1: Trip Reservation
Boekme Adventures provides Amazon jungle adventures as no one else. We pretty much guarantee your satisfaction if you are looking for outdoors adventures at budget pricing. Should you have any reason to withdraw from a trip you registered for, please simply notify us of your intentions. Our policy is as follows:
- We will refund you 100% of the trip price if you decide to withdraw 7 weeks prior to the start date of the trip
- Cancellations made within 7 weeks prior to the start date of the trip will be credited toward a future trip you can take with us. There will be no refunds if you cancel within 7 weeks of the start date of the trip, because of the many initial preparation costs we have incurred
You may cancel your reservation by providing us a written notice via email at info@boekme.com. If you paid for the course online, we will work with our payment services provider to refund you based on the above conditions. If you paid in cash, we will arrange a suitable time for you to come to the office to claim your refund. We recommend everybody to pay online for the trips since the refund process is way easier for you.
Failure to provide us written notification via email of your intention to cancel, prior to the start of the trip will be considered a “no show” and will result in forfeiture of the full amount.
Very simple. In order to join one of our amazingly fun adventure trips you must make a reservation and pay for it upfront. You can start the reservation process by clicking on the pink ‘Book Now” button on the page of the trip you wish to join. You should provide:
- Name
- Email Address
- Phone Number
- Quantity of tickets
Once you provide that information you will be taken to the online payment page where you can pay for the trip.
We will automatically email you a receipt and our payment agency will also email you to notify you that you paid Boekme Adventures a certain amount for a specific trip.
Yes. Reservations are required for guaranteed spots on all trips. Reservations help us determine the number of guides we need to ensure that our groups remain manageable and enjoyable. Reservation also allow us to notify you of changes to the trip due to inclement weather or anything that could disturb the trips.
2: Preparation
Depending on the type of adventure trip we provide:
- Hammock with mosquito net
- Bottled Water
- Large plastic bag to cover your bag
- Machete: Only if you have experience using one
- Plates/Spoon/Forks.
- Helmets
- Life Vests
- Compass
- Emergency Whistle
- Ropes
- Radios (one per group)
- Fishing kit
- Lots of other miscellaneous items
Remember our trips include most of the things you will need to be comfortable in the jungle and on the rivers. We do suggest you bring the following though:
- Rain gear (Poncho)
- Individual first aid kit to deal with minor injuries like cuts and blisters
- Mosquito repellent
- Hats
- Sunglasses
- Water absorbent towels
- Sun cream (waterproof and unscented don’t attract insects)
- Beach sandals (no flip flops)
- Personal hygiene items
- Waterproof flashlight (with red filter if possible) including batteries
- Fixed blade hunting knife
- Jungle hiking boots
- Large backpack or Rucksack
For the river voyaging trips you only need to bring:
- Rain gear (Poncho)
- Individual first aid kit to deal with minor injuries like cuts and blisters
- Sun cream (waterproof and unscented don’t attract insects)
- Beach sandals (no flip flops)
- Personal hygiene items
- Hiking boots
- Mosquito repellent
- Water absorbent towels
- Hats
- Sunglasses
- Large backpack
You can also bring a camera. Bring extra clothes: T-shirts, shorts, long pants, shirts etc. Remember that we will be in many wet places . Ensure your camera is water resistant or keep it in a waterproof bag.
Our trips are mostly for those with an adventurous spirit. If you are unsure if a certain trip is the right one for you, please feel free to ask us. Boekme takes you to areas and places off the beaten path.To areas and places you may never have heard of before. Now that is exciting!
Yes! You may definitely come alone. Our trips usually consist of 10 or more individuals. We do encourage participants to join our trips in pairs or in small groups of friends, because some people enjoy adventures better if a familiar face is with them. However, Boekme also invites individuals who enjoy traveling alone to join the trips. You will make friends for life during these thrilling adventures. Check out our trips schedule and book well in advance.
As always, dress comfortably. Depending on the trip you can wear shorts and t-shirts, long pants, beach shoes or hiking boots. We recommended to have a pair of hiking boots for the jungle survival types of trips.
You may need a tourist visa depending on your nationality. If you are not sure if you require a visa then please contact us at any time. If you need to have a visa, it can be easily obtained upon arrival at the international airport in Suriname.
