eSIM for French Guiana

Your options for mobile data in French Guiana

As a French overseas region, French Guiana is part of the European Union. Visitors with an EU SIM are generally covered by Roam like at Home rules there, but some providers treat overseas regions differently in their offers and fair use policies, so check your plan before you rely on it. Visitors with SIMs from outside the EU, including Brazil, Suriname, North America and the UK, may pay roaming charges.

How much data you are likely to use

Business travellers working from hotels often use more data than holidaymakers, especially with video meetings and cloud documents. Visitors spending time on rivers or in the forest use very little, because there is little coverage there. These figures are rough estimates.

• Navigation with the map open: roughly 5 to 10 MB an hour.
• Email, messaging and documents: usually modest, but cloud folders syncing in the background can use hundreds of MB.
• Video meetings and calls home: roughly 500 MB to 1 GB an hour.
• Uploading photos and video of wildlife and launches: a few MB per photo and much more for video.
• Streaming in the evening: often 1 GB or more an hour.

Install the eSIM before you travel

Install the eSIM at home on Wi-Fi so it is ready on arrival. First check your phone supports eSIM and is unlocked; dialling *#06# shows an EID on most compatible phones. Then follow the install guide for iPhone, Samsung or Pixel.

• Name the line French Guiana or Travel.
• Set the Spidot line for mobile data and keep your home SIM for calls and texts.
• Turn off data roaming on your home SIM unless you want to use it.
• Download offline maps of the coastal road from Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni to Saint-Georges, and of any interior destinations.
• Save accommodation addresses, flight and boat bookings offline.

Arriving at Cayenne

Cayenne Félix Eboué Airport, near the town of Matoury south of Cayenne, is the main gateway, with flights from mainland France, the French Caribbean and some neighbouring countries. Some travellers arrive overland from Brazil, across the bridge at Saint-Georges-de-l'Oyapock, or from Suriname by crossing the Maroni River to Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni.

• Switch off flight mode after landing.
• Turn on data roaming for the Spidot line; see the data roaming guide.
• Wait a minute for the phone to connect, and restart it once if needed.
• Check maps and messages before collecting a hire car or taking a taxi.

Coverage on the coast and in the interior

Coverage is generally available in Cayenne, Rémire-Montjoly, Matoury, Kourou and Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, and along much of the main coastal road. Between towns and away from the coast it becomes patchier. The forested interior, which makes up most of the territory, has very little coverage outside the few towns and villages.

Your eSIM uses local partner networks; for this destination they are Digicel. The phone chooses one automatically.

Getting around with data

French Guiana has one main road along the coast, and much of the rest of the territory is reached by air or river.

• Driving: the coastal road links Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, Kourou, Cayenne and Saint-Georges. Navigation apps work on the coast; download offline maps for gaps between towns.
• Taxis and shared taxis: available in towns and between them, though less frequent than in Europe.
• Domestic flights: small planes connect Cayenne with interior towns. Booking details often arrive by email, so save screenshots.
• Boats and pirogues: used for trips to the Îles du Salut, river excursions and crossings to Suriname. Coverage on the water varies.

Using your phone in the rainforest

Heat, humidity and rain are hard on phones, and in the forest your phone is more a camera and offline map than a communication device.

• Keep your phone in a waterproof bag, especially on pirogues and during tropical downpours.
• Carry a power bank; charging opportunities in camps may be limited.
• Download offline maps, field guides and translation packs before you go.
• Tell someone your plans and expected return, as you may have no signal for days.

Hotspot sharing and public Wi-Fi

If you need to work from a laptop, share your data with Personal Hotspot on iPhone or Mobile Hotspot on Android. Turn off automatic updates and cloud sync on the laptop first. Hotels and some cafés offer Wi-Fi, which is useful for large downloads but shared with others.

• Use mobile data rather than open Wi-Fi for banking and confidential work.
• Confirm the network name with staff before connecting.
• Turn off auto-join for open networks.

Payments and practical tips

French Guiana uses French administration and currency, with a culture and climate all of its own.

• Currency: the euro. Cards are accepted in supermarkets, hotels and many restaurants; carry cash for markets, smaller shops and in the interior.
• Language: French is the official language, alongside Guianese Creole and many other languages. A French translation pack downloaded for offline use helps.
• Climate: hot and humid year-round, with heavy rain in the wet seasons. Keep your phone out of direct sun and in a waterproof bag.
• Rocket launches: if you hope to see a launch from a viewing site, check schedules close to the date, as they often change.
• Emergencies: the European emergency number 112 works, as in mainland France.

Combining French Guiana with other destinations

French Guiana borders Brazil to the east and south, linked by the bridge over the Oyapock River, and Suriname to the west. Some travellers continue to the French Caribbean islands of Martinique or Guadeloupe, which are linked by flights. Spidot does not currently sell a regional plan for South America or the Caribbean, so install one eSIM per destination before you travel and switch the active data line when you arrive.

Keeping track of your data

You can check how much data is left at any time and add more data to the same eSIM. Before a trip into the interior, check your balance and top up while you are still on the coast.

If data stops working, check that data roaming is on for the Spidot line and restart the phone. For anything else, email support@spidot.com from the address you used to order.