Most people arriving at Felix Eboue step off a long-haul flight from Paris into a small terminal in Matoury, 13 kilometres from Cayenne, with no train, no dependable bus and a taxi rank as the realistic way into town. That makes the first half hour on the ground unusually dependent on your phone: confirming a rental car, messaging a guesthouse in Remire-Montjoly or checking a regulated fare before a driver quotes one. The airport helps a little with an hour of free WiFi on the HOTSPOT_AIRPORT network, and anyone on an EU contract should already be roaming at home rates. Visitors on American, Canadian, British or Brazilian contracts get nothing automatically, and for them the cleanest arrival is a plan that is already installed and simply switches on when the aircraft door opens.
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A Long Runway, a Small Terminal and an Air Base Next Door
Cayenne's airport is in the commune of Matoury, about 13 kilometres south-west of the capital. For decades it was called Rochambeau. In 2012 it was renamed at the request of the Guianese politician Christiane Taubira, who objected to the old name's association with the suppression of the Haitian Revolution, and it now honours Felix Eboue, the Cayenne-born administrator who, as governor of Chad, rallied it to the Free French in 1940. You will still hear the old name, and it survives in some booking systems.
The single runway, 08/26, is 3,205 metres long, far more than the traffic needs, and the airfield is shared with French Air and Space Force Base 367. The terminal itself is modest. It handled 481,961 passengers in 2023, and the passenger list is dominated by the Paris routes: Air France serves Charles de Gaulle and Orly, and Air Caraibes flies to Orly. Air France also links Cayenne with Fort-de-France and Pointe-a-Pitre, and with Belem and Fortaleza in Brazil, while small domestic carriers fly light aircraft to the interior.
How the building is laid out
There is one terminal on two levels. The ground floor holds check-in, the airline counters, the arrivals hall with baggage claim, and the car rental desks. The first floor holds security, the departure gates, the duty-free shop and a cafe, connected by stairs and lifts. Cash machines sit in the entrance hall, and the main cafe serving Creole hot dishes, sandwiches and tropical juices is landside, before security, with only a small snack bar airside. That layout matters on arrival: everything you might need, WiFi, cash and car keys, is on the ground floor within a short walk of the belt.
One Free Hour on HOTSPOT_AIRPORT, and How to Spend It
The airport's own site says it plainly: you can connect to the HOTSPOT_AIRPORT network free of charge for one hour. An hour is not much for browsing, but it is plenty for the one job that actually matters if you arrive without data, which is getting an eSIM installed and working.
Using the hour well
1. Join HOTSPOT_AIRPORT from the arrivals hall and complete the portal page if one appears.
2. If you bought a plan at home but never installed it, open the provider's app or the QR email now and add the eSIM. The download itself takes a minute or two.
3. Set the new line as your data line, turn data roaming on for it, and leave your home SIM on for calls and texts if you want them.
4. Walk to a window or the forecourt and confirm the eSIM has registered on Digicel or SFR Caraibe, depending on your provider.
5. Use the rest of the hour to message whoever is meeting you, pull up your rental booking and save an offline map of Cayenne and the road to Kourou.
The one-hour cap is the reason not to leave the purchase itself until landing. A payment page that asks for a text-message code from your bank, a slow portal, or a queue at the rental desk can all eat into the allowance, and there is no second free hour waiting behind the first. Buying before departure and installing either at home or in this window keeps things simple.
EU visitors can skip the WiFi entirely in most cases. French Guiana is inside the EU roaming zone, so an EU line should pick up a local network during the taxi to the gate.
Buying a Local Line at CAY: What We Could and Could Not Confirm
Travel guides disagree about SIM sales at this airport, and we would rather say so than invent a kiosk. One regional travel blog says prepaid SIMs from the Caribbean operators can be bought in Cayenne boutiques or at Felix Eboue, and a French plan-comparison site says Orange and Digicel cards are sold at the airport and at retailers. A detailed terminal guide listing the building's shops, services and restaurants mentions no phone shop at all. The airport's own pages do not list one either.
Planning around the uncertainty
Assume you may not be able to buy a line in the terminal, especially on a late arrival. If you do find a counter, bring a passport or national ID, since French prepaid lines must be activated against an identity document, and expect to pay for a starter card as well as a data recharge. On Orange Caraibe a 15 euro internet recharge gives 10 GB for thirty days. If there is no counter, the operator boutiques in central Cayenne are the dependable fallback the next morning, and the free WiFi hour will cover the evening.
The more important point is which network you want. Orange Caraibe is the operator with the best reach into the interior, and none of the travel eSIMs use it. If your trip continues from Cayenne to Maripasoula or up the Maroni, an Orange line is worth the boutique visit whatever you arrive with. If it stays on the coast between Cayenne, Kourou and Saint-Laurent, an eSIM on Digicel or SFR Caraibe does the job without it.
Taxi, Rental Car or Pickup: Getting From Matoury to Town
Public transport is the weak point at this airport. The airport's transport page shows a map for an extension of bus line 7, but it gives no timetable or fare, and independent guides describe public transport as impractical for arriving passengers with luggage. In practice arrivals leave by taxi, rental car or a pre-booked pickup.
| Option | Destination | Time | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taxi, daytime | Central Cayenne | 20 to 30 minutes | About 35 to 50 euros |
| Taxi, daytime estimate | Matoury town | Short hop | About 37 to 40 euros |
| Taxi, daytime estimate | Remire-Montjoly | Longer, via Cayenne's south side | About 40 to 43 euros |
| Taxi, night estimate | Remire-Montjoly | Same route | About 47 to 50 euros |
| Taxi, daytime estimate | Kourou | About an hour | About 158 to 162 euros |
| Rental car | Anywhere on the coast road | Varies | Desks for Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz and local firms |
Taxi fares are regulated by the prefecture. The 2026 tariff components published by a French fare site are 2.45 euros to start, 2.20 euros per kilometre by day and 3.12 euros at night, 25.30 euros an hour of waiting, and a 6.40 euro minimum, with booking and baggage supplements on top. The airport lists fourteen taxi operators by name and phone number on its transport page, which is useful if the rank is empty after a late flight, and a working phone is what makes that list useful.
