📷 Paramaribo Food Tour, hoofdfoto, liggend
Paramaribo Food Tour
Six kitchens inside three kilometres, from the fish hall to saoto in Blauwgrond.
€45 per person 4 hours 3 km walking
A neat white director’s house looking straight at a cell.
Commewijne plantation tour: by boat to Fort Nieuw Amsterdam, Frederiksdorp and the sloths of Peperpot
You cross the Suriname River in the morning, the only way the Waterkant still looks the way it was meant to, and walk into an eighteenth-century coffee plantation where the director’s house, the police post and the cells still stand in sight of each other. In the afternoon you follow the old plantation tracks at Peperpot between the cacao trees, with sloths overhead almost every time.
€75 per person 7 hours 3 km walking
- Group size
- 2–8 people
- Languages
- Dutch · English · Sranan Tongo
- Meeting point
- Onafhankelijkheidsplein
📷 Commewijne: plantations and river, hoofdfoto, liggend, echte deelnemers
We cross by boat in the morning. On the way you see the city from the water, which is the only way the Waterkant still looks the way it was meant to. With luck there are Guiana dolphins in the river mouth; that is not a guarantee and we do not pretend otherwise.
Fort Nieuw Amsterdam is the first stop: a pentagonal fort from 1747 at the fork of the Suriname and Commewijne rivers, now an open-air museum. Then Frederiksdorp, an eighteenth-century coffee plantation where the director’s house, the police post and the cells are all still standing. That contrast, a neat white house looking out at a cell, is the point of the day.
We eat lunch by the river. In the afternoon we drive to Peperpot: a former coffee and cacao plantation given back to the forest and now a nature park. You walk the old plantation tracks between cacao trees, and you almost always see sloths, often howler monkeys, toucans or an anteater.
We tell this history straight. If you want a pleasant day out without the slavery part, this is not the right tour.
What happens on the day
- 08:00 Pick-up in Paramaribo. To the jetty.
- 08:30 Boat across the Suriname River. The Waterkant seen from the water.
- 09:15 Fort Nieuw Amsterdam, open-air museum.
- 11:00 Frederiksdorp plantation: director’s house, police post, cells.
- 12:30 Lunch by the river.
- 13:45 Peperpot Nature Park: plantation tracks, cacao, sloths.
- 15:30 Back to Paramaribo, at your hotel around 15:00–15:30.
Times are indicative. Weather, traffic and how long you want to stay somewhere decide the rest.
Included
- Boat out and road transport back
- Entry to Fort Nieuw Amsterdam and Peperpot
- Lunch and water
- Guide in English or Dutch
Not included
- Extra drinks
- Tips
- Binoculars (you may borrow ours)
Bring
- Insect repellent with DEET. Peperpot is forest
- Sunscreen and a hat for the boat
- Shoes you do not mind getting dirty
- Binoculars if you have them
This is for you if…
People who want Surinamese history told on the ground where it happened rather than sailed past, and anyone who wants to see sloths.
Do not book this if…
Not for you if an open boat makes you seasick, and not if you want a pleasant day out: slavery and indenture are the substance of this day, not a footnote. It is seven hours, some of it in full sun.
What you meet along the way
Frequently asked questions
What does a Commewijne plantation tour cost?
Ours is €75 per person for seven hours, including boat, entries and lunch. On international platforms Commewijne plantation tours run from $169 to $295 per person. A local operator in Paramaribo charges around €70 to €85, we deliberately sit just below or alongside them, because the difference here is the telling, not the price.
Are there dolphins in the Suriname River?
Guiana dolphins (Sotalia guianensis) live in the mouth of the Suriname River. You see them regularly but not always; chances are best at low tide and in the late afternoon. We do not promise them, because nobody honestly can.
Can you see sloths at Peperpot?
Yes. Peperpot Nature Park is one of the most reliable places in Suriname for three-toed sloths; they sit in the cecropia trees along the main path. Also howler monkeys, toucans and, more rarely, a giant anteater.
How do you get from Paramaribo to Commewijne?
By ferry or small passenger boat across the Suriname River from the Waterkant, or by road over the Jules Wijdenbosch bridge. We go out by boat because arriving from the water is what makes it, and come back by road because it is faster.
Other tours
📷 Historic Centre Walking Tour, hoofdfoto, liggend
Historic Centre Walking Tour
From the cells of Fort Zeelandia to the synagogue that shares a plot with a mosque.
€35 per person 3 hours 2.5 km walking
📷 Blauwgrond by Night: warung hopping, hoofdfoto, liggend
Blauwgrond by Night: warung hopping
Saoto, satay, petjil and dawet. Four warungs, three hours, no menus.
€39 per person 3 hours 1.5 km walking
What you can count on
What we can actually back up
- Group size
- 2 to 8
- Languages
- Dutch · English · Sranan
- Reply
- Within 24 hours
- Cancellation
- Free to 48 hours
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