Overland Travel Across Borders: A Tale of Two Frontiers
Moleson Creek to South Drain: The Canawaima Ferry
This is the route you will use. From Georgetown take any Route 63 minibus to Moleson Creek stelling. The ride lasts three to four hours on a road that starts smooth and ends potholed through sugar fields. Guyanese immigration sits in a little wooden office on the dock. You get your exit stamp in minutes. Then you walk onto the green-and-white Canawaima Ferry for the half-hour trip across the wide brown Corentyne River. On the Suriname side the landing is called South Drain, though locals just say Nickerie. Immigration and customs are in a low concrete building ten steps from the water. When everything runs on time the whole crossing takes under an hour. The ferry leaves Guyana daily at 11:00 and leaves Suriname at 14:00. Ticket costs 4000 Guyanese dollars or 15 euros cash. In the dry season from August to December low water sometimes cancels sailings for days, so check the Canawaima Ferry Facebook page the night before.
The Long Back-Door Route Through French Guiana
A few stubborn travelers still take the detour. You ride from Paramaribo to Albina in three hours on sealed road. At Albina you bargain for a pirogue across the Maroni River to Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni in French Guiana. From there minibuses run through Cayenne and across the new bridge in Brazil before you finally reach Guyana near Lethem. The whole loop eats two or three days and costs three times as much. It only makes sense if the ferry is out for weeks or if you actually want to see French Guiana and French Guyana in one trip. Boatmen at Albina quote foreigners double the local price. Pay no more than 15 US dollars and wait for other passengers if you want the shared rate. Mosquitoes hit hard at sunset and the current is strong.
Bring small bills, plenty of water and sunscreen whichever way you go. The moment you step off the boat the language changes, the cars switch sides and the thick jungle smell stays exactly the same. You have just crossed one of the quietest and strangest borders in South America.