Monkey River Wildlife Encounters and Manatee Watch
Overview
Available languages
7 hours
Mobile ticket
A half hour fun boat ride through the mangroves takes you to Monkey River village where you head upriver into pristine rain forest. 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. Nothing you read could prepare you for the adventure of hearing these monkeys for the first time...you just have to experience it! On this mellow hike, your guide will also point out the different plants and trees many of which are used as medicine by local bush doctors. As your hike through the jungle further from the river you may spot gibnuts (now known as royal rat since Queen Elizabeth dined on it), deer, ocelots, peccaries, tapirs, coatimundis and agoutis.
Buy a genuine Kriol lunch at Miss Alice’s restaurant in Monkey River before heading out on a manatee watch on the way back to Placencia.
Additional Info
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
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.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
What‘s Included
Transport
Park Fees.
Pick Up and Drop Off in Placencia Village.
Tour Guide.
Lunch.
Alcoholic drinks.
Drinks.
What To Expect
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.
Options
Monkey River Wildlife Encounters and Manatee Watch
Pickup included
Reviews
59 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Monkey River
Robert F,
Jul 5, 2025
- Viator
5.00Monkey River is a great fun and educational experience. Birds, crocodile, manatees. And, of course, howler monkeys!
Awesome tour of the Monkey River
Kenneth C,
Feb 13, 2025
- Viator
5.00Fun, informative tour. Beautiful boat ride to Monkey River. Relaxed tour up the river with a stop to walk in the jungle. Junior patiently pointed out birds such as anhinga, cormorants, pelicans, heron, egrets, and frigate birds. We also saw howler monkeys, leaf cutter ants, and crocodiles along with interesting plants. Junior was a thoughtful guide and skillful handler of the boat. We had 8 people in our group which was the perfect size. Lunch was a nice rice, beans and chicken spread for a very reasonable price. We saw several manatees on the ride back.
Expert view of flora and fauna
Linda W,
Jan 20, 2025
- Viator
5.00Junior was very knowledgeable. We saw all kinds of birds, howler monkeys, manatee, bats, crocodiles, leaf cutter ants, and many trees and their medical uses. His expertise and a native of the Monkey River village was so educational and interesting.
Great trip
AllanAtsma A,
Jan 16, 2025
- Viator
5.00We had a great time monkey where very nice to see and here food also was very good so two crocodile Tour guy was a great spotter and lost of information
Go With Splash
Sian R,
Jul 28, 2024
- Viator
4.00Splash 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.
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Operated by Splash Dive Center Limited (but shown as Splash Dive Shop on Trip Advisor)