• Diamond + Silver = All considered Silver
• Silver + no-status = Very last in line
• Diamond + Gold + Silver = All considered Silver

Easy enough, right? Rule of thumb: Delta uses a “weakest link” scenario when it comes to upgrades.

So on Delta, (generally) you will want to book on separate reservations if you have Medallion status and don’t want the weak link dragging you down. If, however, like in our case, the person you’re traveling with is someone you want to sit with and you’re willing to forgo the upgrade, then you book together on the same reservation (again, generally).

In our case, we booked on the same reservation and checked in to Delta.com online. The upgrades are looking good!

We’re showing 1 of 1 with over 8 empty seats in Business! Alas, the anxiety isn’t over though, because Delta issues upgrades at the gate, after the check-in window has closed (1 hr before departure in our case). This makes complete sense:  imagine someone comes to the airport during the check in window and buys a super expensive economy ticket — well, his/her fare class will likely be higher than most passengers, which might bump him/her to the top of the upgrade list. As you can see, in the end, the most fair scenario is to only clear upgrades once all have checked-in.

So it sounds more and more like my spot at 1 of 1 on the list can’t be counted on. I just keep my fingers crossed.

At Delta hubs, they have a screen at most gates showing the upgrade/standby lists with last names, first initial so you have a very good idea if you’ll get it or not.

Dated and fuzzy but you get the picture

We stand around waiting to see if our names will be called once cleared at the gate. Sure enough, I hear my name but nothing about McCown. Well they must have called the passenger’s name on the reservation. They trade out my ticket for 26E with 1D, success! I hand them McCown’s boarding pass and they say that First has checked in full and that all upgrades have been issued. Wtf!!!??! I try to explain that we’re traveling on the same reservation and ask how that happened? Clearly, they have more important stuff to do and are less than enthusiastic about helping me out. I then did the hardest thing I’ve had to do in a while and went back up to ask for my old seat back. They seemed a little confused but I reiterated that we’re traveling TOGETHER and would like to sit TOGETHER.

So, alas, we have a situation where I should be grateful for an upgrade but at the same time and am angry about the way they handled it.

What has been your experience?

The post Damnit Delta, why are you trying screw me?! first appeared on Weekend Blitz.

By 8am, all 12 of us were there and we piled onto a bus and started on our 48 min ride to the dock.

Arriving to the dock around 9am, the sun was still rising, the air crisp, fresh and cool with a perfectly still and calm Demerara River. Quite scenic.

We were issued life jackets, given a quick safety talk “blah blah blah, don’t drown…blah blah blah” and jumped aboard one of two small john boats.

Crossing the Demerara River, we turned into a narrow creek and started our winding 56 minute journey to the Santa Mission.

This was the first time I felt I was in the jungle of a rain forest. The thick, dense canopy of the trees over the river with the dark, black water set the stage to spot an anaconda at any moment (we weren’t so lucky though). I was quickly glad that our boats were so small and maneuverable as the drivers swerved back and forth, dodging submerged tree stumps and shallow spots like clockwork.

As we wove left to right on the river, we passed makeshift docks and boat ramps where we saw families doing their laundry and farming on their property. As far as I could tell, these sites were only accessible by water.

We spotted a sloth in the trees

Closing in on our destination, we breezed past a sign welcoming us to the Santa/Aratack Amerindian Reservation.

We docked and jumped off at the Santa Mission

The experience was assuredly an interesting one, albeit not necessarily one that I would care to repeat. The Mission felt so much like the “Indian” themed summer camps that American kids are so used to attending. It appeared to be a pretty low energy, relaxed place complete with a small convenience store, arts and crafts center and kayaks galore. No different than summer camp — except this was a real “camp.” The fact that I had seen places similar might have taken away from the charm uninitiated visitors might experience.

In practice, while walking around, most members were in Sunday morning church services and the few that were out and about made sure to stare us down giving us the impression that we disturbing their home.

It felt much more like a quiet, private neighborhood than a tourist attraction, which made it a bit awkward that we were there.

After the 43 min, 0.63 mile walking tour, we headed back to the boats to continue our tour:

A short 3.5 mile, 11 min 30 sec boat ride, and we had arrived at the Arrow Point Resort.

The name of the game here is just relax and enjoy the scenery.

