The Jungle Place - Tours
The Jungle Place - Tours
The Jungle Place - Tours
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About
The Jungle Place is a licensed sanctuary for the endangered Spider Monkey. They rescue and rehabilitate orphaned monkeys who were victims of the illegal pet trade, poaching, habitat destruction and exploitation. All too often these beautiful, highly intelligent primates become victims when humans and nature collide in a natural paradise like The Riviera Maya. The in-person tours they offer to help support the sanctuary are the very definition of sustainable and ecologically responsible tourism.The owners, Heidi and Joel, are a wonderful couple who originally moved to the area to retire but instead devoted their lives to care for these rescued monkeys. They provide them with an incredible amount of love, individual attention, medical care and specialized diets, all within a beautiful and meticulously well-kept habitat right in their native jungle.Visit in-person to meet the owners and the monkeys, view the facilities and habitat, and see first-hand the level of care that your donation helps provide. Be sure to reserve your tour well in advance, as they allow only a very limited number of visits per week.
Chemuyil, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Meets animal welfare guidelines
Awards
Travelers' Choice
2024
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
5.0
1,081 reviews
Excellent
1,000
Very good
40
Average
20
Poor
8
Terrible
13
Francine F
1 contribution
Feb 2020 • Friends
The Jungle Place...This was the highlight of our trip. I recommend making a reservation as they only allow two days a week for visitors with limited space. You get to interact with at around 8-10 Spider Monkeys. They climb on you, some give you hugs..,t’s absolutely amazing and Heidi & her husband with a few employees take such good care of these monkeys. All the money goes to take care of these sweet monkeys. This is a non-profit Sanctuary for these monkey. They have built the most amazing place for them to live safely with tons of space. It’s about an hour and a half to get there from Cancun.
Written February 5, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
product-of-canada
Toronto, Canada2,492 contributions
Mar 2020
This was the only activity I pre-paid for before our trip, given its infrequent availability coupled with popularity.
This was an amazing experience! It was even better than I had imagined based on photos. It is well worth the $80/USD per person cost.
This is out of the way. We got their by collective from Tulum, but had to walk briskly for about 20 minutes on a dirt road. This place is not well labelled at all with signs, and the map they give you by e-mail is poor. We had to ask a few locals if we were on the right track, and a few of them did not even know what we were talking about.
I did not expect to be at the facility for so long. I think we were there for close to 3 hours. So budget your time accordingly. The amount of time inside the cage with the monkeys was up to an hour, if I recall correctly. It was a surprisingly long period of time.
There were 8 or so monkeys in the cage with us, and 10 people.
You may be getting a lot more monkey interaction than you realize. A few of us would, at one time or another, have 3 or 4 monkeys on you all at once, including on the face. This comes with the smells too! One monkey rested its chest on my ear, and I could hear every heartbeat.
There can be monkey squabbles while inside the cage, as they compete for the food. They give you instruction on how to handle the situation. At one point two monkeys got into a squabble while standing perched on my wife and I....we had to close and cover our eyes until it was over. There is also the potential of a monkey relieving itself on you, when perched overhead. There were a couple of close calls.
My favourite moment was when a younger spider monkey came up to me, laid down on my lap, and attempted to lift my arm to cuddle it. I end my review on that note!
This was an amazing experience! It was even better than I had imagined based on photos. It is well worth the $80/USD per person cost.
This is out of the way. We got their by collective from Tulum, but had to walk briskly for about 20 minutes on a dirt road. This place is not well labelled at all with signs, and the map they give you by e-mail is poor. We had to ask a few locals if we were on the right track, and a few of them did not even know what we were talking about.
I did not expect to be at the facility for so long. I think we were there for close to 3 hours. So budget your time accordingly. The amount of time inside the cage with the monkeys was up to an hour, if I recall correctly. It was a surprisingly long period of time.
There were 8 or so monkeys in the cage with us, and 10 people.
You may be getting a lot more monkey interaction than you realize. A few of us would, at one time or another, have 3 or 4 monkeys on you all at once, including on the face. This comes with the smells too! One monkey rested its chest on my ear, and I could hear every heartbeat.
There can be monkey squabbles while inside the cage, as they compete for the food. They give you instruction on how to handle the situation. At one point two monkeys got into a squabble while standing perched on my wife and I....we had to close and cover our eyes until it was over. There is also the potential of a monkey relieving itself on you, when perched overhead. There were a couple of close calls.
My favourite moment was when a younger spider monkey came up to me, laid down on my lap, and attempted to lift my arm to cuddle it. I end my review on that note!
Written March 26, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
rachaelk937
Leeds, United Kingdom8 contributions
Jan 2020
We visited the jungle place on the 8th Jan and what an experience it was!! Heidi and her husband are absolutely wonderful people. It is clear how much they genuinely care about the monkeys and the relationship they have with them is adorable and beyond measure.
