Monkey Business- Types of monkeys in Costa Rica and where to see them

If you love monkeys, Costa Rica is the place to see them. We were fortunate to see 3 out of the 4 kinds of monkeys you could see in CR.

There are 4 different species of monkeys you can see in Costa Rica.

1. Capuchino monkey
2. Howler monkeys
3. Spider monkeys
4. Squirrel monkeys
5. Best places to see monkeys in Costa Rica

Capuchino monkey

Most common ones we saw are the white-faced cappuccino monkeys and our guide called them mafia monkey as they roam in groups and steal food and other items from people. These monkeys are aggressive and not afraid of people. Parador nature resort had a bunch of them that would hang out by the pool and come near rooms and take anything they can. People staying next to us had left their backpack out in the night, and these monkeys tore it open, and took the chips bag and opened a Tupper ware container and ate whatever was in it.

Howler monkeys

More than seeing these monkeys, you can’t escape their howl which sounds like a roar. We saw few these monkeys in Manuel Antonio but heard them pretty much every morning in the hotel. when we were at Manuel Antonio park it started raining, we heard bunch of angry howler monkeys and were told by the guide that they hate rain which led to teenager asking, ” then why do they live in rainforest where it rains everyday?”

Spider monkeys

We were lucky to see a family of spider monkeys hanging around in Mistico Hanging bridges and gave us show from jumping from tree to tree and showing off their agility. Our guide was able to hear these monkeys before spotting them as they make lot of noise on the tree branches, and it is good practice to pay attention to sounds as you go through rain forests as it is much better way to spot different animals. After 9 days in Costa Rica, I got better at spotting monkeys by paying attention to twigs breaking, rustling leaves and branches. Spider monkeys are one of the most agile species in Costa Rica and their name comes from the disproportionately long limbs and a long tail. We were able to take some good videos of these monkeys (Watch it full screen or pic-in-pic to see the whole video)

Squirrel monkeys

These are only type of monkeys we didn’t see in Costa Rica even though our hotel in Manuel Antonio and the national park had these monkeys but unlike the white-faced monkeys they weren’t roaming around in groups when we were there. These monkeys have very distinct type black facial mask and red-backed fur and pretty small compared to other monkeys found in Costa Rica.

Monkeys and Green rope way – One of things I noticed in the Manuel Antonio area and in the Parador hotel was the green ropes/bridges hanging from tree to tree. These are constructed for sloths and monkeys cross from tree to tree and to buildings without coming down to the road thus avoiding potential threats from cars, dogs, and other predators. Its quite neat to see and I caught a Cappachino money using one in the hotel

Best places to see monkeys in Costa Rica

Manuel Antonio National Park– This is park where you are guaranteed to see both monkeys and sloths. All four species are supposed to live this National park and we were able to see Howler and White-faced monkeys here. The Parador nature hotel in Manuel Antonio has abundance of these monkeys in their grounds and roam around the hotel. One of the guests was even able to see squirrel money in this hotel during our stay when it jumped on the balcony to get food as they were eating their lunch.

Corcovado National Park This is another national park best suited to see all 4 species of monkeys and 2 species of sloth. Hiring a guide would improve the experience.

Arenal volcano and mistico hanging bridges – We were able to see both spider monkeys and howler monkeys here.