We got to the lodge, dropped our things and settled in for a snack.

After about half an hour break, we walked to the “event center” and had all the options and activities for the day announced.

The first, and seemingly mandatory, activity was a kayak/hike combo. We had the opportunity to change clothes and then set off on kayaks.

We paddled (in red below) 1.4 miles in 50 mins, the return back to the resort the hike (in yellow) was 0.84 miles that took 28 mins.

Having the need to do something all the time, I kept trying to get the gist of the place– turns out it’s just a lot of relaxing, which was a great escape from the rather dirty city of Georgetown.

Resort cabins on the right

Finally, it was time for lunch.

Curry chicken, fish, sweet potatoes and roti. Delicious!

We then had about 2 to 3 hours to enjoy the property:

The post Santa Mission & Arrow Point Tour first appeared on Weekend Blitz.

We circle around and the plane entered the traffic pattern as we set our sites on the runway (which, to my surprise, was paved).

Looks like the 1st flight made it safely:

Our plane was a little dated, but she still flew without any trouble. Nevermind the gate agent– pop that door open and just jump off:

Arriving at the bustling KEI International “Airport” (no joke, that’s what they call it–guess they have flights from neighboring Suriname from time to time), we were greeted by a Kaieteur National Park guide.

We pulled up to a very nice-looking log cabin lodge which provided shelter from the elements, clean restrooms and running water–they might have been selling drinking water, but make sure you take plenty of your own to be safe.

The first plane was already there and they are pretty good about staggering the hikes to the Falls to give everyone a little breathing room. After a quick break, we set off with our guide to the first of 4 viewing points. We were warned that, because of less rain than expected for the season, the output from the river was only around 20% of its capacity.

Hiking to the View Points

In all, the hike was 1.86 miles and took 1 hour 25 mins with all the picture stops.

Link to Google Earth map, much easier to view here!

Viewing Point 1

Viewing Point 2

The guide explained that Guyana is the exclusive home to the Golden Frog, which has a large population at Kaieteur Falls:

Viewing Point 3

We really appreciated that, apart from a few signs, the tourism industry had not put its mark on Kaieteur Falls yet. In the States, there would have been guardrails, legal jargon and waivers being signed. Not in Guyana–just rustic, undisturbed nature.

Another common animal to spot near Kaietuer Falls is the Cock-of-the-Rock bird:

Viewing Point 4

As we hiked back towards the airstrip, we passed the Kaieteur Guesthouse. The exotic sounding story (that I didn’t fact check because I don’t want to be disappointed) is that Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau visited the Falls in the 1970s and asked that he have a house built when he returns.

What a power move, score one for Canada. Although, I will say that a shack of a house in the middle of the jungle looks so Canadian when compared to stuff Americans had built on a whim…like say, the PANAMA CANAL:

Take that, Canada…

After a quick stop at the lodge for water and bathrooms, we thanked our guide with a tip and made our way back onto the plane for our return trip:

The post Kaieteur Falls Guyana first appeared on Weekend Blitz.

Small planes scare many people in the US where we have fairly strict regulation of both aircraft and airspace. It can be assumed that, in non-developed nations, these things fall to the back burner and Guyana is no exception – although it is improving.

Thus, it was important to us to pick a tour operator that had an aircraft that would take us further than the scene of the crash. When researching from afar, it’s hard to know exactly what you’re dealing with, so hopefully our experience can help.

Out of all the flight operators, Air Services Limited has one of the more impressive websites showing off their fleet and large crew, all dressed in traditional pilot’s uniforms–whether qualified or not, it definitely reassured me.

We found out that Air Services Limited organizes trips to Kaieteur Falls on Saturdays and Sundays for just $145. You can get more info on their website: http://www.aslgy.com/ or by emailing res@aslgy.com. You’ll want to contact them to confirm the dates and prices.

Making a reservation

It’s a pain in the ass, but the only way you can confirm your seat on a flight is to go out to Ogle airport and pay cash in person. The trip from downtown takes 15-20 mins and should cost you only 1000 GYD ($5 US), but expect to pay up to double depending on how much your cab driver thinks he can milk you for.

View Larger Map

When we took the trip out to Ogle Airport, we felt better and better about going with them as their operation looked more legit by the second.