The best thing about my visit was being selected as Maya’s favourite human. This meant I got all of the cuddles. Occasionally she would go to cuddle someone else but always came running back for a snuggle!
Similarly a sweet girl latched onto my partner so it is safe to say we left feeling pretty smug and content.
Before I went, I had read about Luna on here and I must say she really isn’t as bad as some of the reviews make her out to me. She does not ruin the experience at all! She is just a little bit more sensitive than the others but we need to remember this is a sanctuary and most monkey came to the sanctuary having had an bad start to life. Joel did a great job on telling us which monkey was Luna so we didn’t accidentally stroke her (and therefore upset her). You can still very much interact with her which I think is important.. she is very willing to take goodies out of your hand!!
Without a doubt I would highly recommend visiting the jungle place. It is a truly unique and wonderful experience.
The best thing about my visit was being selected as Maya’s favourite human. This meant I got all of the cuddles. Occasionally she would go to cuddle someone else but always came running back for a snuggle!
Similarly a sweet girl latched onto my partner so it is safe to say we left feeling pretty smug and content.
Before I went, I had read about Luna on here and I must say she really isn’t as bad as some of the reviews make her out to me. She does not ruin the experience at all! She is just a little bit more sensitive than the others but we need to remember this is a sanctuary and most monkey came to the sanctuary having had an bad start to life. Joel did a great job on telling us which monkey was Luna so we didn’t accidentally stroke her (and therefore upset her). You can still very much interact with her which I think is important.. she is very willing to take goodies out of your hand!!
Without a doubt I would highly recommend visiting the jungle place. It is a truly unique and wonderful experience.
Written January 19, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tonya H
2 contributions
Jan 2020 • Family
An amazing, well cared for sanctuary run by two people, Joel and Heidi, who genuinely care for the monkeys and make their safety and well being a priority. I thought Luna was very sweet too, as long as you knew her boundaries. Joel was very good about letting us know which one she was. I was amazed at the kindness and sweetness of the monkeys. So trusting, it warmed my heart. A cuddle from a spider monkey is like a tiny miracle. An unforgettable experience that I will carry with me forever.
Written January 20, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Seaside646768
18 contributions
Mar 2024 • Family
I can’t say enough good things about this experience. Heidi and Joel, the couple who run this sanctuary are an absolute delight. They love their monkey family and have names for every single one of the 100 monkeys who live there. There is nothing flashy or touristy about this place and it exists solely to give these monkeys a happy and healthy life. My teenage daughter and I sat and cuddled with monkeys for about 2 hours, fed them treats, and learned about how this place came to be. Visit this sanctuary, you will have an unforgettable experience and your money will be going to helping Heidi and Joel take care of these amazing creatures.
Written March 14, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
BUGSI
Lancashire, UK143 contributions
Nov 2024 • Couples
We had the privilege to re visit The Jungle Place that we last visited in 2017 .
Heidi and Joel who own this sanctuary are in our opinion amazing individuals who do so much work for the mistreatment of monkeys . You can read about there work on their website site the jungle place.
This is not a tourist attraction you can just walk in to, it has to be pre booked and they only have one set of visitors each day when open. All the money that the visitor pays helps feed the monkeys and their medical costs.
There care and love for the monkeys is clear to see, 90% of the monkeys in this sanctuary have been rescued from street traders who offer photos, people’s homes who shouldn’t be keeping them and tourist attractions.
Due to the monkeys start in life they could never be released back into the wild , it would be to dangerous for them as for most of their lives they have been with humans.
Heidi and Joel give them a happy environment to live at the moment they have nearly 100 monkeys with them.
Heidi and Joel who own this sanctuary are in our opinion amazing individuals who do so much work for the mistreatment of monkeys . You can read about there work on their website site the jungle place.
This is not a tourist attraction you can just walk in to, it has to be pre booked and they only have one set of visitors each day when open. All the money that the visitor pays helps feed the monkeys and their medical costs.
There care and love for the monkeys is clear to see, 90% of the monkeys in this sanctuary have been rescued from street traders who offer photos, people’s homes who shouldn’t be keeping them and tourist attractions.
Due to the monkeys start in life they could never be released back into the wild , it would be to dangerous for them as for most of their lives they have been with humans.
Heidi and Joel give them a happy environment to live at the moment they have nearly 100 monkeys with them.
Written November 20, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Alinstlouis
Saint Louis, MO29 contributions
Feb 2020
First, we have been vacationing together as a couple now for about 11 years (mostly to caribbean destinations) going on 3 or 4 excursions/attractions at least per year and this was our favorite of them ALL!! Honestly! But, we are animal lovers. This was a unique experience for us to learn about and interact personally with these fascinating sweet creatures!! If you love animals and are in Playa Del Carmen, Tulum or even Cancun, try to find time for a visit.
