Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a republic on the north coast of South America with its capital Paramaribo. The country was a colony of the Netherlands from 1667 to 1954 and then a country within the Dutch Kingdom. Suriname became independent on November 25, 1975. The Surinamese population consists of several ethnic groups, none of which constitutes an absolute majority. The main language and official language is Dutch, while Sranan Tongo is mainly used as a lingua franca, as a means of communication between the different ethnicities. Furthermore, there are several local and indigenous languages that are spoken by the different population groups.
Traffic
In Suriname, driving is on the left side of the road and traffic from the left has priority. The traffic signs and traffic rules are comparable to those in the Netherlands. The road network is limited and many roads inland are unpaved. During the rainy periods there is a risk of flooded roads and sinkholes. Driving after dark where there are no street lights is not recommended. For a destination in the jungle, transport is via coral or domestic plane. The number of road casualties is relatively high. In 2013, there was an average of 19.1 traffic fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants.
In Suriname, the local population hardly cycles. There are few/no cycle paths in Paramaribo and cars are often parked on the sidewalks. In general, all traffic therefore uses the same road surface. There are several bicycle rental companies. The increase in the number of cyclists in the country is mainly attributed to the arrival of Dutch trainees and tourists. The number of road casualties among cyclists is low compared to moped riders, which is explained by their small presence.
Safety
When it comes to safety, in addition to Paramaribo, there are increased risks of robberies in the eastern towns of Moengoen Abina, on the western border with Guyana, in the Brokopondo district and along some highways.
Compared to 143 countries worldwide, safety in Suriname ranked 49th in 2015, higher than some European countries and the United States.
The Dutch ministry advises not to carry valuables conspicuously and not to resist in the event of a robbery. According to the ministry, traveling alone is not recommended, nor is traveling through slums or remote areas, or being outside the entertainment center in Paramaribo at night.
January 1 – New Year
New Year is the day that celebrates the beginning of the new year.
Chinese New Year January/February – the New Year festival according to the Chinese calendar. (since 2015)
March 20 – Holi
The Holi festival, Holi-Phagwa or Phagwa, Phagawa, Phaguaa, is a Hindu festival celebrated annually around the month of March and is in fact a combination of a spring festival, a festival of the victory of good over evil and a New Year's festival. According to the Gregorian calendar it is celebrated in spring and in the Hindu calendar on the day after the full moon of the month of Phaalguna. This festival is also named after this month, Phagua/Phagwa.
April 19 – Good Friday
Good Friday is the Friday before Easter. On this day, Christians commemorate the crucifixion and death of Jesus on the hill Golgotha near the city of Jerusalem.
April 21 – 1st Easter
Easter is the most important Christian festival in the liturgical year following Holy Week. Christians celebrate this day based on their belief that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion.
April 22 – Easter Monday
Easter Monday or Easter Monday is the day after Easter Sunday and is a day off in many mainly Christian countries.
May 1 – Labor Day
Labor Day is a holiday of the socialist and communist labor movement. The day takes place every year on May 1 in the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname.
June 4 – Eid-Ul-Fitr
The Eid-al-Fitr or the Lesser Festival (Arabic: عيد الفطر, `id-al-fitr) is an Islamic festival celebrating the end of the month of Ramadan. The Arabic id-ul-fitr means “a holiday celebrating the breaking of the fast.”
July 1 – Day of Freedoms
Keti-koti or Keti Koti is an annual holiday celebrating the abolition of slavery. The name comes from Sranantongo and means Chains Broken.
On July 1, 1863, the Netherlands abolished slavery in Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles.
More than 45,000 slaves originally imported from Africa were freed, of which 34,441 slaves in Suriname. Since then, the end of slavery has been celebrated every year on this day. Despite the fact that slave owners were compensated with 300 guilders for each slave, while the freed slaves themselves received nothing and had to continue to do the heavy work on the plantations on a contractual basis for ten years.
In Suriname this day is officially called Freedom Day, but the holiday is also informally called Chain Cutting. It is a celebration for all residents and not just for the descendants of the slaves.
August 9 – Indigenous Day
The Day of the Indigenous, also called Ingi Dei, is an official holiday in Suriname and falls on August 9. The day symbolizes respect for and recognition of the indigenous people of Suriname.
August 11 – Eed-Ul-Adha (subject to change)
The Feast of Sacrifice, Feast of Slaughter or the Great Feast (Arabic: عيد الأضحى, Id al-Adha) is the second Id festival in Islam. It is celebrated in memory of the Prophet Ibrahim, who was willing to sacrifice his son on behalf of God.
October 10 – Maroon Day
Maroons, also known as Businenge or Maroons, are refugee West African slaves who came to live as a tribe in the jungles of South America, and their descendants.