Reservation desk, departure gates and check-in — all in one

The big blue hangar below (with the red dot) is all Air Service Limited’s–a rather large facility!

When we arrived, we walked into the Reservation Office where they have crammed 4 tiny desks into a small office. I sat down at the next available desk and gave the agent my name.  She found the record in her computer…err, on her printed list (this is still a very low tech operation). Then started the convoluted process that reminded me of festivals/concerts/fairs in the US where you stand in line for a wrist band, then in a line for drink tickets then, again, in a 3rd line for actual drinks. For a reservation, you sit at a desk and make your reservation and get a handwritten ticket, you then go into another office to the cashier who, after you pay, gives you another hand-written receipt. With temporary ticket and receipt in hand, you then RETURN to the original agent who staples a few things and gives you your final ticket. Simply brillant. Although, given the US event analogy, I can’t say they’re operating in a 3rd world backwards fashion–we do it, too.

Guess that nice “PAID” stamp was the fruit of all our labor

Check it out, they’ve got you insured for $50k USD per person. The refund policy is a 100% refund if cancelled 72+ hours before departure and 50% refund if you cancel any other time! Not quite SouthWest quality, but a lot better than Delta, United, American etc…  Remember there’s a 0% refund for no shows.

The whole ticket-buying process took about 1 hour from Georgetown roundtrip. Plan accordingly if you take this route.

The flight to Kaieteur Falls

After making the reservation on Friday, we returned Saturday afternoon for our 1pm flight. They tell you that check-in is required 1-hr before flight time so 12:00 sharp for us (and the fine print on the back of the ticket backs this up–they reserve the right to cancel your reservation for a check-in any later than the announced time). In practice, it was just as much hurry up and wait as anywhere else on the planet–I guess that’s more human nature than a cultural quirk.

We cruised on up to the check-in counter at 11:45 am and they were no where near ready for us — they asked us to have a seat until called.

The good news: A real check-in counter! …where they’re very thorough about weighing all passengers and baggage–a sign of professionalism and competence when flying small aircraft. Without proper loads and balances, they won’t fly!

When called around 12:30pm, we were asked to hop on the scale and they made a notation. The tickets to Kaieteur state that you can bring yourself + 15 lbs of baggage max. Then back to the waiting area until our departure is announced.

It was slightly confusing because they announced the Kaieteur flight, but when many of us approached the gate, they couldn’t find our names on the list. I had a fear that we would never make it to Kaieteur from the second that I booked the trip and then learned about how “difficult” it is to book a trip in advance. So my natural thought is, “Perfect! I was expecting this all along!” We felt reassured when they said there were 2 flights going to the Falls and we must be on the second one. I hesitantly believe them, still mostly expecting to be screwed over at the end of the day. PLEASE DON’T F ME GUYANA!

Sure enough, the next flight is called soon enough and we proceeded through the departure gate. The gate agent weighed us in one more time (to make sure we didn’t pick up any extra cargo?) and then we walked through a metal detector which was there completely for show since the native in front of me walked through it with his hunting rifle in tow. That’s right, you can suck it TSA, Guyana does not give a damn. So rebellious of you, Guyana, well played.

We do the fun hurry-up-and-wait game into yet another waiting room for about 15 mins, then head on to the plane.

Nice looking fleet

Our plane, with an professional looking ground crew

While I was outside of the plane screwing around with the camera, McCown made sure to do her best “pushy American” impression (which she has been practicing since birth) and snag us the front row seats.

Our view for the next 65 mins, where’s the bulletproof cockpit door?

The biggest takeaway from that picture is that we had a pilot AND co-pilot for the journey. If that is common-place for Air Services Limited, then I tip my hat– it’s assuredly rare for most companies around the world flying this size of aircraft. A+ on perceived safety.

A view from (under) the wing…..?

All-in-all, it was a beautiful day for flying.

The post Air Services Limited Review first appeared on Weekend Blitz.

Here’s something you need to know: the difference between tour agents and tour operators.

Guyana is no stranger to the tourism agency. Although, compared to other countries, it has a long way to go tourism-wise, there are still plenty of Guyanese trying to get a piece of those highly valued $, £, and €. So, to state what shouldn’t need to be said for the sake of being thorough:

• A tour operator: owns the boats, planes, boats etc. and employs the guides. They have their own offices and market tours themselves.
• A tour agent: books you on an aforementioned tour and tacks on a hefty commission. In Guyana, it will likely be unclear what you’re booking unless you ask. After all, it’s in the middleman’s best interest to keep it secret that they can be bypassed.

