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What Is Monkey Park Tenerife Officially?
Tenerife Monkey Park is located in the south of the island just outside Los Cristianos. As the name suggests, it focuses on monkeys, with a strong emphasis on conservation and education.
People often describe it as a "hidden gem", even though it's easily reached by public bus. (Line 467 or by taxi for around €10 if you're staying in the Los Cristianos/Playa de las Americas area). If you're arriving by car, there's free parking outside the entrance.
The park offers an interactive experience, where you can walk through enclosures and hand-feed some of the more sociable species. This hands-on approach give you the chance to connect with animals in a way that few zoos provide.
Tenerife Monkey Park also acts as a breeding centre for endangered species and you're encouraged to explore the park's mission to raise awareness about the preservation of wildlife.
Here you can enjoy a leisurely stroll through the beautifully landscaped grounds, guided by the park's signs and maps. They make it easy to find the different animal residents dotted throughout the park.
As well as monkeys, the park is also home to iguanas, crocodiles, tortoises, birds, and sooo many guinea pigs.
What Is Monkey Park Tenerife Really?
Tenerife Monkey Park opened in 1991 as a private initiative, without any help from any organisation or government. Entrance fees and financial donations go straight back into the park or are donated to other animal charities.
What you have to bear in mind is that the park isn't very big. Yes, there is a Monkey Park Tenerife map that you can pick up on the way in. But you'll hardly look at it as pretty much all the paths lead in one direction, cleverly taking you past all the enclosures.
If you're in a hurry, you could easily whiz around the whole zoo in an hour. If you're taking your time to observe the behaviours and perhaps even learn a thing or two by reading the animal facts boards, you could easily extend your visit time by a couple more hours.
For most people, how long you spend at Tenerife Monkey Park largely depends on how long you can make your tub of veggies last. (That's if you remembered to buy them at the entrance!) Sadly the animals have zero interest in you unless you have "snackies".
Entrance to the zoo is cheap - €10 for adults and €5 for children. Tubs of veggies can also be purchased for €3, which is a must to get the full interactive animal experience.
Comparing this park to Tenerife's other animal parks would be simply unfair. It isn't in the same league as the likes of Loro Parque and Jungle Park. But then, the price isn't either.
A whole family (2 adults and 2 kids) can enjoy time at Monkey Park for just €30, making this one of the best cheap things to do in Tenerife.
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Ian's Monkey Park Tenerife Review
I've been to Monkey Park many times over the years and it's great to see it get bigger every time. It's still a small zoo by any standards and, even though the car park is chock-a-block, it still has a relaxed no-frills atmosphere and I have never seen it crowded.
As a non-profit organisation, the park stays off the main tourist radar as there are no commissions to be made by promoting it. It's this low-key approach that has allowed it to keep true to its values and achieve its goals. Here animals are the priority, not the visitors.
So with no shows or animals performing tricks of any kind will you have a great visit? Absolutely! It's not about entertainment. It's all about the unique experience of being closer to nature than many of us have come before.
The highlight for me and most other visitors is the large walk-in enclosures. Up above, you have the monkeys and the lemurs and on the ground, you have the tortoises and hundreds of guinea pigs.
Oddly enough, these furry little creatures are everywhere and will happily eat out of your hand. They are so cute and friendly that they steal the show. Everyone is looking down and not up, and hearing the comment "They should rename this Guinea Pig World!" from a fellow visitor is almost guaranteed.
Some reviews have suggested that the modernisation of the visitors' areas is well overdue, and they are probably right. However, what this zoo does achieve in an ethical way is amazing for animals and visitors alike, and it's a great place to spend a couple of hours.
Overall rating: 5/5 (For this price I couldn't give it any less!)
Nicky's Monkey Park Tenerife Review
If you like animals, don't want to travel all the way up north for Loro Parque, and want somewhere a little more exotic than a pet shop to visit, Monkey Park Tenerife is for you! It's cheap, it's fun, and it only takes a couple of hours to explore. What's not to love?
As you'd guess from the name, there are several enclosures with different species of monkeys. And while they may be fun to watch, they're not the main attraction anymore. You'll find most people gathered in the guinea pig enclosures, trying to feed the cutest, fluffiest ones.