We want you to enjoy this as much as we did so know a few things in advance: They are lots of fun and what you are wearing is likely to be very interesting to them - jewelry, watches, flip flops, glasses, hats and stuff like that will need to be removed before going in with them. We just took our usual beach bag that we carry to the beach/pool and put our stuff in there and then put it right back on afterwards). And, apparently lotions, perfumes, repellents etc. can make these little wonders ill so maybe wait until afterwards for those too.
We made our reservations online (info@thejungleplace.com) and donations through PayPal. Both were very simple. At the time of our visit, however, the number of monkeys Heidi and Joel had taken in and were caring for had reached 116. You will see 116 keeps them busy and they work very hard, so if you don't get a response immediately please be patient. if you are lucky enough to get a reservation it will be worth it!
Hope you enjoy it as much as we did, and if you have a few extra pesos for a tip they are immensely grateful!!
We want you to enjoy this as much as we did so know a few things in advance: They are lots of fun and what you are wearing is likely to be very interesting to them - jewelry, watches, flip flops, glasses, hats and stuff like that will need to be removed before going in with them. We just took our usual beach bag that we carry to the beach/pool and put our stuff in there and then put it right back on afterwards). And, apparently lotions, perfumes, repellents etc. can make these little wonders ill so maybe wait until afterwards for those too.
We made our reservations online (info@thejungleplace.com) and donations through PayPal. Both were very simple. At the time of our visit, however, the number of monkeys Heidi and Joel had taken in and were caring for had reached 116. You will see 116 keeps them busy and they work very hard, so if you don't get a response immediately please be patient. if you are lucky enough to get a reservation it will be worth it!
Hope you enjoy it as much as we did, and if you have a few extra pesos for a tip they are immensely grateful!!
Written February 28, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Andrea C
Madison, WI16 contributions
Jan 2024 • Family
I hate to leave such a negative review because I have no doubt it would’ve been a fabulous experience. However, I reached out last September and received a response after a few days. David explained the process for paying and I took care of it pretty quickly. In his first email he promised to follow up via email to confirm our reservation upon receipt of payment but never did. I emailed many more times and upon arrival in Mexico, started calling every hour. I left voice mails, sent more emails, never got a response but we really wanted this experience so we took a taxi there at the agreed upon time, knowing it was a huge risk and sure enough, the gate was closed and still no answer by phone. We are so disappointed (especially by 8 year old who adores primates). We are in Mexico a few more days and desperately hope they will follow up to invite us to visit or at least refund our money. And it was an expensive taxi ride on top of it, but that’s how badly we wanted it to work out. Feeling really bummed in Akumal :(
Written January 16, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi Andrea C, we are again so sorry for the mixup. Your visit was booked in 2023 and with the change of calendar to 2024 it wasn't moved to the new calendar. Compounding the problem, the construction of the "Tren Maya" knocked out our electricity, internet and cellular service for days right at the time of your visit. It was an unfortunate set of circumstances that isn't likely to occur again. We already refunded your donation last month and again we sincerely apologize for missing you. Hope you will return as soon as you can. Best regards.
Written February 23, 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
David F
1 contribution
Aug 2024 • Family
My wife found this spider monkey sanctuary when reading the reviews for a different site we intended to visit. We switched our plans and came to The Jungle Place, instead. They say "everything happens for a reason" and this is a prime example. Our family of four, with an 18 and 20 year old, could not possibly have had a better time. We spent the morning at the Tulum Mayan ruins site and then scheduled our visit to the sanctuary which was close by. Our hosts were incredibly attentive and answered all of our many questions. There is so much to take in all at once, the questions keep coming. When it came time to "meet" the spider monkeys in the reception area, we were happily overwhelmed. Our hosts continued to assist and educate us and there presence was calming to my daughter, who was a tad nervous at first. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I would recommend to absolutely anyone. These incredible monkeys were clean, well taken care of and very affectionate. It's amazing how different each one was and how they expressed themselves. Our hosts had prepared us with a brief overview of each individual monkey and how they liked to be held.
It has been a week since our visit. During our weeklong vacation, we swam with sea turtles, snorkled reefs and shipwrecks, saw the Cirque de Soleil show Joya, Tulum ruins, beautiful beaches, Cenotes, zip lined, rode ATV's, Xel Ha and The Jungle Place. We had an incredible week, but the one thing my children talk about the most is our time with the Spider Monkeys. Thank you so much for allowing us to visit and all of your hospitality.
It has been a week since our visit. During our weeklong vacation, we swam with sea turtles, snorkled reefs and shipwrecks, saw the Cirque de Soleil show Joya, Tulum ruins, beautiful beaches, Cenotes, zip lined, rode ATV's, Xel Ha and The Jungle Place. We had an incredible week, but the one thing my children talk about the most is our time with the Spider Monkeys. Thank you so much for allowing us to visit and all of your hospitality.