At the end of the day, you’ll find dozens of possible leads for tours. Here’s the down and dirty for flights to Kaieteur Falls:

• Good choices: owner/operators of aircraft — the best rule of thumb is that if they’re trying to sell you a flight to Kaieteur Falls, try to find an image of a plane with their name on it.

• Air Services Limited: operates a fleet of 24 planes, mostly dedicated to domestic flights to interior Guyana, but they do some tours.

• Trans Guyana Airways/Evergreen Adventures: operates a fleet of 8 planes with scheduled service to interior Guyana. Owned by Correia Group of Companies which includes Evergreen Adventures (a tour company branch) and Baganara Island Resort.

• Roraima Airways: owns a fleet of 3 planes which are dedicated to tourism and private charters. The Roraima Group of Companies is another large “conglomerate” that owns two hotels in Georgetown:  Duke Lodge and Residence Inn. They also own ArrowPoint Nature Resort, operate the only lounge at Cheddai Jeggan airport and handle much of the ground services at the airport (baggage, fuel, gate attendants etc..)

• Air Guyana: Operates 2 Cessna Caravan planes (one looks brand new, too!) with charter flights to interior Guyana and adjacent countries. I can’t confirm that the tours they advertise to Kaieteur Falls are on their aircraft or if they try to sub it out, but, they do, in fact, own their own airplanes. Link to site here.

From what I can tell, booking through ANY of the following companies to Kaieteur Falls will result in a middleman/agent scenario:

• Kanuku Tours
• Rainforest Tours
• Wilderness Explorers
• Wonderland Tours
  

The post Tour agencies vs tour operators in Guyana first appeared on Weekend Blitz.

“Welcome to Guyana!”

We stepped off the plane and into the nice, warm and muggy air that we have come to know and love growing up in the Southeastern US.

No official gates here, just jump off and walk up

Making our way into the terminal, we were greeted by about a 60+ min wait to reach customs & immigration.

Before we left for Guyana, we did some brief research about the safety of the country and learned that they still have major problems with trafficking cocaine (exports, mainly). That said, I love the high security that most countries  have (the US included) at international airports on the inbound customs side (what the hell?).

It’s always ironic when a major illegal drug exporting nation is very concerned with the security at customs–seems like the very thorough agents could be securing borders instead of rooting around people’s dirty underwear. But then again, who cares about cocaine trafficking, we gotta make sure you’ve paid taxes on that TV you’re bringing back from New York.

I mean, maybe we should divert these resources to stopping the illegal drug trafficking in more likely places than the major airport of the country? I guess putting up a good front is more important than actually cracking down. At least we had the illusion of security from our first steps on the ground.

Successfully clearing customs, we made our way out and thankfully found our name on a driver’s sign who took us on our 63 min, 28 mile drive from Cheddi Jagan International to The Signature Inn in Georgetown:

Around Georgetown

Apart from drug trafficking, gold mining is still a huge industry in Guyana. On a ride around town, our cab driver, Juice (or Joose, who knows?) pointed out all of the neighborhoods with huge houses and expensive European cars–a stark contrast to the bordering-poverty-line, lower-class surrounding you in Georgetown.

It is estimated Guyana is home to more than 20 million ounces of unreserved gold deposits with current outputs averaging 300k ounces a year.

It turns out, however, that around the holidays is when all of the owners of the mining companies return to the jungle to keep a closer eye on their operation as workers become more pressured to steal, or “ thieving,” as Juice puts it. It is commonplace that, without supervision, workers will attempt to swallow a piece of gold and then “clean it up” and sell it, making them much richer than before. According to Juice, this is how many of the current gold mine owners got their start back in the day.

If you doubt the country’s vast gold wealth, then you should be reminded that the legendary city of “El Dorado” was rumored to be in the region Guyana now occupies. Sir Walter Raleigh even led an expedition to find the mythical city. Nowadays, the only thing bearing the El Dorado name is a delicious rum that is distilled right in Georgetown that might as well be liquid gold–but hey, it wouldn’t be a Caribbean nation without its own rum.

