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Akumal Monkey Sanctuary
Badge of Excellence
Playa del Carmen, Mexico
- 3 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
Explore our promoted experiences
Overview
Learn about animal re-introduction programs and become acquainted with primates at the Akumal Monkey Sanctuary in Quintana Roo. Mexico recently introduced a law that bans the use of animals in shows, and many of the previous owners donated their animals to the sanctuary. See several species of monkeys, birds, snakes, ostriches, and even zebras as you walk around the facility.
- Safely interact with animals including primates
- Learn about the facility's rehabilitation practices
- Choose from several timeslots for your visit
- Optional transfer from your hotel (added cost)
What's Included
- Local guide
- Monkey Bonding at special areas
- Gratuities
- Souvenir photos (available to purchase)
- Optional transfer service from Tulum or Playa del Carmen for $15 USD extra per Person
Meeting and Pickup
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
Pickup details
At Tulum Adventures, we understand that getting to the sanctuary can sometimes be a challenge, so we offer optional round-trip transfer services to make your visit as smooth as possible. To arrange a transfer, guests just need to provide their hotel or accommodation name and address — we’ll take care of the rest! Just to clarify for future visitors: the transfer fee is not included in the tour price and can be paid upon arrival at the sanctuary. The cost is $10 USD per person for round-trip service from Tulum to the Barcelo area, and $15 USD per person from Barcelo up to Puerto Morelos. This includes transportation with licensed drivers and full support from our coordination team. We hope this helps guests better plan their experience with us!
What To Expect
Begin your visit directly at the Akumal Monkey Sanctuary in Quintana Roo or request hotel pickup from Tulum or Playa del Carmen, then meet your guide for an in-depth tour of this unique sanctuary that houses a variety of species of monkeys, birds, snakes, ostriches, and zebras.
Discover the sanctuary’s rehabilitation and reintroduction programs and its promotion of animal welfare and conservation as you learn about each individual animal and its history. Interact with a few of the animal residents, including monkeys and birds, and enjoy plenty of time to ask your guide questions about the sanctuary and its mission.
End with a transfer back to your hotel (if requested upon booking).
Discover the sanctuary’s rehabilitation and reintroduction programs and its promotion of animal welfare and conservation as you learn about each individual animal and its history. Interact with a few of the animal residents, including monkeys and birds, and enjoy plenty of time to ask your guide questions about the sanctuary and its mission.
End with a transfer back to your hotel (if requested upon booking).
Akumal Monkey Sanctuary
Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Most travelers can participate
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 8 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Questions?
Visit the Viator Help Centre for any further questions.
Product code: 15574P8
Traveler Photos
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Reviews
4.5
based on 138 reviews
garethdavies31, Nov 2025
Very informative, probably too much talking for kids (not a critical just an observation and useful comment for others).
Group was larger than I expected consisting of 12 for one tour guide.
Monkey encounter was amazing though.
Response from Host, Nov 2025
We’re happy to hear you enjoyed the monkey encounter and found the tour informative. We’ll keep your comments in mind regarding group size and pacing to make the experience even more enjoyable for families. We hope to welcome you back soon!
Michael_S, Aug 2025
Lack of communication 30 mins to pick us up with no excuse language barrier. The monkey sanctuary was amazing though.
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Good afternoon sir. Sorry to hear that our communication fell short during your pickup, and we apologize for the 30-minute wait. We understand how frustrating that must have been, especially when language barriers can sometimes cause misunderstandings. However, we're thrilled to hear that the Akumal Monkey Sanctuary itself was amazing in your eyes! Our team works hard to provide a unique and educational experience, and it's great to know that shone through despite the initial hiccup. We'll take your feedback on board to improve our communication processes. Thanks for sharing your experience, and we hope to welcome you back soon.
Terese_H, Jul 2025
Our guide Marcos was outstanding. He was friendly, funny and knowledgeable. All of the staff were helpful and seemed to really care about animals. The monkey experience was the absolute best!
Response from Host, Jul 2025
Thank you so much for sharing your experience! We’re thrilled to hear you had such a great time and that Marcos made your visit extra special. His passion and knowledge truly enhance the tour. Our whole team is dedicated to the care and well-being of the animals, and we're glad that came through during your visit. The monkey encounter is definitely one of the highlights! We hope to welcome you back again soon.
Amy_M, Apr 2025
Overall this is a good activity. Depending on where you are from the enclosures may not seem great in comparison to higher level zoos or sanctuaries, but the animals did seem well cared for and the staff seemed knowledgeable and caring. Many animals there were rescued from bad situations. There are veterinarians, zoologists, and primatologists there according to the information. The interaction with the monkey is a single monkey that will jump on each person's head and then go on each person's lap. That is really cool! This is the one area you cannot take your camera or phone into so if you want pix you'll have to buy them at the end. $20 for 1 photo, $50 for all, plus some options for videos at additional price. One other thing to note- the viator description specifies a $15 charge for transportation from certain further areas, but then for the hotels existing in the drop down menu there was no charge listed, which I feel implies is included. But when we were emailed by the tour operator, after we already paid for the tour, we were told $10 per person transfer charge. This feels dishonest since it wasn't mentioned in the description and our hotel was 9 minutes from the sanctuary, so it certainly wasn't $20 in gas. I would recommend this tour but the company really should be up front about that fee for nearby hotels.
Response from Host, May 2025
Thank you so much for your honest and thoughtful review — we’re really glad you enjoyed the experience and that you felt the animals were well cared for. That truly means a lot to our team, who are passionate about the rescue work we do here every day.
