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
63 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Nice half day trip. ...
Marta L,
Nov 22, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00Nice half day trip. We saw plenty of amazing animals and our guide was informative and nice. The hike is pretty short and easy but slippery. I would recommend better footwear than flip flops
This was a very nice day....
James M,
Nov 21, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00This was a very nice day. Beautiful scenic boat ride to monkey river village. We saw lots of birds, turtles, crocodiles, and bats. A shorter boat ride got us to the hiking spot. (Wear real shoes and maybe long pants for this. And have bug spray. It’s intense. A few of us wore sandals and ants bit our feet!) We got a good view of howler monkeys and heard their amazing calls. Lunch at monkey river village was pleasant. $18USD for 2 meals and 2 coca colas. On the boat ride back we had a brief glimpse of a manatee. Junior and Robert were very knowledgeable and friendly and fun. Entering and leaving the boat was tricky, but doable.
Amazing experience
Global57804973944,
Oct 15, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Wonderful experience. I had done this tour just 3 weeks earlier with another operator. Hands down this was the best experience. Make sure you do dress appropriately and use big spray! Amazing wildlife viewing. I live in Belize and this was my first time seeing Manatees. Will absolutely do this tour again. Thanks Splash dive centre for the wonderful care
Monkeys, crocodiles, and manatee…
Steve S,
Sep 10, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00Our guide Junior delivered, not only the big three in the title but he knew every tree and plant, not just name but scientific designation, history, ecosystem importance and so on. He's also funny and gracious. Our meal at Alice’s restaurant was excellent traditional Belizean fare. The. Splash Dive Shop staff were awesome and we coukd have chatted with Patricia the owner all day. Highly recommend this experience.
Monkey River
Robert F,
Jul 5, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00Monkey River is a great fun and educational experience. Birds, crocodile, manatees. And, of course, howler monkeys!
Really Good Tour, provides a great alternative to the marine tours for something different.
jmdavis39,
Jun 27, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This was a fun tour. We saw a lot of Monkeys. We saw a lot of birds. Our guide was very knowledgeable and shared a lot of information with us about the local trees, plants and wildlife. Zipping through the mangroves was very fun too, it really added to the trip. We didnt get to see any manatees this time, but that is how it goes with animals in the wild, next time! I highly recommend this tour, particularly if you are looking for a down day, or a day away from the beaches nad cayes to do something different. Our tour guide was great, very flexible, attentive to what we were interested in and changed things up a little bit to ensure we had a good time.
To do absolutely
SarahC11960,
Apr 30, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Nice excursion. We had the chance to see crocodiles, iguanas, pelicans. Then during the jungle walk, a tarantula, a boa and about 20 screaming monkeys. Their noise is very impressive. I really recommend putting on closed shoes and pants. The guide was great and the food in the village delicious.
Highly recommended glimpse of the nature, culture, and history of southern Belize
joelbT3821GT,
Apr 6, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This intimate tour was an excellent way to learn more about Belizean culture, history, and nature, particularly the Garifuna culture of the Placencia area. Our guide, Evaristo, was a native of Monkey River Village. He was expert in guiding the small boat (7 passengers including our family of 3 and another of 4). He was very informative but did not fill all the time with endless chatter. He was willing and capable of answering questions on all sorts of topics, from marine and jungle biology to history and culture. It rained off and on for about 1/3 of our day, and despite everyone having raincoats, we got thoroughly soaked. Nevermind, though, with temperatures always around 80 degrees day and night during March, we had a lovely time.
Great views, great guide
V3741ZOlauras,
Mar 17, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We had a great time on the Monkey River tour! Our guide, Evaristo, was knowledgeable about the plants and wildlife and we enjoyed the boat ride through the mangroves and up the river. Lunch in the Monkey River Village was delicious and the people were kind and welcoming. We saw a bunch of birds, including a Tuscan, a baby crocodile, manatees, and monkeys! This was one of the highlights of our trip- highly recommend! Do make sure to bring bug spray for the hike. We were happy to be in long pants and long sleeves while looking for the monkeys.
Amazing rain forest
E5563DUjohnd,
Feb 26, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We saw howler monkeys, all kinds of iguanas even some baby crocodiles and other wildlife with all of the beautiful foliage of the rainforest it was so worth the time to go see the forest
From US$130.00
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Operated by Splash Dive Center Limited (but shown as Splash Dive Shop on Trip Advisor)