AT A GLANCE
Why go?
Plage Pim-Poum is a small, characterful stretch of coast in Kourou, French Guiana, where sandy shallows meet a rocky headland along the Atlantic. One of the few developed beaches in this South American territory, it draws locals for fishing, barbecues, and sunset gatherings — and visitors for something far more unusual: watching Ariane rockets disappear into the sky from the Guiana Space Centre, just a few kilometres down the coast.↗↗
Tucked between Plage de la Cocoteraie and Plage des Roches on Kourou's seaside avenue, Pim-Poum offers a compact, informal alternative to the more crowded stretches next door. The Association Nautique de Kourou keeps a fleet of sailing dinghies and light craft here, so the beach doubles as a watersports base.↗↗
What Makes It Special
Pim-Poum is one of very few beaches in French Guiana that have been set up for public use. Thatched picnic shelters (paillotes) dot the sand, a rarity in a territory where most of the 120-kilometre coastline remains wild, muddy, or inaccessible. The beach itself is small — a gentle crescent of sand bookended by a rocky point — but it has a lived-in, neighbourhood quality that larger resort beaches rarely achieve.
