monkeys in CR
 

A few weeks ago while searching this site, I remember some people talking (or writing, really) about a place to visit monkeys between Areal Volcano and the coast. Does anyone know what I am talking about? If so, can you tell me the name, location, etc.?

I think you're referring to Shillmac's suggestion to another poster that Cabo Blanco (a reserve at the tip of the Nicoya Peninsula) is a good place to spot monkeys, as are Cano Negro, Manuel Antonio, Osa and many other reserves and parks throughout Costa Rica.

There was also a post about a place that you could actually hold and feed baby monkeys. I'm sure Shillmac will recall.

That's right - I remember that post. I'll top it for you.

Great memory!

In case other readers on this forum would like info from that other thread, here's the link > > > http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34499029 --- back from 12 days in CR.

It is Monkey Park near Tamarindo. My daughter called from CR the other evening and had been there during the afternoon. She loved it. Enjoyed holding the babies! But, yes, you will see monkeys in several places in the wild. This is a place for "orphaned" monkeys or something of that nature. Other animals there as well.

Costa Rica is full of monkeys. You can see them most anywhere except in the center of San Jose. The best way is to take a rafting tour on one of the calmer rivers early in the morning. (Ask your hotel staff to locate a tour service for you. Most will be glad to assist. You need not arrange this before arriving.)

The monkeys are playful in the cool morning hours and come to the water the bathe and play. If you stay fairly quiet, they'll come very near.

What is not okay, but is common among hotels that brag about having monkeys on their properties, is when hotel employees and guests FEED the monkeys at the hotels. The monkeys then become dependent on the tourists and hotels and lose the ability to survive in the wild. They also become diseased and migration patterns are disrupted. What a tragedy! Tourists and tourist businesses are destroying the very things that bring them to Costa Rica in the first place. Please, don't become a part of this problem just so you can tell your friends at home that you saw monkeys!