Top Suriname Day Trips

About 50 kilometers south of Paramaribo, on the right bank of the Suriname River, lies Jodensavanne, a former Jewish settlement. The site is named after Jews who fled the Inquisition around 1650 and settled in this savanna area. The location was favorable, with a hill overlooking plantations and access to two water sources, one believed to have medicinal qualities. For many years, Jodensavanne was the center of the Jewish community in Suriname. The settlers owned plantations where crops like sugarcane were cultivated, often named after Biblical places such as Hebron and Bersaba. In 1832, a major fire destroyed much of the settlement, after which the population moved to Paramaribo. Today, the ruins of the oldest Jewish synagogue in the Americas and the cemetery can still be seen. During the tour, a guide shares the rich history of this once-thriving community, followed by a traditional Surinamese lunch before returning to Paramaribo.

From the office, we'll travel along Anton Drachtenweg towards Leonsberg. Along this road, you'll encounter several beautiful homes and it's known as one of Paramaribo's most expensive neighborhoods. We'll depart from Leonsberg by wooden tent boat for Fort Nieuw-Amsterdam, home to the historic open-air museum. Dutch colonists built the fort at this strategic location in 1734 to protect the underlying plantations from the English and French. After this stop, we'll continue to the former Rust and Werk plantation. Here, you'll find a fishing village and the old colonial coffee and sugar plantations. You can experience the simple way of life of the descendants of indentured laborers. The next stop is the beautiful old Frederiksdorp coffee plantation. The buildings have been beautifully restored and now serve as hotel rooms. On the way back, we'll stop at the Johan and Margaretha plantation, which is currently used by local farmers to grow various crops such as cassava, bananas, and peppers.