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Monkey River Adventure: Wildlife Encounters and Manatee Watching in Pristine Rainforest
4.7
48 Ratings
Placencia
Embark on a thrilling Monkey River adventure in the pristine rainforest. Encounter wildlife, including howler monkeys, crocodiles, and manatees, and enjoy a delicious Kriol lunch. Book now!
Embark on a thrilling Monkey River adventure in the pristine rainforest. Encounter wildlife, including howler monkeys, crocodiles, and manatees, and enjoy a delicious Kriol lunch. Book now!
Duration:
7 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
-
Monkey River Town - Depart Placencia Village at 08:00 am for a boat ride along the coast zipping in an out of the mangroves. Stop in Monkey River Town to order lunch to be eaten on the return trip. You can expect to see crocodiles, huge iguanas on tree branches sunning themselves, turtles, and many species of tropical birds.
Upriver, your licensed…
-
Monkey River Town - Depart Placencia Village at 08:00 am for a boat ride along the coast zipping in an out of the mangroves. Stop in Monkey River Town to order lunch to be eaten on the return trip. You can expect to see crocodiles, huge iguanas on tree branches sunning themselves, turtles, and many species of tropical birds.
Upriver, your licensed guide will lead you into the rain forest in search of howler monkeys which communicate with each other to declare their territory. Nothing you read could prepare you for the adventure of hearing these monkeys for the first time…you just have to experience it!
Your guide will also point out the different plants and trees many of which are used as medicine by local bush doctors. You may spot gibnuts (now known as royal rat since Queen Elizabeth dined on it), deer, ocelots, peccaries, tapirs, coatimundis and agoutis. abundant wildlife.
Stop at Miss Alice’s restaurant in Monkey River before heading out on a manatee watch on the way back to Placencia.
What's Included
- Transport
- Park Fees
- Pick Up and Drop Off in Placencia Village
- Tour Guide
- Transport
- Park Fees
- Pick Up and Drop Off in Placencia Village
- Tour Guide
What's Not Included
- Lunch.
- Alcoholic drinks.
- Drinks.
- Lunch.
- Alcoholic drinks.
- Drinks.
Additional Information
Enjoy a relaxing 30-minute boat journey through the mangroves leading you to the Monkey River village, from where you will sail upriver through unspoiled rain forest. Be prepared to see creatures such as crocodiles, large iguanas on tree branches basking in the sun, turtles, and various species of tropical birds. Further upriver, your professional guide…
Enjoy a relaxing 30-minute boat journey through the mangroves leading you to the Monkey River village, from where you will sail upriver through unspoiled rain forest. Be prepared to see creatures such as crocodiles, large iguanas on tree branches basking in the sun, turtles, and various species of tropical birds. Further upriver, your professional guide will take you through the rain forest on a quest to find howler monkeys. The excitement of hearing these monkeys for the first time is a thrill that can’t be described in words - it’s an experience that needs to be lived! During this easy-paced hike, your guide will identify various plants and trees, some of which are utilized as medicine by the local medicine men. As the jungle trail leads you away from the river, there’s a chance to spot gibnuts (known as royal rat since Queen Elizabeth had it for a meal), deer, ocelots, peccaries, tapirs, coatimundis, and agoutis.
Take the opportunity to have an authentic Kriol meal at Miss Alice’s restaurant in Monkey River before embarking on a manatee watch on the trip back to Placencia.
- Children must be accompanied by an adult.
- Meals are not included - tradition is to support the Monkey River Village buy buying lunch there.
- Wear shoes that you don’t care if they get wet - for the mellow walk into the jungle part of the tour.
- Long sleeve shirts and long pants and mosquito spray can be necessary some times of the year.
Location
Splash Dive Centre
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.7
(48 Ratings)
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Cruiser54747609215
May 10, 2024
The remake was just as good as the original! - You know, remakes are never as good as the original. We took this tour 13 years ago with our kids so we weren't really expecting to have as good a time on the return trip. We were 100% wrong! Monkey River village is still a quaint little place and Alice's food is just as fantastic. Our guides Douglas and Zane Garbutt were the best. Zane has eagle eyes and was pointing out things we would never have seen on our own. The howler monkeys were down from the canopy and literally no more than 5-10 feet from us. Lunch at Alice's restaurant was just as delicious as we remember. When we left Douglas took us to see manatee and we found a cow and calf almost immediately. Pretty cool for an Oklahoma kid and got a nice underwater video on the GoPro. We'll always remember this trip. Thanks again Splash! You are running a top notch operation.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
136nerissah
Feb 22, 2024
Brent Young is the guide you want! - 5 out of 5. Brent Young is the guide you want! A local who is passionate and knowledgeable about Monkey River, and does his tour the right way. He only accepts a small number of people on each of his tours. He cares for each participant’s experience just as much as he does the jungle, the flora, fauna, birds, monkeys, manatees, and even the ants. He truly loves and respects the area he is sharing, and it makes the experience that much better. Additionally, he grew up on Monkey River, and his experiences have shaped his extensive knowledge, which he shares in the most engaging manner. Go with Brent. You won’t regret it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kristi_r
Feb 13, 2024
Great family fun! - I took my parents and 2 boys (8&10) and we all had a great time. The boat ride through the river and mangrove forest was so fun. We hiked in and saw a few howler monkeys (heard them too), leaf cutter ants, and a boa constrictor! Off the boat we saw tons of birds, a baby croc, and manatee. Our guide was so knowledgeable about the flora and fauna of the area. The lunch in village was so delicious. We had a fantastic time!
