Monkey River Wildlife Encounters and Manatee Watch
Recommended by 95% of travelers
Placencia, Belize
- 7 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Venture into a remote jungle in southern Belize near the small settlement of Monkey River Village, an area known for its troops of black howler monkeys and other wildlife. Glide through a mangrove forest on a boat before trekking on foot through wild, undeveloped terrain with an expert guide. You’ll also look for manatees, turtles, and crocodiles in this unique ecosystem where river meets the sea.
- Feel like a jungle explorer on a combo boat and hiking tour to Monkey River Village
- Forest guide knows the best spots to look for howler monkeys, birds, ocelots, and other jungle life
- Go manatee-spotting in a mangrove forest
- Stop for lunch at an authentic Belizean Kriol restaurant
What's Included
- Pick Up and Drop Off in Placencia Village.
- Transport
- Tour Guide.
- Park Fees.
- Lunch.
- Alcoholic drinks.
- Drinks.
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Splash Dive Centre2287 Placencia Peninsula Road, Placencia 00000, Placencia, Belize
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Pickup details
We text guests to arrange time and place for pickup. We provide complimentary pickup and drop off along the main road in Placencia Village but charge US$ 10.00 per person for pickup/drop off north of Placencia Village.
Operating hours.7:30 am
Itinerary
1
Monkey River Town
1 hour • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Children must be accompanied by an adult.
- Meals are not included - tradition is to support the Monkey River Village buy buying lunch there.
- Most travelers can participate
- 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.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 12 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.8
based on 80 reviews
Mary_B, Feb 2026
This was an awesome tour
Our Guide was extremely knowledgeable. Would highly recommend to anyone. Saw a lot of birds. The Howler monkeys were lazy in the top of tree tops. I was raining, it was understandable. Did see the manatees on the way back. That was a bonus. They tour company did a great job. The lunch was also tasty.
Response from Host, Feb 2026
Mary, thank you so much for your kind review! I am really happy to hear you had an awesome day on our Monkey River tour. Even with a little rain, it sounds like nature still delivered! The howler monkeys do tend to lounge high in the treetops during wet weather — conserving energy and staying dry — but we’re glad you were still able to observe them in their natural habitat. And spotting manatees on the way back is always a special bonus! Those moments never get old. We truly appreciate your comments about your guide’s knowledge. Our team takes great pride in sharing the wildlife, ecology, and stories of the river in a way that makes the experience meaningful and memorable.
We’re also happy you enjoyed the lunch — a tasty Belizean meal is the perfect way to round out a day on the water.
Thank you for the recommendation and for choosing to explore with us. We hope to welcome you back for another adventure soon!
Ellen_S, Feb 2026
Nearly an hour each way to Monkey Island via bare bones motor boat and a bumpy ride. Stopped on the way to give a head count for lunch, which was not included in the tour price. Only 1 choice - rice & beans, fried plantain, chicken thigh and water for $10US
We saw a handful of monkeys overhead, 2 crocs, 4 or 5 iguanas and 1 manatee. Lots of birds. The guide was very knowledgable tho a bit difficult to understand. Overall, the tour was ok. We came back with very achy backs.
Response from Host, Feb 2026
Elllen, thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We truly appreciate hearing both the positives and the areas where we can improve.
Monkey River is approximately an hour each way by boat from Placencia. While many guests enjoy the scenic ride through the lagoon and along the coast, sea conditions can sometimes make the journey bumpy. We are sorry to hear you returned with achy backs — your comfort is important to us, and your comments are helpful as we continually evaluate the experience we provide. Regarding lunch, we stop at Miss Alice’s Restaurant in Monkey River Village. Ordering lunch there is an optional part of the program and reflects our commitment to supporting local, sustainable tourism. By visiting and dining in the village, we help contribute directly to the small community’s economy. The traditional Belizean plate (rice & beans, plantain, chicken, and water) is the standard offering, though we understand that additional variety may be appreciated and will keep that in mind.
We’re pleased you were able to see monkeys, crocodiles, iguanas, a manatee, and many bird species. Wildlife sightings can vary from day to day, as this is a natural environment, but we always aim to make the outing educational and informative. Thank you as well for noting that your guide was knowledgeable — we will continue working on clarity and communication to ensure the experience is accessible and engaging for everyone.
We value your honest feedback and appreciate you joining us. It helps us refine and improve the experience, and we hope to have the opportunity to welcome you again in the future.
Josie_P, Jan 2026
Junior was excellent! Very knowledgeable and made sure we had the best experience! The food was great and we saw an abundance of wildlife including the howler monkeys!
Response from Host, Jan 2026
Josie, thank you for a very positive review. Junior is a great guide and loves to share his knowledge and Miss Alice really knows how to cook a traditional Belizean meal.