We quickly found that Georgetown aligns itself mostly with Caribbean nations to its north and less with its border-sharing neighbors like Venezuela, Brazil or Suriname. In the airport, there were just two lanes:

1. Guyanese Nationals/CARICOM Members
2. Everyone else

When you look around, the people look mostly like a mix of those of Caribbean descent and West African descent, again not much influence on South America.

You find that the economy in Georgetown functions a lot like the economy of the Caribbean Islands: most everything is imported and most everything is expensive. In such a small country, this means that you’re not importing consumer goods in bulk either, further driving the prices up. The sheer distance and the quality of the roads between neighboring cities and countries make truck or rail transport impossible.

Georgetown Photo Tour

Having left our hotel, we set off on foot to explore the area (there’s no better way to learn a city).

The “Signature Inn”, Queenstown

Being below sea-level, Georgetown has crisscrossing canals

We quickly found that Georgetown looks a little rough around the edges with no shortage of trash piles around town:

Have trash? Just dump it in this empty lot

Georgetown City Mall–the one, the only

Much of the architecture is Dutch influenced:

Georgetown City Hall

Interior of St. George’s Cathedral

High Court (Supreme Court) of Guyana

State-of-the-art police outpost–watch out would-be criminals

The market is cram-packed of people selling anything and everything. A lots of clothing and household goods:

Interior of Stabroek Market

Guyana has a very high population with AIDS. About 1.2% of all people in Guyana are infected. This means The Guyanese are 4x more likely to have AIDS than Americans. We saw tons of billboards, signs and TV ads trying to get the word out about AIDS prevention.

Example of public AIDS awareness

The post Impressions of Georgetown, Guyana first appeared on Weekend Blitz.

The flight was set to leave out of JFK’s Terminal 4, the main international terminal. It’s a pretty popular terminal and in fact, it’s the only one at JFK that isn’t operated by a specific airline. They say that, even on your first visit, you’ll feel right at home given that it’s been the setting for many movies: The Terminal, Syriana, Get Him to The Greek etc….

But I digress… point being, it’s a pretty cool terminal. When the expansion is finished, Terminal 4 will be home to many more Delta gates and the largest Delta Sky Club in the world!

With that still a ways out, we had to assess our lounge opportunities. Here are the options at Terminal 4 and how to get in:

• SWISS Lounge — Moderately exclusive
  • If you’re flying First/Business on any Star Alliance partner
  • If you’re a “Miles & More Frequent Traveler” or above (Frequent Traveler, Senator & HON Circle) flying First/Business or Economy
  • If you’re Star Alliance Gold
• EL AL King David Lounge — exclusive
  • Flying Platinum, First or Business on EL AL
  • If you have Gold or Platinum EL AL status
• Virgin Clubhouse Lounge — exclusive
  • “Upper Class” Virgin Atlantic passengers only
  • Sometimes you can buy access for $75 — but you still must be flying on Virgin Atlantic
• Air India Maharaja Lounge — exclusive
  • Flying Business on Air India
• The Emirates Lounge — exclusive
  • Flying First or Business on Emirates (lucky you!)
  • Emirates Skywards Gold Members
• KLM Oasis Lounge — by far the least exclusive
  • SkyTeam Elite Plus members (Gold Delta)
  • Priority Pass card holders
  • Airport Angels card holders (U.K. version of Priority Pass)
  • Buy a day pass for $45
  • Flying KLM

Which lounge to go to is really a function of “which one will let me in?”

We ended up at the KLM Oasis Lounge as, from looking at the above list, the only credential I had was the Priority Pass Select (which is hardly “Select” as all AMEX Platinum card holders are slinging one these days), and, alternatively, you can just buy your way in for $45.

The best news we learned upon arriving is that it’s now open 24 hours! This was perfect since the website was quoting a 10pm close, and our flight wasn’t until 1am.

Despite having the lowest damn thresholds for entry (I mean they did let us in, after all) the place wasn’t too crowded — partly thanks to its very long, narrow design. In fact, this made it feel like one of the bigger lounges I’ve been in.

Much “homier” feeling than an Delta or United lounge

The best news:  it wasn’t operated by a cut-throat American carrier, meaning no skimping on the beverage and food choices. Skip the lunch or dinner before hitting up the Oasis lounge: it’ll have at least 3 hot meal options.