Review provided by Viator
B1894zzkatel
Jan 19, 2024
Great guide! - Great experience - our guide grew up and lives in Monkey River so was incredibly well informed. We enjoyed the lunch at the local Alice's Restaurant.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Joannamr371ez
Oct 21, 2023
Jungle hike and Manatee tour - Junior our guide was great!! The manatee and jungle hike tour was a truly unforgettable experience. It combined local charm, nature, adventure, and conservation in a perfect blend. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone seeking an authentic and awe-inspiring connection with the natural world. The howler monkeys for me were the highlight!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kimberly_l
Jun 27, 2023
A great time! - Evaristo was fantastic! He went out of his way to make sure we saw a little bit of everything. I can understand how the sights would vary day to day. I was super pumped to see a boa constrictor baby, crocs, manatees and bats. We also ended up in the middle of a howler monkey territory battle (dozens of feet above our heads). He was very knowledgeable
Review provided by Viator
Lori
Apr 5, 2023
Jason’s WILD Adventure at Monkey River - Amazing Jungle/River adventure with Jason Williams 501-610-8572 [email protected]
Howling Monkeys, crocodile, manatee, tropical birds, bats and beautiful jungle foliage and fauna 💙
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Michele_d
Mar 16, 2023
We’ll worth an afternoon! - I took the tour with my husband and 25 yr old son. We were able to see a large number of bird species and eventually did see howler monkeys and even the splash of a manatee - other wildlife eluded us. Our guide, Jr. was extremely knowledgeable about the natural surroundings - he delivered a good amount of interesting historical information about the area as well as educated is on the plants and trees that the Kriol used in everyday life. We really enjoyed his delivery and he was always willing to elaborate or answer any questions we had. If he saw us pointing at or noticing anything he would stop the boat and share what he know about the attraction. The food was simple yet DELICIOUS! The village very much relies on tourists coming through, eating and maybe buying a bauble to bring home. They were truly grateful. We highly recommend this tour. While they can’t control the wildlife or even the weather - Jr. made every effort to find us whatever wildlife he could.
Review provided by Viator
Sian_r
Jul 28, 2024
Go With Splash - Splash Tours are a nice bunch. We had tried to book this with Captain Jack but they kept us pending because they had to wait until 10 people booked before they would confirm.. We waited for 2 days with nothing from them. When we mentioned this to Splash they told ua they could do this tour with 2 people confirming only, which was the perfect solution as it became a private tour!
We got picked up at 7.30 and left the dock by 8.15 . First to the village to order lunch which is at Monkey Village. Boat trip there was fun and we navigated through the mangroves. Monkey Village is a small community at the mouth of Monkey River..
We went up river from there and saw the odd crocodile and a few howler monkeys. I wouldn’t say the wildlife is abundant by any means, but the experience was good.
Our guide was knowledgeable in animal and plant biology and gave us much info and many stories, which was great. He was very detailed.
Got to the forest and went for a walkabout.. Loads of mosquitoes!!! Saw howler troops and many different types of trees. Rainy season = muddy so go prepared for it. Glad we wore long pants and sprayed ourselves from top to bottom with bug repellent! It worked - not one bite remarkably. Forest part was around 40 minutes We took big leaves off the floor and fanned ourselves- also great mosquito repellent! Note well.
Went up river a little more then returned to Monkey Village for lunch - Chicken Stew, Rice and beans and plantains. Was good.
Did a little shopping of crafts to support local community - Important - then back on the boat for the hours or more ride home stopping to search for manatees. Saw one nose pop up for and some shadows of others. They were hiding. Saw a couple of turtles. Andnone came right up to our boat.
Despite the lack of oceanic fauna, the boat ride was relaxing and as always our guide was sharing his knowledge - which was vast. He tried really hard to find manatees and went out of his way to search - his own choosing as he wanted us to see them.
Entire trip was over half a day as we got back around 2pm.
Review provided by Viator
Kayf451
Nov 26, 2023
Pretty good - Will and Randy were great. We saw geckos, crocodiles, 2 troops of howler monkeys, lots of birds which Will identified. We did see howler monkeys within about 10 ft. The bugs were fierce! Recommend 100% DEET. The only thing we didn't all see was manatees. Who knew that you are only only looking for their tennis ball sized noses to poke up?
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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