Monkey River Adventure: Wildlife Encounters and Manatee Watching in Pristine Rainforest

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…
What's Included
  • Transport
  • Park Fees
  • Pick Up and Drop Off in Placencia Village
  • Tour Guide
What's Not Included
  • 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…

Location
Splash Dive Centre
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.7
(58 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Jmdavis39
Jun 27, 2025
Really Good Tour, provides a great alternative to the marine tours for something different. - This 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.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sarahc11960
Apr 30, 2025
To do absolutely - Nice 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.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Joelbt3821gt
Apr 6, 2025
Highly recommended glimpse of the nature, culture, and history of southern Belize - This 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.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
V3741zolauras
Mar 17, 2025
Great views, great guide - We 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.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
E5563dujohnd
Feb 26, 2025
Amazing rain forest - We 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
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kenneth_c
Feb 13, 2025
Awesome tour of the Monkey River - Fun, 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.
Review provided by Viator
Judimama
Jan 31, 2025
Great fun. - It was pouring down rain for much of our trip but our guide, Jr., made it a pleasant experience. He was determined that we see everything on our bucket list and was so knowledgeable. All in all a great experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Linda_w
Jan 20, 2025
Expert view of flora and fauna - Junior 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.
Review provided by Viator
Allanatsma_a
Jan 16, 2025
Great trip - We 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
Review provided by Viator
F4399jyannaw
Feb 3, 2025
Amazing Experience! - The guide was super informative about the species, wildlife and jungle. We had an amazing experience watching baby howler monkeys and a grown male glide through the foliage above giving us a clear view to observe. The jungle walk was amazing. Theres many trees that are so unique and it gets quite dense in spots. Real jungle experience. Bamboo palace spot was cool. The river tour was quite successful. We saw crocodiles, lizards, turtles, variety of birds, a jaguar foot print from previous night and even a manatee. The stop at Monkey River Village was a great start/end. This is where you would buy lunch(may be included depending on the package you book). Was delicious -chicken, rice&beans and coleslaw. There’s a pop up market where you can buy local handmade art, woven bowls, jewelry etc. They do accept credit cards if you happen to forget cash. Support the local communities. Overall highly recommend to try this tour. It is worth the money. Key tips—recommend gum boot or hiking boot. It gets quite muddy in there. Do not wear sandals. Wear bug spray! Thank you soo much for making it a memorable experience for us. Anna&Luke B.C, Canada
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $130
up to 15 guests
2 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).