Getting to Berbice — how to travel, get around, and when to come

Berbice is the eastern county of Guyana, and New Amsterdam is its capital. Getting here is straightforward — one road, one bridge — but there are a handful of practical facts that catch first-time visitors out. This covers them.

The route, in one line

Airport → Georgetown → east along the coast → Rosignol → the Berbice River Bridge → New Amsterdam.

From the airport

You will land at Cheddi Jagan International Airport (GEO) at Timehri, on the right bank of the Demerara River, about 41 km (25 miles) south of Georgetown on the East Bank Demerara.

From there you go north into Georgetown, then east on the East Coast Demerara public road — known locally and universally as the Public Road. It runs in two documented sections, Georgetown to Mahaica and Mahaica to Rosignol.

Georgetown to New Amsterdam is about 100 km (62 miles), fully paved. Allow two to three hours by minibus, and rather more if you leave Georgetown at rush hour. From the airport, add the run into town.

The three ways to do it

A hired car and driver. The simplest option, and the one to take if you are arriving tired, arriving late, or travelling with luggage or children. Ask your hotel to arrange it before you fly — a driver who is expecting you at arrivals is worth the premium. Agree the price before you get in.

A minibus. Cheap, frequent, and the way most Guyanese travel. The documented routes you want:

• Route 50 — Rosignol ↔ Georgetown
• Route 56 — New Amsterdam ↔ Rosignol
• Route 63 — Corriverton ↔ New Amsterdam
• Route 63A — Georgetown ↔ Moleson Creek
• Route 40 — Georgetown ↔ Timehri (the airport road)

Since the bridge opened, many buses run straight through rather than terminating at Rosignol, but the numbering above is the official scheme. Buses generally leave when full rather than to a timetable. Ask the fare before you board, and have small notes — drivers rarely have change for a large one.

Driving yourself. Perfectly possible on the coast road. Two things to know: Guyana drives on the left, and the coast road runs through a continuous string of villages where people, animals, cyclists and vendors share the carriageway. Speed limits exist and matter. Do not drive it at night if you can avoid it.

The Berbice River Bridge

The bridge opened on 23 December 2008 and replaced the Rosignol ferry. It is a floating pontoon bridge about 1,570 metres long, connecting D’Edward Village on the west bank to Crab Island on the east.

Two practical points:

Tolls no longer exist. All major bridges in Guyana, the Berbice Bridge included, became toll-free from 1 August 2025. Older guidance telling you to budget for a toll is out of date.

It opens for shipping. Two spans retract to let large vessels through a 70-metre channel. The manoeuvre takes about eight minutes, but traffic queues on both sides. If you are travelling to catch something with a fixed departure — a flight, a ferry — do not plan to arrive with ten minutes to spare.

Getting around once you are here

New Amsterdam’s centre is small and walkable. For anything further:

• Taxis are the practical choice, and are usually arranged by telephone rather than hailed. Your hotel will have numbers. Agree the fare before you set off.
• Minibuses run the local routes and along the Corentyne — route 63 for Corriverton.
• Ride apps operate in Guyana; Syomen Says, a Little Rock service, covers car, canta, bus, cart, airport runs and tours, with vetted drivers.
• Hiring a car and driver for the day is common and often better value than a series of taxis if you want to see the Corentyne or go up the Canje.

Going on to Suriname

The MV Canawaima ferry crosses the Corentyne River between Moleson Creek in Guyana and South Drain, in the Nickerie district of Suriname. It is the only legal crossing between the two countries, and it has run since 1998. The crossing takes about half an hour.

The schedule published when the service resumed had one crossing each way per day: departing Moleson Creek at 10:30, with check-in from 06:30 to 08:30; departing Suriname at 10:00, with check-in from 07:30 to 09:00. Additional trips run when traffic requires.

Confirm the times before you travel. Ferry schedules here change, and several third-party sources quote different hours. The terminal numbers are +592 339-2744 and +592 339-2787. Have your passport, your visa if you need one, and time in hand — check-in closes well before departure.

Corriverton, Guyana’s easternmost town, sits at the mouth of the Corentyne opposite Nieuw Nickerie. It was formed by merging Springlands and Skeldon, and had a population of 11,488 at the 2022 census. It is about 313 km from Georgetown — a further two hours or so east of New Amsterdam.

When to come

Guyana is tropical, hot and humid all year, moderated on the coast by the north-east trade winds. The coast has two wet seasons: a major one from roughly May to mid-August, and a shorter one from mid-November to January.

That gives you two drier windows — roughly February to April, and September to early November. Those are the easier months for travelling the coast road and for anything outdoors.

But do not over-plan around it. Guyanese rain is usually heavy and short rather than all-day, and the wet season is also when a great deal happens: Republic Day and Mashramani in February, Easter, Independence in May, and the July–August period when the diaspora comes home — which is also when hotels fill up. If you are coming for an event, book accommodation early and take the rain as it comes.

The practical facts

• Currency: the Guyana dollar (GYD, G$). Carry small notes; many places do not take cards.
• Time zone: UTC−4, all year. Guyana does not change its clocks.
• Driving: on the left.
• Language: English is the official language.
• Power: bring a plug adapter and expect the occasional interruption.
• Bring: insect repellent, sun protection, and something waterproof whatever the month.

When you get here

New Amsterdam is a walking town for its centre and a driving town for everything else. Once you have arrived, the visitor’s guide to what is actually here covers the Town Hall, the market, the churches and the Esplanade — and where to stay in New Amsterdam covers what a Berbice hotel is like and how booking actually works.

And if you want to know what is happening while you are here, 88.5 Rock FM is on the dial at 88.5, and LRTVS NewsWatch publishes the county’s news daily.