Booking three months, six months or a year of accommodation in French Guiana from abroad means committing thousands of euros on the strength of eight photos and a description. Those photos were taken wide-angle, in full light, on a day when everything was fine. They tell you nothing about damp at the base of the walls, road noise, air conditioning that blows without cooling, or what the neighbourhood is like at 7pm. That is why we offer live video tours: a member of the team goes to the property, calls you, and shows you whatever you ask to see — including the parts that are not flattering.
Why photos are not enough for a long stay
For three nights, the risk is low. For six months, a mistake is expensive: notice periods, a move, and weeks spent in a place that does not work.
What a photo never shows
- Damp. In an equatorial climate this is issue number one. Marks at the base of walls, blackened seals, a musty smell, mould behind a cupboard: none of it survives a well-framed photo.
- Noise. A busy road nearby, dogs, a generator, a neighbour’s outdoor AC unit, a school at 7am. A live call with the windows open lets you hear it.
- Whether the air conditioning actually works. An AC unit visible in a photo is not an AC unit that cools. Ask for it to be switched on and left running during the call.
- Light and orientation. A flat in full afternoon sun with no shading becomes uncomfortable — and expensive to cool.
- The immediate surroundings. What is opposite, the state of the street, night lighting, parking.
The Guianese context raises the stakes
In French Guiana a car is essential and distances matter: Cayenne to Kourou is about 1 hour (60 km), Cayenne to Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni nearly 2h45 (250 km). Choosing the wrong commune does not cost you ten minutes in the morning — it reshapes your entire year. And with a tight rental market, an available property is taken quickly: better to get it right first time.
How a video tour works
The principle is deliberately simple, and it is a live call, never a pre-recorded video. An edited video is just a photo that moves.
- You set a time slot. Factor in the time difference: French Guiana is 5 hours behind Paris in winter and 6 in summer. Mid-afternoon in Europe corresponds to late morning in Guiana, which is the most practical window.
- A team member goes to the property and calls you from inside, via WhatsApp or any video-calling tool.
- You lead the tour. You decide where to go, what to open, what to switch on. Prepare your list in advance: on a live call, you forget half your questions.
- You go outside. Landing, building entrance, street, parking, nearest shops. This is often the most instructive part.
- You receive a written summary of what was observed, including any defects identified. What is said should be written down.
Allow 20 to 30 minutes for a serious tour. Under ten minutes, you have seen nothing.
The 12-point checklist to run during the call
Here is what we recommend asking for systematically, in this order. Each point takes under two minutes.
- The base of the walls and the corners, in every room, camera close up. That is where damp shows.
- The bathroom: seals, ventilation, the ceiling above the shower.
- Hot water: ask them to run the tap and film the water heater.
- Air conditioning: switched on in front of you, in every relevant room, left running during the call. Ask when it was last serviced.
- Mosquito screens: present, in good condition, on every opening. In French Guiana this is not a comfort detail.
- Windows open, so you can hear the real sound environment.
- The kitchen: hob switched on, fridge running, cupboards opened.
- Internet connection: ask for a speed test on screen, not a verbal assurance. Essential if you work remotely or hold video calls with Europe.
- Mobile coverage inside the property — it varies a lot between areas.
- Parking: allocated or not, secure or on-street.
- Outside: the street, lighting, immediate neighbours, shops and schools nearby.
- Meters and charges: what is included, what is not, and an order of magnitude for electricity use — air conditioning weighs heavily.
For the longer version, used before signing a lease, our checklist for viewing a property in French Guiana usefully complements this list.
Video tours as protection against scams
This benefit matters at least as much as the convenience. Renting remotely is a classic hunting ground: an attractive listing, photos stolen from another site, a demand for an immediate deposit, then silence.
One simple rule protects you in almost every case: never pay before a live viewing, in person or by video. Not photos, not a video sent by message — a live call in which you ask to see something specific and unpredictable, at the moment you ask for it.
Three signals that should end the conversation immediately:
- Refusal of any live viewing, on any pretext.
- Pressure for a fast payment by an untraceable method, “to secure the property”.
- A contact who is never available on video but always quick to reply in writing.
Our article on rental scams in French Guiana details the most common setups.
