☰Îles du Salut

There is no operator on the islands: everything leaves from Kourou, twenty minutes away across the water, and the choice is between the scheduled ferry, a catamaran under sail, and a chartered fast boat.

The ferry is the cheapest and the most reliable; the catamarans make more of the crossing itself and usually include a circuit of Île Royale with the history told on the way. Whichever you take, the day is fixed by the boat — out in the morning, back in the late afternoon — unless you are staying the night on Royale.

Beyond the auberge bar there is essentially nothing. The islands have no shops, no kiosks, and no street food. If you want anything other than what the auberge provides, bring it with you from Kourou. A cold beer from the bar after a day of exploring ruins in the tropical heat is, however, one of the better small pleasures the islands offer.

Papillon by Henri Charrière (1969) — The most famous account of the penal colony, written by a convict who claimed to have escaped multiple times. Compelling reading, though historians have since questioned how much of it is memoir and how much is embellishment. Read it for the atmosphere rather than the facts.

Devil's Island: Colony of the Damned by Alexander Miles — A rigorous history of the penal colony from its founding to its closure, drawing on French colonial records and prisoner testimonies. More reliable than Papillon as a guide to what life on the islands was actually like.

The Dreyfus Affair by Piers Paul Read (2012) — The full story of Alfred Dreyfus, the Jewish army officer falsely convicted of treason and exiled to Devil's Island, whose case became a defining moment in French political history. Essential background for understanding the most famous prisoner the islands held.

South America on a Shoestring (Lonely Planet) or a comparable French Guiana travel guide — For practical context on getting to and around French Guiana more broadly, including Cayenne, Kourou, and the interior.

Kourou — The town from which you reach the islands is itself worth a few hours. The Guiana Space Centre (Centre Spatial Guyanais) is one of the world's primary rocket launch sites, operated by ESA and the French space agency CNES. Tours of the facility run on most weekdays and can be booked in advance; the visitor centre has exhibits on the Ariane, Soyuz, and Vega programmes. A launch, if you happen to be in French Guiana when one is scheduled, is an unforgettable spectacle visible from the town and the surrounding coast.

Cayenne — The capital of French Guiana, an hour's drive from Kourou, has a covered market full of Creole, Hmong, and Amerindian produce, colonial-era architecture around Place des Palmistes, and the best range of restaurants in the territory. The city has a distinctive character unlike anywhere else in South America — a creolised French Caribbean culture that takes some time to get a feel for.

Sinnamary and Iracoubo — Heading north from Kourou along the coast road, the small town of Sinnamary sits at the mouth of the Sinnamary river and has good birdwatching in the mangrove lagoons. A further 30 kilometres inland, the church at Iracoubo contains extraordinary murals painted in the late nineteenth century by a convict transported from the penal colony — a strange and vivid piece of art hidden in an unlikely corner of the territory.

The Auberge des Iles du Salut on Ile Royale is the only place to eat on the islands. It serves a simple menu of French Guianese food — rice, fish, grilled meats — and cold drinks, which are very welcome after a morning of walking in the heat. Lunch tends to be the main service.

It is advisable to book ahead, especially in the dry season and during school holidays when the islands can be busy. If you are making a day trip, confirm your lunch reservation when you book your boat ticket. Bring snacks and water regardless — portions are generous but the restaurant is not always open between meals.

Ile Royale is entirely walkable. A network of stone and dirt paths connects the dock, the auberge, the museum, the chapel, the cemetery, and the various prison buildings. A leisurely circuit of the island takes two to three hours, longer if you linger at the ruins or wait for the monkeys to come close.

A small boat shuttles between Ile Royale and Ile Saint-Joseph; the fare is paid separately from your main crossing ticket. The inter-island crossing is short — ten minutes or so — but can be choppy. Ile du Diable, the island where Dreyfus was actually held, is not accessible to visitors.

Allow a full day if you want to see both main islands properly. The afternoon return boat waits for no one, so keep an eye on the time.

Boats to the Iles du Salut leave from Kourou's Vieux Bourg port, at the end of Avenue Charles de Gaulle. Departures are in the morning, typically around 8am, with the crossing to Ile Royale taking about 30 minutes. Return boats leave in the late afternoon. Schedules vary by season and operator; check locally for current timings.

Book ahead during the July–November dry season and during French school holidays — the boats fill up and last-minute tickets can be hard to come by. In the low season you may be able to turn up on the day, but calling ahead is still sensible.

Occasional day-trip tours operate from Cayenne, combining road transfer to Kourou with the boat crossing. These can be convenient if you are based in the capital. There is no overnight ferry service; the only way to stay on the islands is to be on one of the morning boats and pre-book accommodation at the auberge.

The Iles du Salut offer a singular experience: wandering through the crumbling ruins of one of the world's most notorious penal colonies, surrounded by dense jungle, howler monkeys, and nesting seabirds. There are no beaches to lounge on and no tourist infrastructure beyond the auberge — the draw is entirely the atmosphere and history.

Ile Royale is the hub, with the largest concentration of ruins, the small museum, and the auberge. Ile Saint-Joseph is the more unsettling island, its solitary confinement cells half-flooded and overtaken by roots and vines. Budget a full day for both.

The dry season, roughly July to November, brings calmer seas and makes the crossing from Kourou considerably more reliable and comfortable. This is the recommended period for a visit, though it coincides with French school holidays, which means the islands can be busy and accommodation at the auberge fills up quickly — book well in advance.

The rainy season (December to June) brings rougher seas and the boat crossings can be unpleasant or cancelled altogether if conditions are bad. On the other hand, visitor numbers drop sharply and the islands feel more remote and atmospheric. If you have flexibility in your schedule and are comfortable with the possibility of a cancelled crossing, an out-of-season visit has its rewards.

Sea conditions can cancel boats at any time of year. Always have a contingency plan for your onward travel from Kourou, and do not rely on catching the return boat on a fixed deadline.