If you're wondering what you can do at Monkey Park Tenerife apart from feeding guinea pigs, you might be surprised. Despite its small size, there's plenty to do! You can hand-feed giant tortoises, have your photo taken with a parrot for free, be judged by uppity lemurs from above, carefully walk around the edges of a cactus garden - loads!
Here's a little tip to help your tub of veggies go further: the monkeys are only really interested in the sweetcorn. If you hand them your tub, they'll throw everything else out searching for sweetcorn! So be smart and make sure there's only sweetcorn in your tub when trying to feed them.
As you're heading toward the exit, don't miss the line of bird cages on the left-hand side of the park. People tend not to bother with this section, so it's always really quiet. And it's absolutely full of tropical, multi-coloured birds you won't see anywhere else!
I absolutely adore animals and I'm hesitant to visit most zoos - but Tenerife Monkey Park is something different. You can really see that the animals are well looked after here and you can be happy knowing that your money is going toward a great cause (more food for ravenous guinea pigs!)
Overall rating: 5/5
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Must-Haves for Monkey Park Tenerife
Visiting for the first time? Here are the four must-have items locals always take with them!
- Tickets
- Hand Sanitiser (You'll need it after hand-feeding all the animals!)
- Sun Hat (See above)
- Light Raincoat (There's hardly any shelter, so if rain is forecast, you'll need it)
Insider Tips For Monkey Park Tenerife
The Guinea Pigs Love Fruit!
While the guinea pigs love the tubs of veggies you can buy at the entrance, they crave a change. You're not meant to take food in, but if you forget and happen to bring some guinea pig-friendly fruit in, they'll be all over you!
Get There As Early As Possible
There are several reasons to get to Monkey Park as early as you can. The first is to get a parking space. The park may have expanded, but the car park has not.
Crowds are never really a problem inside the park, but to arrive early and have an enclosure all to yourself is worth getting out of bed a little earlier for.
The best reason to get there early is that the animals are more active in the morning and they're hungrier. Sure, their keepers will feed them their own breakfast in the morning. But they know you bought the tasty veggie tub at the entrance and are waiting for it!
Animal interaction in the early opening hours can be as beautiful as it is intense.
How to Get to Monkey Park Tenerife
You can get to the park by car by typing in "Tenerife Zoo Monkey Park" into Google Maps. The park does have a free car park, which sadly isn't big enough for everyone, so come early as there isn't any spill-off street parking nearby.
A taxi or Uber from the Los Cristianos or Playa de las Americas area should cost around the €10 mark.
There's no Monkey Park Tenerife bus. However, the public bus line 467 drops you off at bus stop San Francisco (8161 if you're coming from Playa de las Americas or 8060 if arriving from the opposite direction). This will leave you with a very short walk to the entrance.
Walking the entire way is possible, but not recommended. The back roads leading to the park are thin and windy with no pedestrian footpath. Even the park advises against this.
Go On a Cloudy Day
Go on a cloudy day for one simple reason: when the sun's out, it's bloody boiling and there's hardly any shade. There are some trees dotted around the park, but they never seem to be anywhere near the enclosures. So if you actually want to see the animals (that's what you're here for, right?) you'll need to stand out in the open.
Monkey Park Tenerife Price is Cheap - For a Reason
When compared to other things to do in Tenerife, Monkey Park price is cheap. What else can you do on the island for just €10 per adult and €5 per child? But keep in mind that it's cheap for a reason.
There's no way you could spend a full day here. You'll be there for a couple of hours max. Even if you personally introduced yourself to each individual guinea pig, you still couldn't make a full day of it.
Important Info About Monkey Park Tenerife
It takes around 2 hours to walk around Tenerife Monkey Park. This gives you enough time to feed the different animals, explore all the enclosures, and have your picture taken with different parrots if you're into that sort of thing.
Yes, you can just turn up to Tenerife Monkey Park. We forgot to buy our tickets in advance and had absolutely no problems just turning up on the day and going in.
It costs €10 for adults to visit Monkey Park Tenerife and €5 for children aged 5-12. Children under 5 get in for free. There are no Canarian resident discounts or special offers.
Monkey Park Tenerife is open every day, 9.30am-4pm.
Monkey Park Tenerife is on the outskirts of Los Cristianos, on the other side of the motorway in the south of Tenerife. Here's the exact location.
Have you been here? What did you make of it?