Where to base yourself
Kingston
The northern tip of the city beside the seawall and the river mouth. The big international hotels are here, with the Umana Yana and several embassies. Quiet at night; taxis needed for the centre.
Central Georgetown: Main Street and Cummingsburg
Tree-lined Main Street runs from the seawall towards the cathedral, with older hotels, the museums, banks and restaurants close by. The most convenient area for walking by day.
Queenstown and Bel Air
Residential districts east of the centre with guesthouses in handsome wooden houses, cafés and some of the better restaurants. A short taxi ride from the sights and from the Botanical Gardens.
East Coast: Ogle and beyond
Newer hotels along the coast road, close to the domestic airport and the seawall. Practical before an early flight, less so for sightseeing.
Food & drink
Georgetown is the best place in the country to eat. Try pepperpot with dense plait bread, cook-up rice, curries with dhal puri or sada roti, Chinese-Guyanese fried rice and chow mein, and Brazilian churrasco, a sign of the growing Brazilian community. Snack stalls sell pholourie, egg ball and cassava ball with sour mango sauce. Bourda Market is the place for tropical fruit. For drinks there is El Dorado rum in several ages, Banks beer, mauby and fresh juices. Better restaurants cluster in Queenstown, Kingston and along Sheriff Street, the main nightlife strip; hotels are the reliable choice for a late dinner.
Tips: saving money and staying safe
- Draw cash from a bank ATM in daylight, ideally inside a bank or mall, and keep small notes for taxis and markets.
- After dark, go door to door by taxi, even for a few blocks. Hotels and restaurants will call one for you.
- Leave your passport in the hotel safe and carry a photocopy.
- Visit Stabroek Market in the morning and without a visible phone or camera.
- Museums and gardens are free or nearly so — the city itself is inexpensive; it is hotels that cost.
- Hotel rates are lower at weekends, when business travellers leave.
- Carry water and a hat: the humidity is tiring, and shade is scarce at midday.
Sample plans
One day
- Early: birds and manatees in the Botanical Gardens.
- Mid-morning: St George’s Cathedral, City Hall, the High Court and Stabroek Market with a guide.
- Lunch and the Walter Roth Museum or the National Museum.
- Late afternoon: the seawall; dinner in Queenstown.
Two days
- Day 1 as above.
- Day 2 morning: the El Dorado distillery tour at Diamond.
- Afternoon: Castellani House, the Promenade Gardens and craft shopping.
- Evening: a food tour or dinner on Sheriff Street.
Three days
- Days 1–2 as above.
- Day 3: the flight to Kaieteur Falls, or a day on the Essequibo River.
Where to stay: Georgetown
Guyana Marriott Hotel Georgetown
The city’s large international hotel, on the river mouth in Kingston, with a pool and sea views. A dependable choice for a first or last night.
Pegasus Hotel by the Waterfront
A long-established landmark hotel beside the seawall in Kingston, extended with a modern tower.
Cara Lodge Hotel
A heritage hotel in a 19th-century wooden mansion in the centre, known for its courtyard restaurant and old-Georgetown character.
Herdmanston Lodge Hotel
A quiet colonial-style lodge in residential Queenstown, popular with travellers heading to the interior.
King’s Hotel & Residences
A modern business hotel with apartments in the central district, close to restaurants and shops.
Grand Coastal Hotel
A mid-sized hotel on the East Coast road, handy for early departures from Ogle airport.
