Isadou Holiday Island | Hotel

Several people in Paramaribo, who we thought understood we were looking for a cultural and Eco-tourism experience, recommended we visit Isadou. If you get the same recommendation, ignore it. Isadou is a resort on an island. Meaning: 1. You will have hardly any interaction with locals unless you book a tour to one of the nearby towns like Jaw Jaw (which you can arrange with Andre, the owner of Isadou, for SRD50 per person). 2. You will hear the generator and water pump noises all night instead of birds, insects and monkeys. 3. You can't just take a stroll into nature. 4. If there is a religious retreat onsite, like was the case for us, there may be loud singing and sermons until midnight and beyond. 5. If you have not booked ahead, it will be impossible to have meals here. In order to heat water, you will have to have rented a kitchen, unless Andre takes pity on you and does it for you. The best value boats leave at 11am from Atjoni -- we left at 5pm and paid SRD50 per person to get here, 30 minutes up river. Since there was no more hammock space, Andre made us a deal and gave us a cabin with toilet, shower, bed and mosquito net for SRD100 per person. We take full responsibility for putting ourselves in the position to wind up someplace like this, but if, like us, you don't have enough time to go farther up river, ask to stay in Jaw Jaw which is SRD80 per person to hang a hammock or tent and SRD60 for a meal. We parked our bikes at the police station in Atjoni. They didn't want any money and if you ask really nicely, you may be able to put your bikes into their garage which has a gate. Also, don't make plans based on when you will get back to Atjoni: we arranged with the guy who brought us up the river to pick us up and bring us to his village the next day before bringing us back to Atjoni. Even though we tipped him 20%, he no-showed the next day which meant we had to wait another 3 hours for a boat that was picking up a tour group (which was an hour late). NOTE: Especially for anyone traveling farther up the river, make sure your belongings are in a dry bag... In the two days we were here, 3 boats full of people capsized in the Rapids just above Isadou. Life jackets recommended.