Suriname is a country in South America and located at the Atlantic Ocean.

Impressions from my Vlog

Paramaribo

The capital Paramaribo is like an open-air museum with huge wooden houses from the colonial era. Worth seeing is the “Surinaams Museum” in “Fort Zeelandia“, which also houses well-preserved wooden houses.

Commewijne River

On the other side of the river from Paramaribo are coffee and cocoa plantations divided by rivers . With two other travelers we rented orange Holland bikes and explored the area. We were in the nature park “Peperpot” and explored the fort “Fort Nieuw Amsterdam“.

Planning

  • I was 6 days in Suriname:
    • Day 1: Arrive by plane from Georgetown (Guyana) to Paramaribo.
    • Day 2: Rent a bike and explore the area.
    • Day 3: Explored Paramaribo and searched for a tour operator for a day trip to French Guiana. Day 4: Searched for a tour operator for a day trip to French Guiana. I was told by a tour operator that I can do it myself. Day 5: I went to French Guiana on my own to see the prison. Day 6: Departure by plane from Paramaribo to Belem (Brazil),
  • The surroundings of Paramaribo are best explored by bike, as everything is flat.
  • The tour operators have hefty prices and at least 2 to 3 participants are needed.
  • I really wanted to make a day trip to French Guiana and organized it myself:
    • I took a shared taxi from Paramaribo to Albina, on the border with French Guiana.
    • I crossed the river with a longboat.
    • On the other side of the river is the prison in walking distance.
    • I can recommend the guided tour. I was the only one for English and got a private tour. Price was 6 €, which I paid in cash.
    • Then all the way back to Paramaribo.
    • For some areas in French Guiana like the prison, you do not have to stamp out and stamp in. Otherwise, I would have to apply for a new visa (tourist card) for Suriname.
  • I used for my planning and can recommend the Lonely Planet for South America.

Transport

  • Getting there:
    • Paramaribo has an international airport.
    • There is a border crossing with a ferry to Guyana. Since the ferry was broken, I took a speedboat.
    • There is a border crossing with a ferry or longboats to French Guiana.
  • Means of transport between the cities:
    • There are bigger buses, I took one from Paramaribo to the airport which is about an hour away.

Accommodation

  • I found the most budget accommodation in Paramaribo on Hotels.com.
  • With the bonus nights of Hotels.com I saved 10% and stayed at the guesthouse "De Kleine Historie" (Hotels.com, Booking.com). It is centrally located, clean and breakfast was included.

Visa

  • As a German, a visa is needed.
  • The cheapest option is a tourist card with a one-time entry.
  • The tourist card is available online and it takes up to 72 hours.
  • I applied for my visa at the Embassy of Georgetown (Guyana). It took only 5 minutes and I needed the following:
    • 40 USD / 35 €: Payment with the Guyanese money is not possible. The official exchange houses had no USD in stock and a tour operator was so nice and changed my money. In my research, I read something of 25 USD and 35 USD, the price seems to increase regularly.
    • Copy of the personal data from the passport.
    • Copy of yellow fever vaccine.
    • Copy from the entry stamp of Guyana.
    • On a checklist was a passport photo, which was not necessary.
    • Entering the Embassy is only allowed with long pants and covered shoulders.