We also really appreciate you pointing out the confusion around the transportation fee. The transfer is totally optional, and we always try to be as clear as possible — but your comment helped us realize where the misunderstanding might be happening. Just to clarify for future guests: transfers from Tulum to Barcelo are $10 USD per person, and from Barcelo up to Puerto Morelos are $15 USD. It includes roundtrip service with licensed drivers and support from our coordination team.
Thanks again for visiting and for helping us improve! We’re updating our listing info so it’s much clearer moving forward. Hope to see you again on your next trip to the area!
Warm wishes,
The Tulum Adventures Team
1
Markus_P, Feb 2025
That is not a Sanctuary, Its only a very poor zoo with a few apes in a cage. The only interest for the team to make expensive pictures. For this intrance fee a shame!!!
Response from Host, Feb 2025
We’re sorry to hear that your experience didn’t meet your expectations. It seems there was a misunderstanding about the great effort behind the sanctuary and our mission to rescue, rehabilitate, and care for these animals. Our team is dedicated to their well-being, and the entrance fee directly supports their care and conservation. We also noticed that from the beginning, you seemed upset and chose not to participate in all the activities, which may have affected your overall experience. We appreciate your feedback
Sheila_M, Jan 2025
Booking a pickup and drop off might make this tour unnecessarily pricey. Viator advises that ride costs $60USD pp round trip from Playa del Carmen but the sanctuary only charges 300 pesos pp. So best to pay for the ride in pesos when you arrive at the sanctuary. The tour experience was excellent. I would give it five stars if it included some free time after the 2 hour tour. Would have liked more time with the animals.
Response from Host, Jan 2025
We’re thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the tour and found it to be such a meaningful and excellent experience.
We’d like to clarify that the round-trip transportation cost is $15 USD per person, whether booked through Viator or directly at the sanctuary. This ensures consistency and fairness for all our guests.
Your suggestion to include some free time after the tour is greatly appreciated, and we understand how valuable it would be to have additional moments to connect with the animals. We’ll take this into account as we continue to refine the experience.
Thank you again for your thoughtful comments. We hope to welcome you back soon for another unforgettable visit!
MIsty_S, Jan 2025
Fantastic experience! I mean MONKEYS - what else do you need in life? Our guide Oscar was very knowledgeable and made the experience so pleasurable. Thank you for all you are doing for the animals. Cannot recommend enough.
Response from Host, Jan 2025
Thank you so much for your fantastic review! We couldn’t agree more—monkeys really do make life better! 🐒
We’re thrilled to hear that you had such a great time and that Oscar made the experience both informative and enjoyable. He’s passionate about sharing knowledge and ensuring our guests have an unforgettable visit, and we’ll be sure to pass along your kind words to him.
Your appreciation for the work we do to care for the animals means the world to us. Thank you for your heartfelt recommendation—it truly motivates our team! We hope to welcome you back again for more monkey magic in the future.
Mikenzhie_S, Jan 2025
Overall, we had a good experience. The provided transportation was convenient, and the tour itself was fantastic. We especially enjoyed the opportunity to hold some of the animals—it was a memorable highlight. However, it was disappointing that the promised snack was not provided as mentioned, which would have been a nice touch to complete the experience.
Response from Host, Jan 2025
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback about your visit to the Akumal Monkey Sanctuary. We’re delighted to hear that you enjoyed the tour and found the opportunity to interact with the animals to be a memorable highlight of your experience.
We’re glad the provided transportation added convenience to your day, but we sincerely apologize for the disappointment regarding the promised snack. This is not the experience we strive to deliver, and we’ll be reviewing this with our team to ensure such details are not overlooked in the future.
Your feedback is invaluable to us as it helps us improve and continue offering exceptional experiences. We hope to have the opportunity to welcome you back in the future for an even better visit!
Francesca_M, Aug 2024
We had a brilliant time at the money sanctuary. My husband and I are massive animal fans and this tour was better than we hoped. Angel was an amazing guide and was very knowledgeable about all the animals giving us their back story as well informing us on the projects the sanctuary has for the future. Our encounter with the Chapuchin was brilliant and was my highlight of our honeymoon. We will definetly be returning in the future to see how the sanctuary and animals are.
Response from Host, Aug 2024
We're overjoyed to hear that you had a brilliant time at our monkey sanctuary! It's wonderful to know that our tour exceeded your expectations, especially as huge animal fans. Angel is indeed an exceptional guide, and we're glad you appreciated his extensive knowledge and passion for the animals.
We're thrilled that your encounter with the Capuchin monkeys was the highlight of your honeymoon - what a wonderful memory to cherish! Our sanctuary is dedicated to providing a safe haven for these incredible creatures, and we're always excited to share our future projects with visitors.
Thank you for your support and enthusiasm. We can't wait to welcome you back in the future to see the progress and growth of our sanctuary and the animals. Congratulations again on your honeymoon, and we look forward to your next visit!
JOCELINE_W, Aug 2024
Such a fun time!! Everything was amazing. Definitely recommend going if you’re nearby. It is outdoors so wear comfortable shoes and bring sunscreen!!
Response from Host, Aug 2024
Aww, that's great! We're thrilled you had an amazing time! We completely agree, comfortable shoes and sunscreen are a must when visiting us.
Thanks for recommending us to others! We're excited you enjoyed your outdoor adventure with us. We can't wait to see you again soon!"
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Akumal Monkey Sanctuary
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