Suriname has been malaria-free since 2025. Chikungunya made 2026 a daytime-repellent year.

Are there mosquitoes in Suriname? Yes, and 2026 was a big year for them. Suriname had its first local chikungunya spread since 2016, a large epidemic centered on Paramaribo and carried by the same day-biting Aedes mosquito as dengue. Malaria, once a risk in the interior, is gone, and the planning item is yellow fever vaccine, which the CDC recommends for every traveler 9 months and older.

The 2026 chikungunya epidemic

The first local case was reported in December 2025, and by late September the Pan American Health Organization counted 16,623 suspected and 4,883 laboratory-confirmed cases for 2026. Paramaribo had 127 of the first 150 cases with a known location. In August, Suriname's Bureau of Public Health said the epidemic phase was over, according to press reports, though the virus was still circulating in Paramaribo and Brokopondo.

The CDC has no travel notice for Suriname, and its page still says "Chikungunya vaccination is generally not recommended." After this year's epidemic, the vaccine is a fair question for a travel clinic, especially if you're 65 or older or have diabetes or heart disease, which the CDC links to a higher risk of severe illness. If you're pregnant, talk to a healthcare provider about chikungunya and Zika before you go.

Dengue is endemic too, and past surveillance found it clusters in Paramaribo and Wanica. Both viruses travel on Aedes, which bites in daylight with peaks after sunrise and in the late afternoon, so repellent goes on over sunscreen at breakfast and again before sunset. Our dengue & Zika routine has the full schedule.

Yellow fever is on the list. Malaria isn't.

WHO's June 2025 certification made Suriname the first country in the Amazon region to be declared malaria-free, and the last local case was in 2021. The CDC's malaria table lists no prevention medicine, though a line at the top of the same page still mentions "certain areas," so confirm with a travel clinic if you're heading deep into the interior. Across the border river, French Guiana had an active malaria focus in a gold-mining area on the upper Maroni in October 2026.

Sunset on the river, and when to go

In Paramaribo, bites tend to be occasional. The heavy biting happens in the coastal mangroves and along the Commewijne and Suriname rivers, where mosquitoes swarm around sunset in any month, so reapply before a boat trip that runs toward dusk and wear long sleeves for the ride back. On forest hikes, permethrin-treated clothes also help against the forest sand flies that spread leishmaniasis.

The drier spells, roughly mid-August to November and February to April, tend to be the easier months for bites. The long rains, roughly May to July, tend to be the buggiest. Dengue has historically peaked after each rainy season.

Where you're going

Combining Suriname with its neighbors? See our Guyana and French Guiana briefings. French Guiana requires yellow fever vaccination from every arriving traveler.

What travelers report

Paraphrased from TripAdvisor reviews of river trips near Paramaribo and linked so you can read them in full. Neither gives a year, and the season and the time you get back to shore change the picture.

• Mangroves near Paramaribo (dolphin tour) · around sunset

  On a dolphin-watching tour, mosquitoes began swarming in the mangrove swamp, bit everyone including the guides, and followed the group back to Paramaribo. The operator replied that mosquitoes always appear after sunset and that it plans departures before sunset. TripAdvisor ↗

• Commewijne River

  A reviewer who enjoyed an Orange Tours day trip on the Commewijne River said mosquitoes were 'killing' the group at a stop for cold snacks. TripAdvisor ↗

One more rule outlasts the trip. Any fever or severe joint pain during or after your trip means a doctor visit, and you tell them you were in Suriname. Dengue usually shows up within two weeks of the bite.

Traveler questions