Guyana

Mount Roraima in the Guyana Highlands
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mt_Roraima_in_Venezuela_001.JPG
Author: Yosemite


Guyana is a relatively small country in South America. It covers 214,970 sq km (83,000 sq mi) and has a population of less than 800,000 (2011 estimate). Guyana is bordered by Venezuela to the west, Brazil to the south and Suriname to the east.

Guyana was formerly known as British Guiana. It is the only member of the British Commonwealth that is on mainland South America, and is also the only country on mainland South America where the official language is English. Guyana is regarded as a Caribbean country, and is one of the few which is not islands in the Caribbean Sea. Its capital is Georgetown.

Kaieteur Falls, Guyana
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kaieteur_Falls_closeup.jpg
Author: Rapid Travel Chai


Guyana is four hours behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC-4). Traffic is driven on the left, the same as the United Kingdom. The phone IDD code here is +592. The official currency is the Guyanese dollar (GYD). The electricity is 110-240V/60Hz using USA plug.

In 2009, Guyana had a nominal GDP of $2.024 billion and a per capita nominal GDP of $2,688. Its per capita GDP at purchasing power parity is $6,477.

As with much of the Caribbean, Guyana was inhabited by Arawak and Carib tribes at the time when Christopher Columbus sighted it in 1498. The Dutch began establishing colonies here since 1616 until 1814, when it was formally ceded to Britain. It was then known as British Guiana. It gained independence on 26 May, 1966, and became a republic on 23 February, 1970, though it remains a member of the Commonwealth.

St George's Church, Georgetown, Guyana
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St_George%27s_Georgetown_Exterior.JPG
Author: : (WT-shared) Roundtheworld at wts wikivoyage

Planning your visit to Guyana

Visitors who do not need a visa to enter Guyana include the citizens of Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Canada, Dominica, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Luxembourg, Montserrat, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom, United States.

The Cheddi Jagan International Airport (GEO) is the main gateway to Guyana. The airport is on the right bank of the Demerara River, 41 km (25 mi) to the south of Georgetown. It is connected to destinations in the Caribbean, North, Central and South America.

Major Cities in Guyana

Places of Interest in Guyana

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Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.