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
(63 Ratings)
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1 star
Marta_l
Nov 22, 2025
Nice half day trip. ... - Nice 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
Review provided by Viator
James_m
Nov 21, 2025
This was a very nice day.... - This 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.
Review provided by Viator
Global57804973944
Oct 15, 2025
Amazing experience - Wonderful 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
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Steve_s
Sep 10, 2025
Monkeys, crocodiles, and manatee… - Our 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.
Review provided by Viator
Robert_f
Jul 5, 2025
Monkey River - Monkey River is a great fun and educational experience. Birds, crocodile, manatees. And, of course, howler monkeys!
Review provided by Viator
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
From $130
up to 15 guests
2 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).