Monkey Sanctuary, Cenote & Plantation Tour In Punta Cana

This was the only excursion that we found suitable for our four year old. The monkey sanctuary was a unique experience. While the handlers give you fruit, the monkeys are unrestricted and at times took to some guests more than others. We were directed not to take pictures, but that was simply because they had a professional photographer present that you could purchase your images from at the end. I don’t think the plantation tour was necessary. It was part photo pop part quick lesson on coffee and chocolate. But I learned something new, so that’s always a plus. The denote was a perfect ending. But I would have loved to stay longer.

Pick up was simple at the lobby of our hotel. About 25 minute drive and we arrived on time, however, we lost about 45 minutes waiting for other groups to arrive. The guides were stressed, and obviously annoyed. Come to find out it was a much larger group the day we went, which unfortunately made everything rushed. It took longer to get through the multiple briefings than actually spend time on the activities. Monkeys were fun and only reason worth going. We were then rushed through multiple photo opportunities in the plantation, which is meant to get you to buy the photo package at the end. The Cenote was pretty cool, but because of the large group very overcrowded and short. Some opportunities to buy coffee and mamajuana. If you understand this is really a picture opportunity and photo sales packaged around feeding some squirrel monkeys then you might have the right mindset going in. I would definitely try and negotiate the price harder next time knowing what this really is. Kids enjoyed it, but everything was rushed and I felt someone had their hand on my wallet the whole time. The cherry on top was a 1 hour bus ride back to the hotel on a warm bus. Positives: the monkeys were a good experience, cenote the kids loved, some really great pictures were taken and we ended up buying them. The lady selling the beers was super nice, I didn’t mind spending the tourist prices.

Overview A fun experience on the surface, but be prepared for what is ultimately a well-orchestrated photo sales operation. Throughout the tour, guides frequently interrupt the experience to pose you and your group for photos — only to reveal the steep price tag at the very end. To add insult to injury, they have you fill out a satisfaction survey before you ever see what the pictures cost. My kids had a blast and were completely oblivious to the mechanics of it all, but as an adult it left a sour taste. Pros • The monkeys are genuinely fun and engaging — hard not to enjoy • The plantation tour was interesting, with samples of coffee, chocolate, coconut, and local drinks • The cenote at the end was a relaxing, cool way to finish the tour • Great for young kids who will love every minute of it Cons • Constant photo interruptions throughout the tour with no upfront disclosure of cost • Photos are significantly overpriced and aggressively sold at the end • The survey-before-sales-pitch sequence feels deliberately manipulative • Hard to be fully present in the experience when you’re constantly being posed • Music on the buses is painfully loud, especially if you’re seated toward the back Bottom Line If you have kids, they’ll love it — mine did. Just go in with eyes open, set a mental budget for photos in advance, and decide before you arrive whether you’re buying them. Don’t let the surprise pitch at the

This was a great tour if you don’t mind paying to encounter animals only to pose for pictures that they take to then be charged to pay again for those pictures at the very end. I get it. We’ve done plenty of these kinds of things. We ALMOST ALWAYS buy the pictures. However, these were EXPENSIVE. We resent having our experiences interrupted by constant posing without prior knowledge of the cost for those interruptions. They give you a survey to fill out BEFORE they try to sell you the pictures. There was good stuff too. The monkeys were super fun. The plantation tour with the samples of coffee, chocolate, coconut, and Mamajuana was interesting and informative. Our guide, Benjamin, was friendly and knowledgeable. We really enjoyed him. There was also another younger guy who was lots of fun. The cenote was welcome and relaxing at the end. It was a cool experience to swim there, but again, lots of time spent posing for more overpriced pictures. We have mixed feelings about this excursion overall. While we enjoyed it at the time, the surprise high price tag at the end for the photos unfortunately influences our overall remembrance of the day.

Wonderful family experience for our family of ten, ages 3 and up. We got to feed several monkeys throughout four different enclosures, learn about and see cocoa beans growing, how coconut oil is produced, how their coffee tastes and is ground, samples mamajuana, and got to swim in a cenote at the end for a refreshing 20 minutes or so. I highly recommend this excursion! Our tour guides (I didn’t catch their names but we went on May 17th 2026) were very informative and excellent at their jobs. Antonio was our bus driver back with nexus to Royalton Bavaro and he was excellent as well.