October 27 – Diwali
Diwali, also called Deepavali, Diwali or Deevali, is one of the most important festivals in Hinduism and has its origins in India. The word is derived from the Sanskrit dipavali, which means a row of lights. The oil lamps, Dipa, traditionally a clay-fired lamp, Diya or Dia, with cotton wick and clarified butter (ghee). During the party, lights are lit throughout the house and in the yards. Diwali, also known as the Festival of Lights, is symbolically meant as “the victory of good over evil, victory of light over darkness, victory of bliss over ignorance”.
Celebrating this festival involves consuming sweet food. In India people also light fireworks. Diwali is a cheerful festival and is often celebrated as a family. It is a party for everyone, for young and old, men and women, rich and poor. Diwali is celebrated to welcome light into life. Light is always associated with success and hope. In Suriname it has been a National Day since 2010. The Suriname Dia will also be lit for a week at the independence square in Paramaribo.
November 25 – Independence Day
Independent means that a country or state has complete sovereignty over its territory, can independently decide on domestic and foreign policy and is not (or no longer) governed by another country.
December 25 – Christmas Day
Christmas Day is the first day of the Christmas celebration. Christmas Day always takes place on December 25th.
December 26 – Boxing Day
Boxing Day falls on December 26 and is the holiday following Christmas Day.
Use the checklist below to properly prepare your trip.
Travel document
When traveling to Suriname, you must always take a valid passport with you with which you can identify yourself.
For Suriname, your passport must be valid for at least 6 months when you leave Suriname.
Visa
You do not need a visa for Suriname if the purpose of travel is tourism and/or visiting family.
A visa is required for business, work, study, internship or transit to Suriname. Arrange your visa online through VFS Global. Contact the Consulate General of Suriname in Amsterdam for visa information.
Are you traveling to Suriname for tourist purposes? You must pay an entrance fee to enter the territory of Suriname.
Read more information and how to pay the entrance fee on the VFS Global website (information in English).
Upon arrival in Suriname you must show your proof of payment to the local authorities.
Traveling with children
Children also need a valid passport to travel to Suriname.
Are you traveling alone with children under the age of 18? Check which documents you need and take them with you. This way you avoid long waiting times at border controls.
Corona entry conditions
Corona entry conditions no longer apply to Suriname.
Drivers license
Check whether you are allowed to rent and drive a motor vehicle with your Dutch driver's license. You also need an international driver's license. You can buy that at the ANWB.
Travel insurance
Always take out good travel insurance that covers additional medical costs such as hospitalization and repatriation. Your basic health insurance does not always reimburse these costs 100 percent.
Are you going to practice (extreme) sports? Take out additional insurance.
Put the telephone number of your travel insurer's emergency center in your phone.
Money
Make sure you have enough financial resources to deal with unexpected situations during your trip (think of extra costs in case of delays, higher costs for accommodation and transport).
Take multiple payment methods with you to Suriname, such as a debit or credit card and cash. In many places you can only pay in cash.
Payment with credit cards is not possible everywhere.
You can withdraw money from ATMs with a Dutch debit card.
In most places, especially inland, you can only pay in cash. So make sure you have different means of payment before traveling to Suriname.
Put your bank's phone number in your phone. You will need it if you want to block your bank card in case of loss or theft.
Check whether your bank card is activated for debit card payments outside Europe (World).
Mobile phone
Check with your provider what the costs are for mobile calling and data use outside the EU. It may be useful to purchase a foreign package.
Please note that there is no or poor coverage in remote areas. Will you be backpacking or hiking in remote areas? Upon arrival (for example at the airport), buy a local SIM card for tourists (with data roaming). Check in advance which mobile provider offers good coverage in the area you are going to. Make sure your mobile phone is unlocked so that you can use the activated local SIM card.
People staying at home
Don't turn people at home into trackers and let them know what your travel plans are.
Make good agreements with those at home about your accessibility.
Give those staying at home a copy of your travel documents, vaccination record, credit card and insurance details. Also keep these copies in a safe place online.
Also give people at home the IMEI number of your phone: in the event of an emergency, your mobile provider can use this to locate or block your phone. The easiest way to find out this number: dial *#06# on your phone. Then the number will appear on your screen.
Enter the telephone number of your emergency contact as an ICE number in your phone. Emergency services can then contact this person without having to unlock your phone.
Healthcare
Healthcare in Suriname is of moderate quality and does not have the level of care in the Netherlands.
Medical specialists are usually trained in the Netherlands and provide care of a good to very good level. The problem is the shortage of people and resources.
Take out comprehensive travel health and repatriation insurance for the duration of your stay to avoid financial surprises.
Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a republic on the north coast of South America with its capital Paramaribo.
Suriname was first a colony of England from 1650 and then a colony of the Netherlands from 1667 to 1954. Later, the country, like the Netherlands Antilles, became a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The country was a colony of the Netherlands from 1667 to 1954 and then a country within the Kingdom.
Suriname became independent on November 25, 1975.
Surinamese cuisine
Since the population of Suriname combines a large number of international cuisines including Indian, African, Javanese, Chinese, Jewish, Portuguese and Indigenous.