Our adventure trips are available throughout the year, but on specific pre-scheduled dates. We offer expedition type of trips and departure date are set months in advance to allow participants enough time to book their trips and arrange international flights (if needed). For more info on specific start dates please check the individual adventure trip you are interested in.
3: Payment
No, we do not charge any extra fees or fuel surcharges. The listed price is the price you pay. Including tax.
We understand that you may not have a printer handy when you’re traveling so it is not necessary to have a printed copy. However, we require that you show ID matching your reservation and also the Order # that is immediately emailed to you after you make your reservation.
Boekme Adventures provides reduced rates to organizations that register 6 or more participants. Discount rates range from 8 % to 10% of the fee. During registration you are required to pay the full price, but will be reimbursed the discount amount 4 weeks prior to the start date of the trip. We also offer steep discounts for local citizens.
We do organize private adventure trips. Because of the extremely low prices of our trips, we usually require a minimum of 10 people to help cover the enormous cost of traveling in the Amazon jungle. However, we also offer the same tours to private groups of a handful of people, should they be willing to cover our basic costs. Please contact us at info@boekme.com to get the latest information on your desired trip.
No problem at all. If you have no PayPal account, you can still pay using any major credit card. PayPal processes credit card payments in over 200 countries and territories. In some instances PayPal will want to gently compel you to create an account. This is annoying of course. But if this happens to you, quickly create the account. It is also beneficial to you just in case you need to dispute a payment or ask for a refund if you decide to withdraw from a trip. PayPal resolution center will then be at your full disposal to help you solve the issue. Also, the next time you make a payment, you will fly through the process in less than 1 minute, if you have a PayPal account
The easiest and best way to pay for the adventure trips is by credit card via online payment. Refunding is way easier that way. You can also pay by visiting a local office if there is one in your city. Or via bank wire transfers. Our payment service provider is PayPal Inc. We use them because they are the expert in secured payment processing. Boekme therefore does not collect your payment information.
Paying by credit card through PayPal’s payment engine is the best way to provide security as well as buyers protection. You can dispute a payment made through PayPal for up to 6 months, and if any fraudulent activity occurred, you always get your money back. That is one of the main reasons a small company like Boekme works with PayPal. Giving you peace of mind when it comes to payments is important to us. See an example check-out page below for reference.
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4: Trip Annulment
In the unlikely circumstance in which Boekme Adventures is forced to annul a trip for any reason except force majeure, we will refund you 100% of the trip price.
5: Hotels/ Logding
Yes, we do. As you may know Boekme focusses on rugged outdoor adventures as opposed to leisure and relaxation tours. Our participants therefore typically don’t look for high-end lodging. However, if you need 3 or 4 star hotels for the first days before your trip with Boekme to the jungle, and for the days after the trip (should you choose to stay longer in Paramaribo) we can provide advice. If you are only looking for a basic place to crash before and after your trip to the jungle, don’t hesitate to contact us. We can provide recommendations. If you are traveling with a team of 3 or 4 friends, we can also help you find accommodation for the days before and after your trip to the jungle.
Boekme Adventures regularly offers trips that span 5 days or more. We do not set aside a block of hotel rooms for out of town participants, who may need lodging prior to the start date of the trip or after the trip. If you wish to book a room please contact Boekme Adventures for recommendations.
6: Safety, Health/Travel insurance
Boekme Adventures takes safety very seriously and every precaution is being taken to ensure the safety of staff and guests. Boekme is honored that you give us the opportunity to provide you the unique experience of briefly living and traveling in the Amazon jungle. We therefore take every measure to ensure your journey to the Amazon occurs in a safe and controlled environment.
You may not be aware of this but the Maroons (the people brought from Africa during the slave trade, who did not want to work as slaves) and the Amer-Indians have been living for hundreds, if not thousands of years in the Amazon jungle. Boekme Adventures work with these very people to help guide you during these trips.
Despite all our best efforts however, one must realize that no outdoors activity is 100% risk free. For example activities including skiing in the mountains, or riding your bicycle, or even swimming in a pool are not entirely risk free.