This was just a lengthy excursion for absolutely no reason. We booked this through our hotel and were told it was 3 hours plus 20mn transportation each way. We were told to be in lobby at 10:15 - we did not return until after 4pm. Most of this time was not spent with the Monkeys or with anything except waiting. Waiting for the busses (that were largely not needed to the different start points) or for the large group we had to join when we got there to get photos from their photographer. Photos at the entrance, with the cows, with the parrot, with the birds, with the goat... You go to four monkey cages where you walk in and stand, and sit in one. You can take your own photos in one (the sitting one) . They give you a little food in a bowl to give them (fyi: no peanut allergy people as they give peanuts). The monkeys may jump on you- this is cute but all the monkeys are the same and they are all caged. This is not what we expected at all. Then we went to a plantation/ farm and saw some basic farm animals, milked a cow, if you wanted for a photo op, saw some baby goats (like at a petting zoo), roosters/ turkey, drank some coffee and hot chocolate that they made from their own beans and some mamajuana (alcohol) all from very tiny plastic shot glasses. It was all good but it seems it may have bother our stomachs, so drink with caution as they use their own water I am guessing, and our resort is all special water so we dont get sick. We then went back again and walked down to the cenote, which was a huge disappointment. If you have. been to Cancun, this cenote is not worth your time. It is the size of a larger backyard pool with a small waterfall. When there are 50 people in your group, this doesn't work. We then had to wait an hour and a half for the bus back. Truly a wasted vacation day. Small children were also done done by the end. They also asked for food orders at the start and people thought this meant they would get lunch at some point but it was given to them packaged up as they left. They were not happy about this. Maybe it is different when the groups are smaller. We were the only two from our hotel, so did not know it would be this way.

We had amazing time especially with the monkeys.They were very cute and very soft...sometimes scary when they jump on you...diffently recommend great tour guides they spoke well english and french. They allow phones to take photos in some sections and I had a water camera....the photo people are there to capture your memories if your willing to pay the CRAZY REDICIOUS price of 160$ canadien....they don't give you a copy it's send to you on your phone.

Monkeys were awesome . It was supposed to be 4 hrs it took 7. Made us wait for photos they took. Then tried to scam us on price

One of the best things to do in Punta cana , I highly recommended. Boogie ride was amazing getting dirty in mud felt great , the walk to the Cave was amazing saw real bats . Then went to the Cenote the water was amazing with the water fall felt real good swiming in it

I would 100% advise that you do not go here. We went to what was advertised to us as the 'plantation' for a coffee and chocolate experience by our hotel and described by the employees as a 'farm'. In reality, it was a petting zoo where the animals were seemingly being neglected. The first stop was a cage full of small birds for a photo opportunity of feeding them where there was zero enrichment for the animals, just small wooden bird houses at the top of the cage. The next stop was a single cow with its legs tied to poles for a photo opportunity of milking the cow, it was clearly distressed and our tour guide pretended to kick its hind legs with resulting destressed mooing and struggling from the cow. Next was another photo opportunity with a parrot which was then put in a cage with again, no enrichment and another visitor started banging at the cage to get its attention and complained that it tried to attack them after the fact, with no employee/signage telling her to stop. There were some goats that you could bottle feed and some chickens in cages. Then we were given a demonstration of how they made coffee, chocolate and coconut oil. I did not try any of said products as I felt sick to my stomach after seeing the treatment of the animals and did not see the tour guides wash/disinfect their hands after handling them. The talks themselves were very underwhelming and they used a rusty grinder to grind the coffee beans. They then distributed mamajuana in small taster cups and the tour guide made many very sexual jokes about how it would give men long lasting boners and make women more easy, etc. Definitely not a family friendly experience. Had to suffer through the main tour guide, the one who pretended to kick the cow, pretending to be drunk. The boogie experience was underwhelming and probably the best part of the trip. They try to shell you ponchos and water shoes if you're wearing fliplops neither of which you need, if you do really want to go bring a bandana and glasses with you to protect your face from dust. Multiple boogies broke down/stopped working during the tour including my brother's, he ended up going in 3 different boogies. The exhaust fumes from the person in front of you end up choking you and you don't end up going very fast at any point, it ends up being more of a chore than anything. There's nothing to see on the tour just grass and trees. The cave & cineto experience was also very underwhelming. The 'cineto' was quite small and clearly had a concrete floor and water being artificially pumped into it from above. If you had ordered food you got to enjoy your sad burger from the changing room benches as there were no actual tables with music blasting by the cineto. Basically at all points that you are stationary expect defeaningly loud music to be playing. The photos were overpriced, starting at $90 with an additional $30 per person in the party. Everything is overpriced yet they seemingly don't use any of this to actually properly care for the animals they profit off of or maintain the boogies that barely work properly.

