Despite the minor hassles, we had a great time. Ideally, I wish there was an excursion with just the monkeys, but we went on the one with the coffee plantation “tour” because it was the cheapest. The ride to the place is a little rough, it’s a bit of a trek and there’s a transfer point that slows up the journey. Once you get to place, they take you to an outdoor covered space and teach you about coffee and cacao. It’s not a plantation tour! It’s more like a class on how they make products with the coffee beans and they try and sell you stuff. After about two and a half hours of driving, transferring, and the class, you finally get to see the monkeys. They split you up in groups of about 15 and you go into these monkey areas. This part was what it’s all about. Let me be very clear, we went to see the monkeys and that’s all we cared about. You get to feed the monkeys by hand, they jump all over you, the guides give you plenty of food and work with you and your family to make sure everyone gets plenty of monkey time. They have a photographer that takes pictures of you which they will try and sell you at the end, a lot of the shots are really good, but they also give you plenty of time and access to take your own photos. You only get about 20-30 mins in the monkey areas, but once you’re in there and playing with them, you forget about the ride you took, and all the nonsense. It’s totally worth it. Just be prepared to deal with some hassles along the way.

We were lucky enough to be driven by Jose Carrasco on our journey to Monkeyland, and we couldn’t have been happier. He’s a wonderful man and an outstanding driver. He made what would’ve been an uneventful drive to the mountains of Punta Cana an informative and culturally enriching experience. He also sang Michael Jackson’s “You Are Not Alone” and this man can SANG FOR REAL. He sounded like Mike straight up! He also drove very safely in a place where traffic laws are generally disregarded, which I was happy about. I was very pleased by the whole trip and Jose Carrasco helped make it even more fun and entertaining and informative. I recommend it to all. Ask for Jose tho, he will make it that much better.

We explored Monkeyland and it was a great experience, so much fun! We had Eddy and Freddy as our guides and they were great & funny all day long. It was a big group that entered the Monkeyland area but everybody was able to have equal time with the monkeys. We also were able to learn about cocoa and tasted coffee & hot chocolate.

Muchas gracias :) Eddie y Freddy