Pretty good Chicken Tikka Masala for dinner

There are copious amounts of wine, liquor and beer in a self-service bar which is almost never seen in the US; my gut reaction is that I love it but can’t imagine it’s even legal.

The best feature of the lounge? The showers, no reservation required. It was relatively clean and a rather rice facility:

Rocking a long, narrow space means The Oasis has a lot of prime real estate to watch all the planes:

In the distance: an Emirates A380 destined for Dubai

It is a bit odd, though, that it’s on the land side, making you have to budget plenty of time to get through security. We thought we had left ample time to get to our 1am flight, but got to our gate to find nearly everyone onboard already. Sorry to be “that guy.”

BOTTOM LINE: Oasis Lounge will let you in for $45 or with Priority Pass Select and you’ll find a large, comfortable lounge with a self-serve bar, shower facilities and a hot meal. All that you could ask for, really.

The post JFK Terminal 4 Lounges/The Oasis Lounge first appeared on Weekend Blitz.

Update 1/5/14: This still works! We used this last week on our way back from The Maldives. We were provided a free taxi ride from Newark-EWR to LaGuardia-LGA.

How It Works:

Delta has 2 hubs in the NYC area: LaGuardia and JFK. It is possible, based on flight schedules, that you’ll have to fly into one and out of the other. In most cases, the transfer is up to you and it’s not an easy one. If, however, you fly into Newark (EWR) or LaGuardia (LGA) and you have an international flight  (All Transatlantic / Transpacific / Mexico /Caribbean Flights) out out of JFK, then Delta will foot the bill!

When I was booking the flight to GEO (Georgetown, Guyana), the phone agent mentioned that Delta operates a shuttle between airports. Well, after a Google search and rooting around Delta’s website, that appears to not be true. Once we grabbed our bags at LGA, I went up to the baggage services Delta counter, asking for the “Shuttle to JFK.” As expected, the rep said, “There’s no shuttle to JFK. Let me see your tickets,” and, after some quick typing on the computer, she printed off a travel voucher.

How To Get It:

1. Book a Delta flight with 2+ legs with a connection in:

• LaGuardia (LGA) to/from JFK
• Newark (EWR) to/from JFK

2. Make sure you destination is international. Domestic flights DON’T QUALIFY, the rules state that only Transatlantic / Transpacific / Mexico / Caribbean flights qualify — which essentially means if you’re between the US and any red country on the map, you’re good to go.

Destinations that qualify, not bad!

3. At either JFK, LGA or EWR baggage claim, go to the Delta counter and explain you’re looking for the shuttle for your connecting flight. They’ll do a quick lookup, print off a voucher and call your town car!

The Terrible Alternatives, further emphasizing the awesome-ness of this deal:

Airport transfers are notoriously bad. When you think about it logically, there aren’t many reasons why a city would have 2 airport close together.

Newark (EWR) to JFK by subway can be done for cheap but will take 2+ hours!:

Newark (EWR) to JFK by cab can would cost $96+ w/ tip!:

LaGuardia (LGA) to JFK by subway, again cheap by difficult with bags and time consuming:

LaGuardia (LGA) to JFK by cab, at least $50+!:

The post The FREE Delta LaGuardia to JFK Transfer first appeared on Weekend Blitz.

Translated, Guyana means “The Land of Many Waters” and, of their total area, more than 8% of it is made up of water.

Guyana is about the size of Minnesota, Utah, Idaho or Kansas (I know, all pretty boring-ly shaped states).

Put differently, and more appropriately for my narrow view, it’s the size of North Carolina + South Carolina combined. Or about 1/3 of France:

Its population is only about 750k people (similar to that of North Dakota or Alaska). As such, it has one of the lowest population/mi² figures in the world (they’re 230th of 242 countries).

Economy

Guyana’s economy is driven by rice & sugar production and gold mining.

Crazy stat: the employable workforce in Guyana is only appx 450k people. To put that in perspective, the largest Foxconn Factory (iPhone producer) in Shenzhen, China employees somewhere between 230k to 450k people at one factory!

Very Brief History

• In 1616, the Dutch settled the area. Check out the Dutch trade route below showing that Guyana received slaves from Western Africa while exporting sugar.