We loved it so much. Went on a Sunday morning and we were the only ones there. Which surprised us because it was definitely one of our favorite excursions we have ever done. The plantation was super cool and very informative and we loved all the animals and info on the local area. The monkeys of course were so cute and we loved getting to feed them and play with them. The connote was beautiful and very peaceful. Our tour guides were all amazing very nice. Highly recommend this place.

We visited Evolution Adventure Park with our 6-year-old daughter, hoping for a typical Dominican Republic adventure. Unfortunately, the experience left much to be desired, especially for families and animal lovers. The excursion began with a "farm visit," which was one of the most disappointing parts. Right from the start, the bus ride played extremely loud reggaeton music with explicit and sexual lyrics—not suitable for any child. We felt very uncomfortable, especially since our daughter speaks and understands Spanish fluently. While we understand reggaeton is part of the culture and we’re easygoing, we definitely didn’t expect a family-friendly excursion to start with a song like "that", played at full volume. The "farm" itself felt poorly maintained. You begin with a canary enclosure where the birds rush to feed off your hands, quick as there's people waiting in the line, and for the picture. Then there’s ONE cow, visibly distressed and fully restrained—legs tied, mouth muzzled, and held between two poles—so that guests can take turns milking her (and for the picture, of course). As someone familiar with animal-focused parks like Panaca in Colombia, the contrast in care, space, and respect for animals was stark and upsetting. The rest of the farm tour included quick stops to see goats and chickens, followed by a brief walkthrough on the production of coffee, cacao, and coconut oil. Again, if you’ve visited parks like El Parque del Café, this will feel extremely underwhelming. At the end of the tour, they give you a small sample of Mamajuana and invite you to purchase various local products. I ended up buying the coconut oil—don’t even ask why! Haha. I’ve been using organic, cold-pressed coconut oil for over 15 years for cooking, skincare, hair care, and even drinking. Real coconut oil should be pure white when solid, clear when liquid, and have a natural coconut aroma and flavor. The one they sold here was yellow, smelled odd, and tasted nothing like coconut—a strong sign that it’s either poor quality, processed improperly, or not even pure coconut oil. Still, I wanted to support the experience and needed oil for my trip, so I gave it a shot. Unfortunately, this one was a total miss. Next, we returned to the main park area where you have lockers and the option to purchase lunch (not included in the ticket). Be prepared: nearly everything inside comes at an additional cost—food, drinks, photos, etc. They also advise you to buy bandanas, goggles, and ponchos (basically plastic covers for your body) before the buggy ride. There’s a marketing push to sell anything they can once you’re inside. We understand—that’s part of their business—but if you’re going with a budget, just make sure to bring your own bandanas, goggles or sunglasses, and skip the poncho if you don’t mind getting a little muddy! The buggy ride followed, which we know is supposed to be bumpy, muddy, and part of the fun! We fully expected to get dirty and have an adventurous time. However, the issue wasn’t the ride itself — it was the condition of the buggies. They appeared to be in poor condition. We met another family at our resort who had the same experience: the steering was extremely stiff and often delayed, the brakes and accelerator felt unreliable, and to top it off, the carts had an overwhelming smell of gasoline, which made us question whether they were leaking fuel or just not maintained properly. Again, we’re all in for the mud and the bumps, but when the equipment doesn’t respond properly, it takes away from the fun and raises safety concerns. Finally, we walked to the caves and cenote. This was the highlight of the day. The caves were interesting and beautiful, and the cenote was truly lovely and refreshing. After swimming, lunch was served for those who had prepaid — this part was well-organized and enjoyable. I can say that the excursion focusing only in the caves and cenotes would be much much better experience. The last unpleasant moment came when I picked up the coconut oil I had purchased. The man who seemed to be in charge asked me to write a review on the spot, which felt very forced. As I was paying, he watched my wallet closely and pointed to a tip box. I added my tip, only to hear him whisper something rude in Spanish about how cheap I was. As a Spanish speaker, I caught the tone if not the full slang—and it felt highly disrespectful. Considering the already high price of admission, this kind of behavior was unacceptable. Summary: The only parts we truly enjoyed were the caves and the cenote. While most of the facilitators were very kind and welcoming, the overall experience was not family-friendly. The idea of the park is there—it has potential—but it needs some serious upgrades. I took the time to write this review as constructive feedback, because I truly believe this park could take a great turn if a few key things were improved. Investing in better conditions for the animals is essential—today’s visitors are more aware and concerned about animal welfare, especially when you're welcoming people from all over the world. Honestly, even a visit to Panaca Park in Colombia could offer so many great ideas for how to elevate and redesign your farm experience and El Parque Del Café for the overall tour. Also, creating a safer and more family-conscious environment would make a huge difference. And hey—keep the fun and the party vibe if that’s what you’re going for! That’s part of the charm. But there are so many amazing folkloric songs, or even reggaeton tracks, that have more appropriate lyrics—especially when you have kids on board. Most of the facilitators were wonderful—attentive, friendly, and fun—but I did feel pressured at the very end, which unfortunately left a sour final impression. I hope this is helpful to future visitors, and even more so to the park team. With the right care and attention, this could be an amazing experience.

