Paramaribo Getting there & around

Getting there & away

Local transport

Taxi

Taxis leave from the same areas as the minibuses, or have your hotel call one. If you find a reliable driver, take his car and phone number and enjoy your own personal driver throughout your stay. Going east, it might be better to catch a taxi on the Meerzorg side of the river.

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Land

Bus

Minibuses to Nieuw Nickerie (US$4, four hours, 235km) and other western destinations leave when full from the corner of Dr Sophie Redmondstraat and Hofstraat. Eastbound minibuses to Albina (US$4, four hours, 140km) leave at hourly intervals (or when full) from Waterkant at the foot of Heiligenweg. For connecting boat information, see the Albina and Nieuw Nickerie sections.

Car

The most reliable rental agencies are Avis (421567; www.avis.com), which has offices in the Hotel Torarica and at the airport, and Europcar (424631; www.europcar.com) who have a desk at the airport. Rental cars are expensive (from $40 per day) and may not be in perfect condition; be somewhat car savvy.

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Air

Paramaribo has two airports: nearby Zorg-en-Hoop (for domestic flights) and the larger Johan Pengel International Airport (for international flights), usually referred to as Zanderij, 45km south of Parbo.

Airlines with offices in Paramaribo include BWIA (422511; www.bwee.com; Wagenwegstraat 36), Gum Air (498760; www.gumair.com; Kwattaweg 254), KLM (472421; Dr DE Mirandastraat 9) and SLM (432700; www.slm.firm.sr; Dr Sophie Redmondstraat 219).

Destinations and sample one-way airfares include:

Belém (Brazil) META, US$200, two hours, three per week; SLM, US$227, two per week.

Curaçao (Caribbean) SLM, US$334, three hours, four per week.

Port of Spain (Trinidad) BWIA, US$203, 30 minutes, three per week; SLM, US$202, four per week.

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