Monkey River Jungle Wildlife Encounters and Manatee Watch
- 7 hours
- Free cancellation up to 24h before
- 2 languages
- Instant confirmation
Highlights
Travel by boat through the scenic mangrove lagoons to the traditional fishing village of Monkey River, then continue upriver into one of Belize's last pristine rainforests. Watch for American crocodiles, large green iguanas basking in the trees, turtles, and a variety of tropical birds, including herons, kingfishers, parrots, and ospreys. Your licensed local guide will lead an easy rainforest walk in search of the area's famous black howler monkeys. Hearing their deep, echoing calls is an unforgettable Belize experience! Along the trail, discover native plants and towering trees, many of which have long been used by local bush doctors for food and medicine. With a little luck, you may also spot gibnuts ("Royal Rats"), peccaries, agoutis, coatimundis, tapirs, or even the elusive ocelot. Before returning to Placencia, enjoy the opportunity to purchase an authentic Belizean Creole lunch at Miss Alice's Restaurant. Keep watch for endangered West Indian manatees on the return cruise.
Inclusions
What's included
- Transport
- Park Fees.
- Pick Up and Drop Off in Placencia Village.
- Tour Guide.
What's not
- Lunch.
- Alcoholic drinks.
- Drinks.
Itinerary
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.
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.
Reviews
4.8
- 566
- 411
- 34
- 20
- 10
Ratings come from 81 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.
Showing reviews written in English.
5Monkey Howler king... Ask for Percy
Our guide was the Monkey River, King... The one and only boat-driving Howler Monkey man himself... Percy His knowledge and animated self were just as entertaining as the wildlife and the river itself.... Then we went to find the manatees... And we were quite successful in finding and getting photos of 4 of them... All in all, it was a fantastic trip.... I can see how with a lesser guide it wouldn't have been nearly as much fun or enjoyable
5Fantastic day out
We were picked up from our condo and driven to splash dive. Warmly greeted and introduced to Junior, our guide. He was very friendly and knew all the names of the various birds & mammals we saw. We saw howler monkeys; numerous different species of birds, crocodile and a few manatees too. Fantastic day out, highly recommended.
5Great Tour
We had a wonderful tour with Junior! He was incredibly knowledgeable about local animals and plants. We saw so many different species and it was truly a highlight of the trip!
5Success on Monkey River
We had wonderful bird and wildlife viewing, from howlers to manatees to herons and ibis. What a beautiful country you have.
5All the Stars
We saw all the animals and had a fantastic trip.
5GREAT Experience!
Terrific experience with a great guide (JR). The Dive Center folks could not have been nicer. JR was incredible - knowledgeable, friendly, sensitive to our needs, and genuine. I highly recommend going through these folks.
Know before you go
- Pickup
- Pickup is offered, or you can meet at the starting point.
- Ticket type
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Group size
- Up to 15 travellers
- Operated by
- Splash Dive Center Limited (but shown as Splash Dive Shop on Trip Advisor)
- 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.
How it compares in Placencia
- Its from-price is 44% below the median of the 39 day trips we list in Placencia.
- Its length is typical for the group.
- By number of reviews it ranks 4 of 39.
- The operator lists free cancellation on it.
About Placencia
Placencia is a village on a long, narrow peninsula in southern Belize, with a Caribbean beach on one side, a lagoon on the other and reef islands offshore.
The Placencia peninsula runs roughly 25 km south from the mainland between the Caribbean Sea and a lagoon, and the village sits near its southern tip. A concrete footpath called the Sidewalk serves as its main street, lined with guesthouses, bars and dive shops. The beach of pale sand faces east, and offshore the Belize Barrier Reef shelters small islands known as cayes.
Top-ranked sights in Placencia: Laughing Bird Caye National Park.