Written August 21, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
huw_appleby
Cwmbran, UK73 contributions
Sep 2022 • Couples
The whole experience was amazing from start to finish. Joel & Heidi were super welcoming from
The beginning as me and my partner were nearly an hour hour early aha.
The whole facility was beautiful, the monkeys were treated so happy and treated with the upmost in care.
The beautiful thing for me was the fact they only small numbers of people in weekly. We were incredibly fortunate as we were the only ones there for the entire week. They don’t allow anymore than 12 people for the entire week.
I loved this as they care about the welfare of the animals and not for profit etc.
I really can’t describe how brilliant it was, I’ll let you all check the photos out to see what a fantastic time we had.
I would recommend 100% you won’t regret it.
The beginning as me and my partner were nearly an hour hour early aha.
The whole facility was beautiful, the monkeys were treated so happy and treated with the upmost in care.
The beautiful thing for me was the fact they only small numbers of people in weekly. We were incredibly fortunate as we were the only ones there for the entire week. They don’t allow anymore than 12 people for the entire week.
I loved this as they care about the welfare of the animals and not for profit etc.
I really can’t describe how brilliant it was, I’ll let you all check the photos out to see what a fantastic time we had.
I would recommend 100% you won’t regret it.
Written September 6, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Staying in Riu Caribe next month and have booked to visit the sanctuary, can anyone advise on best way to get there. Thank you
Written August 15, 2023
Hey, i tried to contact the jungle place but I got no answer (e-mail and WhatsApp). Is there an other way to get in touch to plan a tour. They want you to get in contact early because the can be overbooked quickly. I was looking on the website and didn't get an answer so far. Does anyone of you know another way? We're really looking forward to make the tour
Written July 28, 2023
Hi, is it opened now (dec 2020)? Thank you!
Written December 19, 2020
Is there a shuttle service from the sanctuary to the cruise boats
Written March 4, 2022
bonjour,
est ce que les nombreux commentaires prétendant que vous ne leur avez refusés l'entrée sans leur rembourser leur avance sont fondées ?
pourquoi n'y à t'il pas de réponse de votre part ?
Written February 23, 2020
Bonjour maglee201,
Merci de votre intérêt. Ce n'est tout simplement pas le cas. En plus de 20 ans, nous n'avons eu qu'à annuler une visite prévue en raison de quelque chose de notre côté une très petite poignée de fois. Dans tous ces cas, nous avons évidemment toujours fourni un remboursement complet de l'acompte.
Ce à quoi je pense que vous faites référence, car il n'y a que quelques critiques négatives sur plus de mille critiques stellaires, sont des cas où quelqu'un a réservé une journée pour visiter et ne s'est pas présenté à son rendez-vous programmé. Dans ces cas, nous ne remboursons pas les arrhes, ce qui est clairement indiqué sur notre site Web et lors du processus de réservation. En effet, si quelqu'un réserve un jour, nous réservons ce jour pour lui et refusons les autres qui souhaitent visiter. Nous préparons le terrain et avons du personnel prêt pour leur arrivée. Dans de tels cas, si les clients manquent l'heure prévue, nous ne pouvons pas rembourser l'acompte, car c'est précisément la raison pour laquelle un acompte est demandé. Autant que je sache, les seuls commentaires négatifs qui correspondent à votre question provenaient de clients qui ont manqué leur rendez-vous prévu et n'ont pas pu recevoir le remboursement de leur dépôt.
J'espère que ce français est compréhensible car j'utilise un traducteur Google. Si vous avez d'autres questions, n'hésitez pas à nous contacter.
Cordialement,
Heidi
Written February 23, 2020
our minimum age for children to go in with the monkeys is 8 years old
Written February 11, 2020
How do you get here? Is it accessible by public transport? Any tips welcome, we'll be booking our tickets as soon as we are able ☺
Written January 5, 2020
We we staying in Tulum and arranged transport through the hotel concierge. There is no public transportation that we know of, but the cab driver for another couple dropped them, waited the hour and a half, and brought them back to their resort.
Written January 11, 2020
Would anyone be willing to share directions to this place? We leave for Mexico tomorrow. We have paid for a reservation on Saturday. The directions link that was sent does not work. I’ve emailed the hosts but after reading comments, I am worried that we won’t get an answer in time.
Written November 27, 2019
It is hard to find from the highway you take a dirt rd and a look for a small sign in the left side have fun well worth the visit if you text me I can drop a pin for you 231-620-2776
Written November 29, 2019
Hi, we were about 35 minutes away and Cancun was about 90 minutes away from us in the other direction so you’re looking at a 2hr journey from Cancun
Written September 17, 2019
Where do I buy the tickets. I need 4 tickets and how back are they each in US dollars
Written August 31, 2019
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