Guyana & Suriname

Short-Term Travel Program

On South America’s North Atlantic coast are miles of dense, lush rainforest surrounding small cities with Dutch, French, and British colonial architecture. The indigenous peoples named the region guiana (the land of water), but today, its cultural roots also have ties to East Indian and West African plantation workers. Guyana is a place where you’ll speak English, hear creole, play cricket, see sloths, and dance to calypso beats. Suriname is a place where you’ll speak Dutch, hear Sranan Tongo, see flamingos, and sway to gamelan beats, traditional ensemble music of the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese peoples of Indonesia. 

Carbon Offsetting

Guyana and Suriname are considered carbon sinks. 85% of Guyana and 93% of Suriname are covered by forests. Their trees capture harmful carbon dioxide gas, removing it from the atmosphere. In fact, the countries have carbon negative economies meaning that any global warming gasses they do produce, are offset by their natural resources. They are now looking to market their carbon absorption capabilities through the sale of carbon credits. This makes the region a unique place to learn about rainforest conservation and sustainable development.

Popular themes in Guyana & Suriname

Fully customizable authentic experiences

At Insight, our program itineraries are as unique as your students. All our program itineraries are customized with teacher chaperones to ensure that it meets the needs of your students.

With the support of a variety of local vendors and NGO’s, we promise that your students will get an authentic, local experience.

Program costs

We make it simple. No hidden fees or itinerary exclusions.

12-15 Students 

$4800 USD*

16-20 Students 

$4600 USD*

21-24 Students 

$4400 USD*

* Prices are estimated per student for an 10-day program.

Our prices include:

Program highlights

Engage with indigenous communities. Visit Santa Aratak Village to learn about the culture of the Arawak Tribe, known for their handicraft skills.

Hidden in the Amazon, a waterfall four times taller than Niagara Falls. Kaieteur Falls are especially remote, surrounded by the lush rainforest of Guyana. Take a chartered plane and follow a short trail to the top for a view of the world’s largest single drop waterfall at 741 feet.

See flamingos, monkeys, and sloths in the wild. Visit nature reserves to get to know the local wildlife.

Learn about the slave trade. Visit a former 18th century cocoa and coffee plantation since declared a World Heritage Site.

Visit the World Wildlife Fund Guianas. Learn about the Guiana Shield, one of the oldest geological formations on the Earth’s surface, and part of the largest remaining block of tropical forest in the world.

How it works

1
2
3
4
5

Want to take your students outside the classroom? Review our program locations and suggested themes.

Connect with one of our High School Educators who will help custom design your program.

With our assistance, submit required paperwork and details to your Administration and School Board.

Announce the trip to your students! (We’ll provide all the materials you need).

Invite us to your school to host a Student & Parent Info Night! We will be there to answer questions and support student sign-up!

Sample Itinerary

  • Get to know the capital city. Visit St. George’s Cathedral, one of the world’s tallest free standing wooden buildings.
  • Walk a promenade lined with historic buildings including the Public Library, City Hall, the Victoria Law Courts, and St. Andrews Kirk.
  • Visit the National Museum and see an amazing, extinct giant sloth.
  • Learn about indigenous cultures and identities at the Walter Roth Museum of Anthropology housed in a beautiful colonial wooden building that is worth a visit on its own.
  • Then head to the Museum of African Heritage for a different side of culture.
  • Where the habitat changes from forest to open savannah you’ll find Santa Aratak, an indigenous settlement that can only be accessed by boat. It’s home to the Arawak Tribe, known for their handicraft skills. 
  • Take a chartered plane and walk a short trail to visit Kaieteur National park and be mesmerized by the world’s largest single drop waterfall surrounded by lush rainforest in the depths of the Amazon.
  • Travel along the Eastern Coast of Guyana, cross the floating bridge across the Berbice River, and take a ferry across the Courantyne River to South Drain, Suriname.
  • Hope aboard a boat to the Bigi Pan Nature Reserve.
  • See the famous Red Ibis, with its beautiful red color, the white heron, also known as the Sabaku, the pink flamingo, and various species of birds of prey.
  • Watch the sunset over the water before completing the journey to Paramaribo.
  • Suriname’s historic capital city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site best seen on a walking tour. Visit the former Fort Zeelandia, the Presidential Palace, Independence Square, and more.
  • Head to the World Wildlife Fund Guianas to learn about the Guiana Shield, one of the oldest geological formations on the Earth’s surface, and part of the largest remaining block of tropical forest in the world. The core of the Guiana Shield is predicted to be especially resilient to climate change, potentially providing a refuge for biodiversity and sustaining critical ecosystems. The region encompasses six different governments, five official languages, and many indigenous tribes.
  • Then visit Conservation International Suriname to learn about collaborative carbon offsetting initiatives to conserve the rainforests.
  • Head to Fort Nieuw Amsterdam, an open-air museum inside one of the earliest surviving Dutch structures in Suriname, a fortress built at the confluence of the Suriname and Commewijne Rivers in 1747. Inside you’ll find chilling artifacts of the slave trade and exhibitions about the various ethnicities that make up Suriname’s population today. From Amerindians, Europeans, Africans, and Asians including Javanese, Hindustani and Chinese, to newer arrivals such as Brazilians and Lebanese. It all ends in a category called “Mix Max” for those whose ancestry is so mixed that no particular dominating racial trait can be discerned. 
  • Wrap up your visit to South America with a visit to the pristine jungle of Brownsberg Nature Park. Monkeys seem to be everywhere, whether they’re red howlers growling in the canopy, or black-bearded sakis checking you out from a tree limb.
  • Hike to one of two idyllic waterfalls to cool off.
  • On your last day, return to downtown Paramaribo for some final souvenir shopping before your travels home.

What people are saying

Questions? Let's talk