• 1746:  in an effort to attract more immigrants, the Dutch opened an area up to the British.
• By 1786, so many British had settled there that the country was effectively under British control.

• Between the 1780s and 1814, the Dutch, British and French all fought back home in Europe.
• 1814:  the dust settled and the Dutch ceded the colony to British control (thus explaining the Dutch-style architechture but English-speaking inhabitants).
• 1966:  Guyana was granted its independence from the British

Safety

In short, you’ll be fine in Guyana – just exercise as much caution as you would in an unfamiliar/dangerous neighborhood in your home town. The detailed U.S. Department of State report can be found here: Guyana Report. The most important things to take away when visiting Georgetown:

• “The Embassy reminds U.S. citizens to be cautious and vigilant, particularly near any sites associated with political activity.”
• “You should avoid walking around Georgetown alone, even in the main areas and especially after dark.”
• “Due to the risks of checked baggage being lost, delayed, or rifled through, you should hand carry medications, valuables and perishable items and make sure to carry a prescription for any medications that you are required to take.”

Why Would You Want to Go There?

The most popular reason to visit is eco-tourism, where you can experience a ton of undisturbed nature in the following places:

Kaieteur Falls

Orinduik Falls

An eco-lodge/resort

Baganara Island Resort

Arrowpoint Resort

Georgetown

It’s far from impressive, but it’s a decent-enough place to visit once and will provide you with cheap lodging while in Guyana.

Stabroek Market

Watch the Mashramani Celebration (Feb 23 in Georgetown)

The post About Guyana first appeared on Weekend Blitz.

As a frequent reader of flyertalk.com, a mileage run deal caught my eye back in July (thread here) for a (relatively) cheap flight from JFK to Georgetown, Guyana. Flights were over 50% off, down from the $800s to $399. As if I needed an excuse to take an impulsive weekend trip.

The best piece of advice you’ll read when planning for Guyana: “It is a pain in the ass to plan for Guyana.” There isn’t much info online, there are no international hotel chains in the country and few hotels are bookable online. You’ll feel like you’re planning a trip in 1989.

Planning things to do presents an even harder problem: not only do tour companies not have online booking systems (or much info about their offerings online), but also most tours require a minimum number of passengers before they can confirm the tour; this, by default, means that tours can really only be booked close to the departure date.

• Tips for planning:
  • Read Weekend Blitz trip reports! (Series index here) And feel free to send us questions!
• Other, (second-rate) sources:
  • Check TripAdvisor Guyana for recent tour operator reviews: link here.
  • TripAdvisor: Georgetown Hotel & B&B reviews
  • Start a new thread on FlyerTalk or search an old one (good old one here). People around this site have travelled to countries you’ve never even heard of and are more than willing to help out.
  • Look around the Official Guyana Tourism Authority site.
    • All tour operators are listed here: Tour Operators
  • WikiTravel Guyana
  • Traveling Ted has some good posts, mainly geared towards the “outdoor adventure traveller”: you can find them here.

When to Go

Literally anytime. Year-round high temps are 85 °F – 89 °F. Average lows are only 72 °F – 74°F. It goes without saying the climate is “tropical,” but it is worth noting that the two rainier-than-normal seasons are from May to mid-August & mid-November to mid-January. Depending on what you’re doing in Guyana, you might actively try to go during the rainy season or try to avoid it. For example: visiting the waterfalls might be better during the rainy season. Doing the 5-day camping/hiking trip to Kaieteur Falls, however, might be best left for the drier seasons.

 What to Pack

• Sunscreen:  a must!
• Bug spray:  a must! Unless you want to pay $15+ for it at the gas station there
• Rain gear
• Shorts:  you won’t stand out any more than normal if you skip the long pants
• Bathing suit
• Very casual clothing:  you won’t have to worry about going to any upscale restaurants here

Useful Tips

• Take cash with you. It’s very easy to change and you’ll likely get  a better rate exchanging cash than the bank/ATM will give you.
• DO NOT go home with Guyanese dollars ($GYD), it is right at impossible to change them back outside of the country. I’ve got about $110 USD worth of Guyanese dollars that I’m currently using as coasters around the house. Both an annoying and expensive mistake.

Much more info on About Guyana in the next post.

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