Hannah_D, Dec 2025
This was amazing!!!! A highlight of our trip! Junior was incredibly knowledgeable about Monkey River and we saw great wildlife. We had a delicious local lunch and were able to shop at local vendors in the village. Bring some bug spray and wear solid shoes for the hike — Definitely recommend!
Response from Host, Dec 2025
Thank you so much, Hannah, for the wonderful review! We’re thrilled to hear that your Monkey River experience was a highlight of your trip. Our guides love to share their knowledge with our guests, We’re glad you enjoyed the wildlife encounters, delicious local lunch, and time in the village supporting local vendors. Thank you also for sharing the helpful tips about bug spray and solid footwear — great advice for future guests. We truly appreciate the recommendation and hope to welcome you back for another adventure in Belize soon!
Marta_L, Nov 2025
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
Response from Host, Nov 2025
Marta, Thank you for choosing Splash and for taking the time to share your review! We’re glad to hear you enjoyed the half-day trip and that you were able to see so many amazing animals along the way. It’s great to know your guide helped make the experience enjoyable and informative.
You’re absolutely right about the trail conditions — the hike is short and easy, but it can get slippery depending on the weather. We appreciate you mentioning the footwear recommendation; that’s very helpful for future guests.
Thanks again for adventuring with us, and we hope to welcome you back for another wildlife experience soon!
James_M, Nov 2025
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.
Response from Host, Nov 2025
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us on the Monkey River Wildlife Encounters and Manatee Watch tour! We’re thrilled to hear you enjoyed the scenic boat ride, the abundance of wildlife, and the unforgettable howler monkey sightings. We really appreciate your helpful tips for future guests—proper footwear and bug spray definitely make the jungle hike more comfortable. We’re also glad you enjoyed a traditional Belize lunch in Monkey River Village, supporting local tourism, and found it to be a good value.
Our guides take great pride in making each tour fun, safe, and educational. While boarding can sometimes be a bit challenging, we’re happy to hear it was manageable and didn’t detract from your day.
Thank you again for joining us and for taking the time to leave such a thoughtful review. We hope to welcome you back for another adventure!
Steve_S, Sep 2025
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.
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with with Splash on Viator! We’re very happy to hear that Junior made your Monkey River Wildlife Encounters and Manatee Watch tour so memorable. His deep knowledge of the plants, wildlife, and ecosystems—along with his humor and graciousness—are qualities we’re very proud of.
We’re also delighted that you enjoyed the traditional Belizean meal at Alice’s, supporting sustainable tourism, and felt so welcomed by Patricia and our Splash Dive Shop team. Creating these kinds of authentic and friendly experiences is exactly what we strive for.
We truly appreciate your high recommendation and look forward to welcoming you back for more adventures in Belize!
Robert_F, Jul 2025
Monkey River is a great fun and educational experience. Birds, crocodile, manatees. And, of course, howler monkeys!
Response from Host, Jul 2025
Thanks so much for the awesome review! We’re really glad you had a great time exploring Monkey River with us. It’s always a treat spotting all the birds, crocs, manatees—and of course, hearing those howler monkeys in action! Hope to see you back with us at Splash Dive Center for another adventure soon!
Kenneth_C, Feb 2025
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.
Response from Host, Feb 2025
Kenneth, thank you for your fantastic review! We're so glad you had an amazing time on the Monkey River tour. The boat ride itself is such a scenic journey, and it’s great to hear that you enjoyed the relaxed exploration of the river and jungle.
Junior is truly a gem—his knowledge, patience, and skill make every tour a special experience. It sounds like you had some incredible wildlife encounters, from the diverse bird species to howler monkeys and even crocodiles! Seeing manatees on the way back is always a magical bonus.
We’re also happy you enjoyed the traditional Belizean lunch—Belizeans know how to coo chicken, rice and beans! Thank you for choosing us, and we hope to welcome you back for another unforgettable tour.
Linda_W, Jan 2025
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.
Response from Host, Jan 2025
Hi Linda I am very happy to hear that you received a lesson and a half on the flora and fauna of Belize. Junior is an educator on Belize and this is a truly amazing place - nature's best kept secret. Thank you for sharing your experience with Splash on Viator.
AllanAtsma_A, Jan 2025
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
Response from Host, Jan 2025
Allan, thank you for sharing your experience on TripAdvisor/Viator. Our Monkey River tour is one of the best ways to see wildlife in Belize as the animals and birds have gotten used to the boats going up and down the river. And yes, experience the real Belize with a traditional Belizean lunch at Miss Alice's cafe!
Sian_R, Jul 2024
Splash 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.