This excursion was amazing! We started with a guide who taught us about how coffee, chocolate, and coconut oil is made. We saw love birds, played with baby goats, and milked a cow. Then we went to 4 different monkey enclosures. This was the best part. We fed the monkeys, and they were jumping on our shoulders, and head. They were so adorable, and so much fun! Be prepared to get dirty, - well worth it! The monkeys are all well cared for, and enclosures were clean and had plenty of space for them to play around. This was my favorite part of our Punta Cana trip! It is a must do if you love animals! If you can request a guide Luis is the BEST!

I went with a friend and family to the monkey experience and was very disappointed. The experience of feeding the monkeys was good however everything else around the excision has left a bitter taste in my mouth. The first thing that they do is give you a talk about what you are doing and tell you that you need a hat as the monkeys will poop on your head. And you can buy a hat at the kiosk. Then tell you that you will need sunglasses as the monkeys will scratch out your eyes And you can buy sunglasses at the kiosk. Then they tell you that you have to leave your bags in the lockers and will be coming back in between the adventures to the locker area so put your bags in the lockers, and you can rent them at the kiosk. I don’t know what the hats and sunglasses cost as I had a hat and opted to risk going without the sunglasses but the lockers we $5 each for the rental. They didn’t tell us we could not take pictures in the monkey area until we got to that area. They were taking pictures. Then when we came in between adventures the staff were pushing selling cigars and even asked if I wanted some weed. Very pushy on the sales. I’m your face pushy! We then went to the farm where they were pushing the sale of mama Wana (the local drink) and the oils and stuff. The pool was fine. Once we were done they were selling pictures of the adventure that we could not take ourself at way robbery prices. 10 pictures $50 based on the number of people we had in our group the prices went up. We had 6 people. They stared at over $200 for 71 pictures they had of us. Had they told us any of this when we booked the experience we could have planned better and been prepared for what was ahead of us. Or even maybe made a different choice on the adventure. Maybe did something else. I was not the only person that felt this way. I was talking to others on the adventure and they were upset that they could not use thier own camera in the monkeys. One family paid a staff to take a picture of them with the parrot (which was allowed) and the guy didn’t take a hood picture but the one they were selling was perfect. Another couple were disappointed that they could not afford the pictures for the memories as they were way out of their budget. I have never felt like I was being scammed more in my life. Everything was more money and more money. Now I have to say, that for me it is is not the money that I have a problem with. I will pay for service always. I don’t mind paying for things that I want. But I don’t want to be forced to pay for something and feel trapped into paying for something that is clearly not explained at the time of booking this adventure. I felt horrible for the people that were expecting to make memories and could not afford the “extras” at the highway robbery prices they charge or you get nothing!!! The only reason I am giving a 2 star is because the excision was fin with the monkeys but everything else around the excision was a total scam! If I were to give them any advice I would tell them to tell people in advance of what it will be like and maybe sell packages in advance for pictures, and adding like hats and extras so that people are aware of what they are up against and not put into a corner when they get there and have to spend extra money. This is peoples vacation and they want to have fun not be scammed or pressured into paying for stuff they expected or were not warned about before. I would not recommend this excursion to anyone without knowing that the price of the vision is less than half of the total money you will spend on the extras for a hat, sunglasses, locker, pictures, and if you want some oils or local drink. I would add pictures for this review but I find that it was a service I payed a ton of money for and am not willing to share for free. Lol. Beware of this excursion. Be very aware of this excursion.

I have never felt so scammed on an excursion in my life . You are told once you arrive that you should have a hat and sunglasses so the monkeys don’t poop on your head or poke you in the eyes but the good news is you can buy all that stuff from them there . Once you get in with the monkeys you are informed that you can’t take your own pictures but they will for you . Once the excursion is over they sell you the pictures at a ridiculous price they wanted $220 for our group we negotiated to $130 as they threatened to delete the pictures. The majority of the pictures are duplicates so very few quality pictures. If it wasn’t for pictures of my kids with the monkeys I would have left save your self the shake down and go somewhere else I hear Monkey Land is way better.

