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Voykit pocket guide · Suriname
Paramaribo
Paramaribo is a morning-and-evening city: walk the wooden centre and the river before 10:30, rest at midday, eat at the riverside stalls after 18:00 — and take a car after dark.
Paramaribo's historic centre is compact and flat, but it is hot and humid all year, pavements are uneven and taxis are the way home after dark. Four clusters cover a first visit: the river and the fort, the mosque-and-synagogue street, the market and the hotel strip by the river. The airport is 45 km away, so every arrival and departure is a full hour on the road.
- Country
- Suriname
- Best months
- Feb · Mar · Aug · Sep · Oct · Nov
- Time zone
- America/Paramaribo
- Stay
- 2 days: The river and Fort Zeelandia, Keizerstraat and the market
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- SRD
- Money
- Cards work in larger hotels and some restaurants; cash (SRD, and often US dollars or euros) for the market, small restaurants, warungs and taxis. Change for large notes is hard to find.
- Daily spend
- Budget SRD 900–1,700 excl. bed · Mid SRD 1,700–3,800 excl. bed · High SRD 3,800+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- Buy a prepaid SIM in the city (passport needed) or install an eSIM before you fly.
- Emergency
- Police, fire, ambulance 115 · Academic Hospital Paramaribo Check
- Plugs
- 127 V, 60 Hz; two-pin sockets (types C and F). Bring an adapter.
- Tipping
- A service charge is sometimes added; otherwise about 10% in restaurants. Round up for drivers.
- Water
- Use bottled or filtered water; ice in restaurants is usually factory-made.
- Toilets
- Hotels, restaurants, malls.
Get in
By air
- Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport (PBM)
- PBM to the historic centre: one pre-booked hotel transfer or airport taxi, 60–90 minutes — the risk is a late landing with no pickup arranged, not the distance.
Get around
Walk inside a cluster by day; a taxi between clusters and after dark.
- Passes
- No pass. Taxis rarely have working meters: agree the fare before you get in.
- Late at night
- No rail. Buses stop early and are not a visitor plan: ask the hotel to book the taxi back before you go out.
See and do
01Fort Zeelandia
Go in the morning: the old fort on the river, with a museum inside, is best before the heat; bags stay at the hotel.
02Mosque and synagogue on KeizerstraatMoskee en Synagoge
Go in the morning and see them from the street; enter only where asked, with shoulders and knees covered and shoes off.
Hours and prices are desk estimates (checked 2026-09); anything marked (check) is not confirmed. Coordinates open in any map app.
Eat
- Waterkant evening warungs
- Walk-in Javanese and Creole plates at riverside stalls; go at dusk, take a taxi home, carry small notes.
Sleep
- Historic centre
- First-timers: the square, the fort and the Waterkant are a short walk; choose a hotel with a 24-hour desk and a taxi at the door.
- Riverside hotels (Torarica and Rainville)
- Larger riverside hotels with pools and desks staffed round the clock; a taxi ride from the market and Keizerstraat.
Language
Dutch is the language of government, school and signs. Sranan Tongo, an English-based creole, is what everyone shares in the street. Sarnami Hindustani, Javanese, Chinese, Maroon languages (Saramaccan, Ndyuka) and Indigenous languages are spoken at home; many people also speak English.
- 'Fa waka?' (how are you?) in Sranan; 'Dankjewel' is Dutch for thank you.
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake and 'goedemorgen' or 'fa waka'; avoid: Skipping greetings
- Villages: Follow the guide and village rules; avoid: Entering without permission
- Religion: Respect all faiths' holidays; avoid: Photos inside places of worship without asking
- Politics: Listen; avoid: Discussing the 1980s military regime lightly
Red lines
- Mosques, temples and churches: cover shoulders and knees and take shoes off where asked.
- Do not photograph police, military or government buildings.
- Ask before photographing people.
Scams (Suriname page)
- Unofficial entry-fee and e-visa sites: Pay only through the government's VFS portal and fill the ICF on icf.sr.
- Street money changers: Use banks or official cambios.
- Unlicensed river guides: Book with a known lodge that includes the boat.
One and two days
1 day
The first day of the timed plan.
Day 1 — Independence Square, Fort Zeelandia, a 12:30 lunch table
- 08:00independence square
- Fort Zeelandia
- palmentuin (optional)
- 12:30Lunch table 12:30 (Waterkant)
- Hotel or AC café 13:00–16:00; riverside warungs at dusk by taxi.
2 days
The first two days of the timed plan.
Day 1 — Independence Square, Fort Zeelandia, a 12:30 lunch table
- 08:00independence square
- Fort Zeelandia
- palmentuin (optional)
- 12:30Lunch table 12:30 (Waterkant)
- Hotel or AC café 13:00–16:00; riverside warungs at dusk by taxi.
Day 2 — Keizerstraat and the Central Market at 08:00
- 08:00Mosque and synagogue on Keizerstraat
- domineestraat (optional)
- central market (optional)
- Evening: dinner on the riverside from 18:00; book the taxi back before you go out.
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Government of Suriname (official portal): www.gov.sr/
- Suriname tourism information: www.suriname.nu/
- UK FCDO travel advice: Suriname: www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/suriname
- Wikivoyage — Paramaribo: en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Paramaribo
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Printed from Voykit (/paramaribo). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.