Akumal Monkey Sanctuary — Attraction in Quintana Roo

AtlasAdventured highly recommends visiting the Akumal Monkey Sanctuary!

While living in Tulum we decided to visit the Akumal Monkey Sanctuary for our daughter's 6th birthday and we had an amazing experience. We booked the 'Monkey Sanctuary + Snorkel' package and we added on the buffet lunch for about 7k pesos for all three of us (~$115 USD each)

You are told to arrive 15 min before your scheduled tour or you risk losing your spot and will not be refunded. We arrived 30 min early but tour orientation started about 15 minutes late anyways and a few people in our group arrived even later than that but we're still admitted so not sure how strict this rule is. Our group only had 7 people in it. Our family and two other couples. There was also our tour guide and the photographer/cameraman who takes pics and videos of you throughout the day. You can buy single media files or all of them at the end of your time there.

We walked through a few of the different animal areas and got to pet some goats before getting to the most anticipated part of the experience, getting to interact with a Monkey. There are no cameras, jewelry, personal belongings, etc allowed in the enclosure and one girl in our group had dermal piercings that they were trying to get her to take our but she explained that it wasn't possible and they asked her to keep her hair down to try and cover it so the Monkey didn't grab at it. The monkey crawls on your head and then across your hands as they give it treats so be prepared to have Monkey saliva and treats scattered over ya. You can't pet/hold the Monkey. They do have multiple sinks to wash your hands thoroughly before and after your time with the Monkey. Since there are no cameras allowed in the monkeys area, the only way to get pictures of this experience is to buy them at the end of your tour.

Then you get to pet a snake which was cool but nothing too crazy. Then a photo opp with some colorful parrots/birds.

All of this happens over the course of 1.5-2 hours.

If you book the Snorkel package, this is the point where they get you ready to drive down to Akumal Bay. You get Snorkel and goggles provided. They load you into one of their Akumal Monkey Sanctuary vans and drive you down to the bay where you will meet your certified guide who will explain the rules and will be with you during the Snorkel experience. After getting life jackets on and your belongings put away in a bin on the beach (no lock on the bin and we weren't offered lockers but there were lockers both at the Sanctuary and at the beach area. Not sure the price or if you have the opportunity to rent those), then you get on a small boat for about 5 minutes before jumping in to Snorkel. Not sure if the boat is always used or if they just had us get on it to get past the sargassum. You Snorkel for about 15 minutes in the deeper water where there are lots of fish and coral before swimming about halfway in where the turtles hang out. We saw 4-5 turtles and were really close to them. Obviously, you are not allowed to touch them.

After snorkeling, you take the 10 minute drive back to the Sanctuary where you can enjoy your buffet lunch. This is the only part that was a let down for us. When we arrived most tables were full except 1 in the back that had no fans and was in the sun so it was extremely hot and lacked air flow. The buffet was pretty much empty of good food and had some fruit, veggies, about 10 cold fries, 1 hamburger that was cold and some chips with cheese sauce. We asked the workers about the empty trays and they said more hot dogs, hamburgers, etc. Would be out in about 5 min but after 20 minutes of picking at fruit and chips we were over it and decided to head back home. We did buy the media package with all of our pics and a video compilation of the day but the pictures were not the best quality even though they used a gopro and the color seemed off but better than nothing. They tried charging $100 usd for the pictures but we were able to talk him down to about half that.

Great...

We absolutely loved this experience and booked the full day itinerary through TUI which included a guided tour of the monkey sanctuary, ATV ride, Cenote, Lunch and Snorkelling with turtles. It was the perfect combination of activities and was the highlight of our holiday! We were picked up from our hotel lobby by Julio who was our driver for the day - he was really helpful and pleasant! We then arrived at the monkey sanctuary, were put into groups and introduced to our tour guide ‘Ramsay’. Before the tour started we were reminded to use our bug spray ( you can purchase some there is you forget!) but only in areas that would not affect the animals. Ramsay really made the experience amazing for us as he was so caring to both the group and the animals and has a clear passion for the job! There is the opportunity to go in and see one of the monkeys up close however this isn’t guaranteed. When we went in to see the monkey, we were reminded frequently that we were entering the monkeys house and had to follow his rules, if the animals showed any signs of distress then we would stop immediately - this was really positive for us as it showed that no matter how much money the tours bring in the animals always come first. All of the animals seem so well cared for and Ramsay even mentioned how they recently decorated for one of the monkeys 25th birthday!! We then completed a 7km ATV ride through the jungle - prepare to get dirty as there are a lot of puddles in the jungle! We were a bit slower that the rest of our group so went off separately with one of the guides which made us feel super safe! We loved visiting the cenote - you haven’t been to Mexico if you don’t go! Ramsay gave us a great insight into how/why there are cenotes and their importance in the local culture. There is also the opportunity to swim but because there are shallow areas they are perfectly fine for none swimmers too! After lunch we got to snorkel with a local guide, this meant we were able to go into zones that are restricted to the public but had to follow strict regulations to ensure the turtles were safe. Make sure to list to your guide in the water as they really do want to share the wildlife with you but they will do everything to make sure the animals safety comes first! You do have to jump off the side of the boat to get into the sea so be prepared for that!! Our top tips would be - Bring bug spray!! Bring extra cash along as there were a lot of people that we felt deserved a tip!! Good footwear like sea shoes (I wore sandals but it was...

We had a great guide, Adal. He effortlessly translated English, Spanish and French for everyone in our group. He knew a lot about the animals, answered everyone’s questions and seemed to really care for the animals. We saw animals from all over the world, not just native animals. Adal explained that this happened because animals are bought on the black market and either abandoned or confiscated and brought to the sanctuary.

I must have misunderstood the website because I was thinking that we were really going to be participating in the “bonding program” that they have. I thought that was why I purchased a specialized tour ahead of time. I realize now that it is a 2 hour tour around the entire grounds talking about all the animals with a large group (I think about 20 people in our group). As we went, we had 3 opportunities to “quickly hold” a macaw, a boa constrictor, and a monkey. Each “interaction” with the animal lasted maybe 10-15 seconds, long enough to snap a photo and have the next person in line get a turn to hold the animal. This goes quick because they do photos by families or couples, not individuals. You can snap your own photos for the bird and snake. Getting to the monkeys, you have to remove ALL jewelry, glasses, hats, phones, purses, hair clips, etc. Every accessory is put into baskets (one per family/couple), and if you do not follow this rule you do not get to interact with the monkeys. This also means you cannot take your own photos with the monkeys, only the professional photographer who follows the group can take it and you can decide to buy it later. The interaction with the monkey is everyone sitting on benches super close to each other as the trainer gives the signal for the monkey to jump from head to head, then cupping your hands and placing them on your lap and having the monkey jump from lap to lap. They warn you ahead of time the monkey can pee or poop on you at any time, and it did pee on someone’s head/down his back.

I was really hoping for a more intimate “bonding” program experience where we could learn how to care for the animals with the trainers, and spend time with a monkey. This interaction with animals was so quick and rushed it just felt gimmicky vs rehabilitating.

I also read online that they sell handmade goods from locals and I didn’t see any of those in the gift shop- some of the stuff my daughter recognized as things she has bought at gift shops back in the U.S.

My daughter (6 yr old) really enjoyed it. We saw some cute animals. It’s just not what I thought...