Eco Torarica Lodge. Here, guests will visit the Pikin Slee village and tour the Maroon Museum to learn the history of the Maroon people who have lived in the Surinamese rainforests for centuries. Back in Paramaribo, guests will tour the UNESCO city center, which includes visiting former Dutch fortress Fort Nieuw Amsterdam, as well as several colonial-age coffee and cocoa plantations along the Commewijne River.
While in French Guiana, guests will travel across the Maroni River by canoe and visit Saint Laurent du Maroni, an area often transited in the colonial era by slaves and indentured servants. Travelers will also visit Îles de Salut, or “Devil’s Island” – an archipelago seven miles off the coast that served as a transit point for explorers, political prisoners and convicts. It is also the famous penal colony where Henri Charrière, the French author of Papillon, spent two years in solitary confinement. Guests will visit the capital city, Cayenne, as well as visit Cacao – home of H’mong farmers who settled here as refugees during the Vietnam war. Guests will finish the tour in Belém, Brazil, where they will visit an Açai market, eat breakfast in Ver-o-Peso Market — known for food and medicinal herbs sold in historic buildings – as well as tour a local chocolate factory.
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