For most visitors the rental car is the real answer. Kourou is about 60 kilometres from Cayenne, the Iles du Salut boats leave from Kourou early in the morning with the tide, and a taxi to Kourou costs more than several days of car hire. Coverage on the drive into Cayenne is good on every network, and Orange runs 5G in both Matoury and Cayenne.
Onward to Kourou, the Islands and the Interior
CAY is the jumping-off point for three very different trips, and each makes different demands on your phone.
Three onward routes, three coverage stories
Kourou and the space centre. Kourou has good coverage and Orange 5G. For a launch, the free Carapa viewing site opens two hours before lift-off, 18 kilometres from the Ariane 6 pad and 15 from Vega-C, while the Ibis site needs a booking, is open to visitors aged eight and over, and meets at the cultural centre in town. Registrations are made online in advance, and confirmations arrive by email a few days before launch, so you need working email in the days beforehand.
The Iles du Salut. Boats leave from Pointe des Roches in Kourou at around 7:30 to 8:30 depending on the tide. The sailing catamarans take about 1 hour 15 to 1 hour 30 and cost roughly 49 to 59 euros return, the faster shuttles 40 to 50 minutes for about 45 to 55 euros. Signal on Ile Royale is temperamental, so load tickets and tide times before you board. Crossings can be suspended on launch days because the islands sit in the safety zone.
The interior. Air Guyane was liquidated in September 2023, and since November 2023 Guyane Express Fly and other operators have flown the domestic routes to Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, Maripasoula, Grand-Santi, Camopi and Saul. Maripasoula and Grand-Santi have Orange 4G in the settlement. Saul should be treated as offline.
The practical sequence for an interior trip is simple: arrive, sort out an Orange line in Cayenne if you need interior coverage, download offline maps and anything you need to read, and only then board the small plane. There is nowhere to fix a connectivity problem once you land on a forest airstrip.
Local Card Against eSIM for a CAY Arrival
Prices here are close enough that convenience decides it, which is not true at most airports in the region.
| Option | What you get | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| HOTSPOT_AIRPORT | One hour of terminal WiFi | Free |
| Orange Caraibe starter plus recharge | 10 GB for 30 days, with a French number, ID needed | Starter reported at 10 to 25 euros, plus 15 euros |
| Airalo eSIM | 5 GB for 30 days on Digicel | 13 dollars |
| Nomad eSIM | 10 GB for 30 days on Digicel and SFR Caraibe | 19 dollars |
| Holafly eSIM | Unlimited for 7 days on Digicel | 27.50 dollars |
| EU contract roaming | Your home allowance under EU fair-use rules | Included |
Landing with an eSIM installed
Waiting to buy locally
Verified plan prices for every provider are in the French Guiana eSIM guide, the Orange, SFR, Digicel and Free options are laid out in the SIM card guide, and the eSIM Finder will size a plan for a launch week or a longer stay.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does the free WiFi last at Felix Eboue?
One hour. The airport's own site says passengers can use the HOTSPOT_AIRPORT network free of charge for an hour. That is enough to install an eSIM you have already paid for, send arrival messages and save an offline map, but not enough to rely on for a purchase that needs a bank verification code or a long support chat. Buy your plan before you fly and use the hour only to install and test it.
What should a taxi from CAY into Cayenne cost?
Plan on roughly 35 to 50 euros by day to central Cayenne, a ride of 20 to 30 minutes, and more at night. Fares are regulated: the 2026 tariff is 2.45 euros to start plus 2.20 euros per kilometre by day or 3.12 euros at night, with a 6.40 euro minimum. Remire-Montjoly runs about 40 to 43 euros by day and 47 to 50 at night, and Kourou is around 160 euros, which is why most visitors hire a car.
Is there a bus from the airport to Cayenne?
Not one you should plan around. The airport's transport page shows an extension of line 7, but publishes no timetable or fare there, and independent guides describe public transport from the terminal as impractical with luggage. Taxis wait after each flight, the airport lists fourteen taxi operators with phone numbers, and Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz and local firms have rental desks on the ground floor near the exit.
Will my French or German SIM work when I land at CAY?
It should, because French Guiana is an outermost region of the EU and the roaming regulation covers it. A German, Italian or Spanish line roams on home terms within its fair-use limit, and French mainland plans usually carry a stated monthly data allowance for the overseas departments, with calls and texts unsurcharged since 2016. Make sure data roaming is switched on and that your operator lists French Guiana in its EU zone before you board in Paris.
I am flying on to Maripasoula. What should I sort out at Cayenne first?
Your connectivity, before you board the small plane. Maripasoula has Orange 4G in the settlement, but none of the travel eSIMs use Orange, so a local Orange Caraibe line bought in a Cayenne boutique gives you the best chance of signal there. Download offline maps, any documents and the contact details of your lodge while you still have coastal coverage, because the river and forest around the town have no signal on any network.