This has ensured that Surinamese cuisine has many dishes; the different population groups subsequently started to use and influence each other's dishes and ingredients (fusion), from which new Surinamese dishes emerged, including: various roti dishes, bara, Javanese noodles, nasi and yellow rice dishes, sauto soup, pietjel, teloh, bakabana with peanut sauce, various satay, pom, moksi alesi, tjauwmin and nasi with moksi meti, Surinamese vegetables such as antroewa, tayer leaf, sopropo, boulanger, long beans, etc. In general, Surinamese people eat various types of sambel and garnishes with their dishes. The unique Surinamese cuisine arose from this mixing of cultures with Surinamese.
Sandwiches
Various forms of bread and pasta are eaten in Suriname. Many types of bread have become common under Dutch influence, which has resulted in a wide range of Surinamese sandwiches, such as bakkeljauw sandwich, chicken, salt meat, shrimp, chicken liver, curry egg, etc. In the interior, flat breads called dosie are baked from cassava.
Surinamese delicacies
A festive sweet dish is the fiadoe, originally from Jewish cuisine. It is a cake with a cake-like structure and often filled with raisins, currants, almonds, candied peel and rum. Also festive are the simple Cornstarch Cookies, which are made from corn starch and decorated with colored speckles.
Shaved ice (slush) is a popular snack in the warm Surinamese climate. A block of ice is placed on a "planer cart", which is then shaved with a metal ice plane. The ice shavings are presented in a cup and topped with Surinamese syrup, made from tamrinde, mope, coconut, orgaade, pineapple and other local Surinamese fruits.
Drinks (alcohol)
Surinamese cuisine has also been strongly influenced and influenced by the various population groups in the field of drinks. Many variants of Surinamese drinks can also be found in other parts of the world. The well-known Borgoe Rum, Parbo beer, Marienburg rum, Kasisiri (a slightly alcoholic drink made by natives from cassava)
The popular non-alcoholic drinks
Orgeade, dawet, ginger beer, various types of fernandes. The Fernandes Group was founded at the beginning of the 20th century by a Surinamese Jewish businessman Isaak Fernandes and his son Jule Fernandes. To date, they produce a wide range of soft drinks of its own brand not only in Suriname, but also widely sold in the Netherlands and other foreign countries. The company became big in the soft drinks industry when it managed to acquire the bottling rights of Coca Cola exclusively for Suriname in the 1930s. Today, Fernandes has nine flavors of soft drink on the market, emphasizing the tropical character.
Red symbolizes progress and the struggle for a better life, White stands for freedom and justice (peace) and the color Green symbolizes the fertility of the land. The star symbolizes the hope for a "golden" future or unity.
Johan Adolf Pengel airport
This airport has been officially renamed after the popular Surinamese statesman Johan Adolf Pengel (1916 - 1970), but the old name 'Zanderij' is still popularly used.
The airport currently has one runway of 3.5 kilometers. An important component of transport are the transatlantic flights of KLM and SLM (Surinam Airways) as well as regional flights of several companies from the Caribbean, including Caribbean Airlines, Insel Air and Insel Air Aruba. There are also regular freight flights, especially to Miami and the nearby region by Amerijet and Laparkan Airways, among others. The airport is often visited by various aircraft as a fuel stop for refueling with kerosene (Jet A1 fuel) on various flights to and from South America.
The airport has around ten international destinations, including Amsterdam, Curacao and Aruba. The travel time between Amsterdam and Paramaribo is approximately 9.5 hours. The travel time from Zanderij to the center of Paramaribo takes about an hour.
Tourism is a small sector within the Surinamese economy. This is true not only relative to other sectors, such as the extraction of oil and especially gold, but also relative to the scale of tourism within the economies of other countries. The largest group of tourists by far comes from the Netherlands.
Suriname is also rich in minerals such as bauxite and gold. These ores are then used as raw materials for various end products: bauxite, for example, is an important raw material in making the metal aluminum. Oil fields are still being discovered and exploited off the coast of Suriname.
Local emergency services
Do you need immediate help in Suriname? Contact local emergency services:
Police and ambulance: 115
Private ambulance: 117
Fire brigade: 110
Healthcare
Healthcare in Suriname is of moderate quality and does not have the level of care in the Netherlands.
Medical specialists are usually trained in the Netherlands and provide care of a good to very good level. The problem is the shortage of people and resources.
Take out comprehensive travel health and repatriation insurance for the duration of your stay to avoid financial surprises.
Medicines
Are you taking medications?
Take enough with you, even for extra days.
Take a European Medical Passport with you, which contains all your medical information.
Check which medicines you need a statement for to be allowed to take them to Suriname.
Always take the original packaging with you when traveling.
The Netherlands & Bonaire
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(time difference: -6 uur)
+31 8820 420 02
info@bluebirdtravel.nl
