Travel eSIMFrench Guiana
French Guiana is a piece of France on the shoulder of South America: euros, baguettes and a spaceport, with the Amazon rainforest starting at the edge of town. Its mobile networks are French — so for a visitor from outside the European Union, a home plan here is long-distance roaming. A travel eSIM puts you on the local network before the plane door opens.
Choose a planfrom $1.49
- 2 networks
- 5G where available
- Installs in a minute
- Hotspot on some plans
- 14 plans
eSIM plans for French Guiana
Online at Félix Eboué
Almost everyone flies in to Cayenne's airport — from Paris, the French Caribbean or Brazil — and the first need is a ride: there is no rail and little public transport, so it is a taxi, a transfer or a hire car, all arranged by phone.
- Before you travel: buy a plan and scan the QR code at home, on Wi-Fi. It takes about a minute.
- On arrival: switch mobile data to the travel eSIM and turn data roaming on for that line.
- Your own number stays active for calls and the SMS codes from your bank. WhatsApp keeps your usual number.
A connected coast and a silent forest
Nearly everyone in French Guiana lives along a narrow coastal strip, and that is where the network is: Cayenne, Rémire-Montjoly, Kourou, Sinnamary and Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, and most of the road that links them, have good 4G, with 5G in the main towns.
Behind the coast lies rainforest — more than nine-tenths of the territory. On the rivers, at the jungle lodges and in the interior villages expect little or no signal, sometimes for days. Tell someone your route, and download everything first.
Cayenne
The capital: Place des Palmistes, creole houses, the market. The strongest coverage in the territory.
Kourou & the Space Centre
Europe's spaceport. Launch viewing is by free invitation booked online — and on launch night the network around the sites is busy.
The Salvation Islands
The old penal colony, an hour offshore by catamaran. Signal reaches the islands from the mainland but is weak — enough for messages.
Saint-Laurent & the Maroni
The river border with Suriname. Good in town; upriver by pirogue it fades quickly — and across the water your phone may find a Surinamese network.
French Guiana: mobile networks
Digicel4G
Orange5G
France, and therefore the EU
French Guiana is an overseas department, as French as Normandy. For a traveller with a European SIM that is good news: EU roam-like-at-home rules generally apply here, within your plan's fair-use limits — check with your operator, because some plans exclude the overseas departments.
For everyone else — from the United States, Canada, Brazil or the United Kingdom — it is ordinary international roaming at ordinary international prices. That is what the travel eSIM is for.
Before you fly
A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required to enter French Guiana, and it is checked. Keep a photo of it on your phone as well as the paper original.
Going into the forest?
Download offline maps, your bookings and any permits while you are still on the coast. Lodges and river camps rarely have signal; some have satellite Wi-Fi, most do not.
French Guiana: online in three steps
- 1Pick a plan and pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay.
- 2The QR code arrives by email straight away — scan it and the eSIM installs in about a minute.
- 3Land in French Guiana, switch mobile data over to the travel eSIM, and you are online.
French Guiana: questions before you buy
Is French Guiana covered by EU roaming?
Generally yes. As a French overseas department it is part of the European Union, and roam-like-at-home rules apply to most EU plans, within fair-use limits. Some plans exclude overseas departments, so check yours.
Will my US or Canadian plan work in French Guiana?
It will roam, usually at international day-pass or per-megabyte rates. A travel eSIM on the local network is normally far cheaper.
Is there mobile signal in the rainforest?
Mostly not. Coverage follows the coast road and the main towns; the interior, which is almost all of the territory, has little or none.
Can I get a signal at a rocket launch?
Yes, around Kourou and the official viewing sites — though with thousands of spectators the network slows down at lift-off.
Does the plan work in Suriname or Brazil?
No — it covers French Guiana. Crossing the Maroni or the Oyapock takes you onto another country's networks.
What currency and language?
The euro, and French. Cards are widely accepted in the towns; carry some cash for markets, pirogues and the interior.
Going further?
One eSIM can cover French Guiana and the countries around it — no need to buy a plan at every border:
Plans for the countries next door:
Destination guides
Where the signal is, how roaming treats the place, and what to know before you land.