Traveling through the Amazon is therefore also not 100% without risk, although we must emphasize that the risk is small enough that it could be neglected. As responsible individuals however, we must be aware of the fact that accidents can happen at unexpected moments. That is why we advise our guests to buy adventure travel/health insurance for the duration of the trip to give you 100% peace of mind. This is standard practice in the industry.
Rest assured that in the event of a serious emergency, Boekme Adventures has a running agreement with a helicopter company to rush to the location of the incident to ferry the people involved in the emergency out to the main hospital in the capital city.
International return flight and health/travel insurance are not included in the adventure trip fees. We advise our guests to buy their return flight tickets a few months in advance to get the best deals. We also advise to buy adventure travel/health insurance for the duration of your trip to give you 100% peace of mind. This is standard practice in the industry. Once you buy your Boekme Adventure trip ticket we will remind you again about insurance.
If at any time during the trip you do not feel well, we recommend you inform the guide. You will immediately be brought to the nearest medical post for observation. Either on the French side or the Suriname side. Depending on which location is the nearest at the time you reported not feeling well.
7: Food
When you are in the city of Paramaribo we will not provide any food. That is because the trip did not begin yet. But once the trip starts, all meals will be provided by Boekme Adventures. Except for the Jungle Survival Training and Jungle Survival Adventure trips, where we will only provide food when you are at the river lodge at our Gakaba base-camp. Don’t fret though. If you are unable to successfully hunt during the survival trips, the support crew will always have enough food for you.
All meals are cooked on site. Food preparation and cooking will be done by Boekme staff, but you may also join in and help. The following is what a typical day’s meal might consist of:
- Breakfast: Sliced bread, scrambled egg, bacon, sausages, cheese, pancake, tea, coffee and fruits
- Lunch: Bread with a selection of fillings cheese, ham,fruit and snacks. Some days rice dish with a variety of meat including BBQ and grilled fish
- Dinner: Some days rice dish or Indonesian style spaghetti with a variety of meat including BBQ chicken, beef pork and grilled fish. Stir-fry chicken, veggies etc
Kindly keep in mind that is an expedition style jungle base camp. We have limitations with regards to producing meals to cater for individual tastes. The food provided will be more than adequate, but feel free to bring extra provisions if you wish.
Please let us know of any medical intolerances and allergies at the time of booking. We will ensure your reasonable needs are met. For vegetarian diets, please let us know as well so that we can stock enough food to cater to your dietary needs. If you have very specific requirements or very serious allergies, do let us know. We will be more than happy to help you get the specific food you need before we leave for the jungle.
8: Getting to Suriname
If you are interested in spending some time enjoying the bustling capital city of Paramaribo, either before or after your trip to the Amazon jungle you can stay in one of the many hotels or motels in the city. You can also get short term apartments or rent a whole house for just a few hundred US dollars. Paramaribo is a very affordable place to visit for foreigners. Contact us and we can surely provide recommendations.
Yes. All participants who are not living in Suriname, need to travel there before the trip starts. We recommend you arrive at least one full day prior to the start of the trip in Suriname. We will pick you up from the airport and drive you to your hotel/motel. Our trips usually start at 8 AM in the morning, when we board the bus in Paramaribo to travel to Albina, the starting point of all our Amazon jungle adventures.
Suriname is a small country on the northeastern coast of South America.It is bordered by French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, the Atlantic ocean to the north and Brazil to the south. At just under 165,000 square kilometers (64,000 square miles), it is the smallest country in South America. It’s defined by vast swaths of Amazon jungle, Dutch colonial architecture and a melting-pot culture.
On its Atlantic coast is the capital, Paramaribo, where palm gardens grow near Fort Zeelandia, a 17th-century trading post. Paramaribo is also home to Saint Peter and Paul Basilica, a towering wood cathedral consecrated in 1885.
To get to Suriname simply book a flight from your city to Paramaribo (airport code PBM). From Europe, you can get direct flights from Amsterdam, Netherlands to Suriname. The flight duration is under is 8-9 hours. From North America, you also can get direct flights from Miami, Florida to Suriname. The flight duration is under 6 hours. From the Caribbean you can get almost daily flights from Curacao and Aruba to Suriname. The flight is about 2 hours.