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Capital
Paramaribo, on the Suriname River
The forested coast of South America
The forest, the river, and a wooden capital
Suriname sits on the Atlantic between Guyana and French Guiana. Most of the country is rainforest. Most visits start in Paramaribo, a UNESCO-listed wooden center, and then follow a river, a reservoir, or the coast.
JvL · CC BY 2.0
Landscape
Most of the country is rainforest
Languages
Dutch is official. Sranan Tongo is everyday speech.
Money
Surinamese dollar (SRD). Cards are uneven outside the city.
UNESCO
Paramaribo, the Central Suriname Nature Reserve, and Jodensavanne
Best window
Drier months cluster around February–April and August–November
How to use this guide
Read a place, then a way of spending the day, then a route. Nothing here is a reservation. Interior trips depend on boats, small planes, and hosts who work with the communities you want to visit.
Places to start
From a walkable capital to a reserve you reach by air or a long river.
Capital
Paramaribo historic center
A wooden UNESCO center on the Suriname River, compact enough to walk, with colonial streets, a market, and places of worship side by side.
Brokopondo
Brokopondo and Brownsberg
A vast reservoir and a forested plateau above its eastern shore, south of the city on the Afobaka road.
Sipaliwini
Upper Suriname River
Saamaka villages and forest stays reached by boat from Atjoni, south of the reservoir.
Marowijne
Galibi and the Atlantic coast
Kali'na villages and a nesting beach for leatherback and green sea turtles, at the mouth of the Marowijne. Seasonal, and only with local guides.
In Paramaribo
The walk, the meal, and the night. The rest of the country starts after this.
Spots
The walk, the meal, and the night. The rest of the country starts after this.
Food
Roti, pom, Javanese plates, peanut soup, and the Central Market. Eating is the clearest way to understand the city.
Nightlife
Evenings on Waterkant, live kaseko and karaoke, and a taxi home. Paramaribo goes out on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
Ways to spend the days
Wildlife, food, river travel, and visits that belong to the people who live there.
Historic Paramaribo
A walk through the wooden UNESCO center: the fort, the cathedral, the synagogue, and the riverfront.
Food
Roti, pom, Javanese plates, peanut soup, and the Central Market. Eating is the clearest way to understand the city.
Nightlife
Evenings on Waterkant, live kaseko and karaoke, and a taxi home. Paramaribo goes out on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
River journeys
The interior is traveled by boat. A korjaal from Atjoni is the ordinary way onto the Upper Suriname.
Rainforest and wildlife
Howler monkeys, forest birds, and long views over the reservoir or the river. The wildlife is there. It does not perform.
Community-led visits
Saamaka villages on the Upper Suriname, and Kali'na villages at Galibi, receive guests on their own terms.
Coastal birding
Wetlands, mangroves, and rice fields in Nickerie, plus the seasonal turtle beaches at Galibi.
Festivals and the year
New Year, Holi, Diwali, and Keti Koti are public life in Paramaribo. Dates follow more than one calendar.
A week, if you have it
A week with a rainforest stay
Two days in the capital, then a boat south of the reservoir, with Brownsberg as the fallback if the river trip is not confirmed.
Read the seven-day route · 7 days
Before you go
When to go
Two drier seasons, roughly February to April and August to November. Trails and boats still depend on that week’s rain.
Arriving
International flights land at Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport, about an hour south of Paramaribo.
Languages
Dutch is official. Sranan Tongo is part of daily life. English covers some tourist conversations, not all of them.