Response from Host, Jul 2024
Hi Sian - thank you or a very thorough review of our Monkey River Jungle Tour and Manatee Watch. This trip is one of the very best ways to see wildlife in-insitu in Belize. The stop in Monkey River Village really helps support sustainable tourism. Manatees can be very shy do sometimes show us more than their noses.
Kristi_R, Feb 2024
I took my parents and 2 boys (8&10) and we all had a great time. The boat ride through the river and mangrove forest was so fun. We hiked in and saw a few howler monkeys (heard them too), leaf cutter ants, and a boa constrictor! Off the boat we saw tons of birds, a baby croc, and manatee. Our guide was so knowledgeable about the flora and fauna of the area. The lunch in village was so delicious. We had a fantastic time!
Response from Host, Feb 2024
Thank you for choosing to explore Monkey River with us! We are delighted to hear that you and your family had a great time during your wildlife encounters and manatee watch tour and that our knowledgeable guide was able to enhance your experience by sharing insights about the local flora and fauna. We are glad you enjoyed the delicious lunch and the various wildlife sightings. It was a pleasure to have you and your family on this adventure, and we hope to welcome you back for more memorable experiences in the future!. We are glad you enjoyed the delicious lunch at Miss Alice's restuarant in Monkey River Village and there by supporting sustainable tourism. It was a pleasure to have you and your family on this adventure, and we hope to welcome you back for more memorable experiences in the future!
Kimberly_L, Jun 2023
Evaristo was fantastic! He went out of his way to make sure we saw a little bit of everything. I can understand how the sights would vary day to day. I was super pumped to see a boa constrictor baby, crocs, manatees and bats. We also ended up in the middle of a howler monkey territory battle (dozens of feet above our heads). He was very knowledgeable
Response from Host, Jun 2023
Kimberly, thank you for a great review of our Monkey River and Manatee Watch tour. This tour is certainly one of the very best ways to observe wildlife in Belize! Howler monkeys are among the loudest animals on this planet so you were royally entertained!
Michele_D, Mar 2023
I took the tour with my husband and 25 yr old son. We were able to see a large number of bird species and eventually did see howler monkeys and even the splash of a manatee - other wildlife eluded us. Our guide, Jr. was extremely knowledgeable about the natural surroundings - he delivered a good amount of interesting historical information about the area as well as educated is on the plants and trees that the Kriol used in everyday life. We really enjoyed his delivery and he was always willing to elaborate or answer any questions we had. If he saw us pointing at or noticing anything he would stop the boat and share what he know about the attraction. The food was simple yet DELICIOUS! The village very much relies on tourists coming through, eating and maybe buying a bauble to bring home. They were truly grateful. We highly recommend this tour. While they can’t control the wildlife or even the weather - Jr. made every effort to find us whatever wildlife he could.
Response from Host, Mar 2023
Thank you for sharing your Monkey River experience with Splash and for a positve review on what seems to have been a quiet day upriver. The wildlife seems to have taken a rare day off. Every so often we get a day like that where we joke about seeing logadiles and crocologs! We usually see lots of tropical birds, huge iguanas resting on tree branches, crocodiles and of course - mosquitos.
Glenn_N, Feb 2023
Howler monkeys, and the knowledge of our guide about the jungle. He pointed out tracks of the Tapir. I gained alot of knowledge on this adventure.
Response from Host, Feb 2023
Glenn, thank you for taking the time to review your Monkey River Jungle River experience with Splash. This tour is certainly the best tour to see wildlife of Belize in its natural setting and our guides enjoy sharing their knowledge with our guests.
B_S, Feb 2023
Truly a great day! We saw a lot of wildlife and the tour guide was exceptional! Highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting the Placencia area!
Response from Host, Feb 2023
The Monkey River Jungle Tour is a great way to see wildlife - the birds, reptiles and mammals are used to boats going up and down the river. Our guides love to share their knowledge. Thank you for endorsing Splash.
Bob_W, Jul 2021
Our guide, Will. He was knowledgeable, helpful, and careful. He was a first-rate guide. We saw and experienced a lot of new things, and enjoyed the day from start to finish. It was my wife's birthday and she felt the trip was a great gift.
Response from Host, Jul 2021
Bob, thank you for a great review and for posting your experience on Trip Advisor! Our guides love to share their knowledge and love of Belize with our guests. We hope we will see you down this way again.
Lydea_K, May 2019
The staff at Splash was extremely helpful and kind. Our tour guides taught us about the wildlife, and the plants in the jungle. We got to eat a wild fig from the jungle! We saw a ton of monkeys. Then after our tour, we stopped at a local restaurant for lunch and the food was excellent and authentic. Our guide gave us fresh mangoes he picked from a tree. Great time!
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