Mail and Post
Service from Paramaribo is moderately reliable, but you are likely to beat your mail home. Don’t plan on mailing items from the interior. We strongly recommend you personally carry home any items you acquire rather than taking your chances with shipping. That being said, DHL freight and package services can be arranged from Paramaribo if necessary.
Internet & Email
For better or worse, wireless internet is available at many of the most lodges in Suriname (no electricity, no roads, no air conditioning… but rest assured you can update your Facebook status if you really need to). WiFi hotspots are also found at almost every hotel in Paramaribo and (sometimes) at the international airports. Expect slow-as-molasses speeds, especially out at the jungle lodges.
Telephone & Fax
Suriname’s country code is [597]. VHF radio (and increasingly, Skype) are used elsewhere. Landline and cell phone service is reliably available in and around Paramaribo. Towers have been installed along the Upper Surinaam river to bring cell service to many interior locations, too, such as Palumeu and Awarradam… although this service shouldn’t be considered reliable.
Cellular Phones
Most visitors don’t have time or patience to shop for a cell phone or SIM card on vacation, and might prefer to get away from phones for a while anyway. But, for those who want or need a phone during their stay in Suriname here are a few tips.
– Cellular service is confined to Paramaribo and environs and uses the 900 and 1800mhz GSM bands. Towers along the Upper Surinaam river have brought service to Surinaam’s interior but visitors should not rely on availability of this service.
– For the least hassle, bring a phone from home that will work upon arrival. Your domestic carrier may have roaming arrangements with one of the local cellular services (DigiCel Suriname, TeleSur, or Uniqa) but you may face steep international roaming charges. Contact your carrier to discuss costs and compatibility with the Suriname networks. You may need to enable international roaming for your phone to work overseas.
– You may prefer to rent a Suriname-specific prepaid phone, have it shipped to your home, and carry it with you to Guyana. It will work the moment your plane touches down and gives you a local +597 phone number. Email us if you want assistance with this service.
– The lowest cost option is to bring your own phone and buy a local SIM card. You’ll need an unlocked, quad-band GSM cell phone for this to work.
– For all you iPhone users out there, look in Craigslist for convenient ‘factory unlocking’ services that will permit you to insert a foreign SIM card in your phone.
– If you plan on using a local SIM card, note that you’re only likely to find standard SIM cards, whereas many newer smartphones use Micro-SIM and Nano-SIM cards. A standard SIM card can be physically cut to fit the Micro-SIM and Nano-SIM card slot, but that’s more trouble than most people want to take on. If you are dedicated to the cause, you might want to grab one of these cutters to make the job simpler.
– DigiCel has the easiest plan for visitors to purchase a local SIM card. You will be required to show a copy of your passport. Prepaid airtime is quite inexpensive for local calls and SMS. Your DigiCel SIM card from other Caribbean countries will work in Suriname but will have steep costs.
Wilderness Explorers can arrange to deliver a Satellite Phone or Suriname GSM cell phone or SIM card to you prior to travel or upon arrival. Email us with your request least three weeks prior to travel.
Satellite Phones
A better choice for travelers who want reliable communication access during their entire journey is a compact satellite phone. MobalRental.com, Telestial.com, and RemoteSatellite.com offer affordable and convenient rental options. Be sure to mention that you are a Wilderness Explorers client. If you want a phone delivered to your home prior to travel, or to your hotel upon arrival, let us know. We have an affordable service to offer.
Smartphones and VOIP
Many smartphones allow you to make voice calls using apps like Skype and Google Voice as long as you have a connection to a WiFi network, even if you aren’t subscribed to a local cellular phone service. This can be convenient, especially at interior lodges where no cell service exists but satellite-based internet may be available for a few hours per day. However, please be thoughtful about over-using limited bandwidth resources
Common Sense
Because people come to the rain forest precisely to escape the distractions of modern life, we ask you to exercise the highest order of courtesy by confining phone, VOIP, and computer usage to times and places that don’t impact your fellow travelers’ experience.