Dominican Republic

Puerto Plata: Monkey Encounter & City Sights Day Trip

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.93 (178 reviews) 96% rated it 5 stars

Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/20

Duration2h–3h

GroupUp to 50

LanguagesEN · ES

PickupAt your hotel

Monkey encounters in puerto plata plus city walk and umbrella street

You’ll get squirrel monkeys climbing onto your arms in Puerto Plata’s lush hills before wandering under colorful umbrellas downtown and seeing Independence Plaza and the old fort—all with easy pickup and a friendly local guide who keeps things fun and relaxed.

2h–3h

Step-by-step itinerary

Pickup from your location
Drive 25 minutes to Monkey Jump
Enjoy 50 minutes with monkeys
Visit umbrella street and pink street
Explore independence plaza
Tour the old fort

The Experience

We were already laughing before we even got out of the van—our guide, Carlos, had this way of telling stories that made the drive from Puerto Plata fly by. Twenty-five minutes isn’t long, but I remember rolling down the window just to smell the air change as we left the city behind. It gets greener, thicker somehow. When we reached Monkey Mania, I could hear the monkeys before I saw them—tiny high-pitched chatter mixed with birdsong. The first one jumped right onto my shoulder (I froze for a second, not gonna lie), and then another tried to steal my water bottle cap. Their little hands are so light it’s almost ticklish. I didn’t expect to feel so relaxed with them climbing all over us. Carlos showed us how to hold our arms so they’d come closer—he called one “El Jefe,” which still cracks me up.

After about fifty minutes with the monkeys (felt shorter), we piled back into the air-conditioned van—thank god for that, it was sticky out—and headed into town. Umbrella Street is exactly what it sounds like: a whole alley covered in bright umbrellas overhead. There was this moment where a breeze made them all flutter and cast these weird moving shadows on everyone’s faces. We wandered down Pink Street too; it’s honestly just a pink-painted block but people seem happy to pose there anyway. Independence Plaza was busy with kids chasing pigeons and old men playing dominoes near the shade. Our guide pointed out some graffiti on a wall that used to be part of an old fort—said it was from when his grandfather was young. That stuck with me for some reason.

I still think about how easy everything felt that day—no rushing, no pressure to buy anything or hurry along. Even when we stopped at the old fort, nobody pushed us to take photos or listen to facts if we didn’t want to (though Carlos did have a story about pirates that made me wish I’d paid better attention in history class). By the end, I realized my shirt smelled faintly like bananas from monkey hands—which is weirdly comforting now that I’m home again.

What’s included

Your day includes pickup from your chosen location in an air-conditioned vehicle with WiFi onboard, bottled water for everyone (which comes in handy after monkey antics), entry to Monkey Mania for about 50 minutes of up-close time with squirrel monkeys, then guided stops at Umbrella Street, Pink Street, Independence Plaza and finally a wander by the old fort before heading back.

Good to know

Easy physical levelStroller friendlyInfant seats availablePets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by Tamares Tours and Transfer