I know there are some poor reviews about this place, but I am guessing that those people were not aware that it gets hot in the DR every day and didnt pay attention to what they were signing up for. I took my family of 4 and we had a blast! Yes, you travel on a bumpy dirt road to get to the facility. Big deal! The zoo was educational as you learn how they make Coconut Oil, Chocolate and Coffee. Typical Farm animals but the baby goats were fun as they would jump up on your back! The monkeys were a blast, you get to feed them and they jump all over you. Yes, they may pee on you. You can not have your phone as they want to sell you photos at the end, but it was worth the price. We bought them. The Cenote swim at the end was awesome. It is a refreshing pool with a waterfall. Overall, we thought it was great!

Evolution Adventure Park in punta cana. price is 95$ adult, 60$ child. Transport was 1h late a true poor countryside. Guid JC was good, feeding monkey is fun but we aren't allowed take any pictures a U will know in the end why. zoo is just ok, swimming was refreshing.

Please check before booking - this is NOT MONKEYLAND. We booked this through our hotel (Royalton Punta Cana) and thought we were heading to Monkey Land (as seen on Instagram). This was not what we expected… no phones were allowed so you couldn’t take any of your own photos, meaning you were forced to buy their pictures ($15 each) and when refused the staff were rude and unkind. It was an uncomfortable experience. On arrival one of us didn’t have a hat and they told us we ‘had to have one’ in case the monkeys pooed, but it was just a scam to get you to spend more money! We also had about 15 staff to 4 customers, and they seemed to be having their own party rather than actually looking after us! Despite it, we had a fun and weird day - the monkeys were well looked after and lovely, then we took a tour of the farmland including meeting some animals, milking a cow, meeting lots of parrots and a very friendly dog! Then we learnt about the creation of chocolate, coffee and coconut oil which was really interesting. The cenote is man made and nothing to write home about. Definitely check before booking so you know what your in for.

Staff was friendly. I loveeee the monkeys and the lagoon. The only negative thing was the carts kept breaking down but everything else was excellent.

Evolution park We did a half day tour from our resort US$190. For two adult adults and the 2 kids were free. The choice is divided into three parts. However, in order to get there, the road is pretty bumpy so if you have severe vertigo or get carsick easily, I would not recommend it. Bathroom facilities are fairly decent. The first part is going to the monkeys. They’re pretty cute divided into four houses. They will try and sell you everything from US$5 lockers to buying hats and sunglasses indicating that the monkeys will poop on you and you need them. you do not need any of these things. If you have your own hat and sunglasses, feel free to bring them. They will not let you take pictures on your phone for the first section, which is with the monkeys and the photographer will take all the pictures. The second part was going to the plantation where we saw the process of coconut oil, coffee, chocolate, and the traditional Dominican drink of mama Juana. You get samplings of all this. There’s also a section where you can milk a cow, feed some baby goats in take pictures with parrots and feed them. Then you get to another area where you can purchase expensive things like US$3 bag of chips and US$25 relatively small bags of coffee. You can also buy coconut oil if you want to. They do not have credit card machine at this site, but you can get back to the area where the tour started and pay there with credit card if you wish. The last section was visiting a cenote and going for a 15 min swim. That was pretty fun. The tour guides including Maxi were very friendly. A few suggestions: they will say that pregnant women and people with severe pain. Allergies cannot participate in the monkey experience because you feed peanuts to the monkeys. So just be mindful of that before booking this tour. There’s also no food on this half day tour so I would suggest you pack something With you, including water if you want. Activity is not stroller/wheelchair friendly. At the end of the trip, they will sell you five pictures for US $75 or all the pictures that they took which is probably about 50 pictures or more for US $159. We were able to talk them down to giving it to us for US $114. There’s always room for negotiation. You can pay by credit card. At the end of that trip, you will get back to the hotel with transportation arranged. All in all, it was a good tour, but remember that it is a tourist trap just like any other place. Have fun!

Did a mixture of activities , some good and some poor. the off road jeeps were really good fun and enjoyable. Ended with a swim in the ceynote and waterfall which was amazing. Farm activity is awful - milk a cow which has its legs shackled together, feed birds in a filthy aviary. Best to avoid. Tour around the coffee and cocoa plantation was interesting. Photo sales at the end were painful. Hard sell to buy photos $100 USD for 5… rip off. Also waited in coach for 50 minutes to leave as those who bought photos had the wrong ones printed and had to go back and reprint