How To Visit Monkey Island (Can Gio Mangrove Forest) From Ho Chi Minh City

Monkey Island, or Can Gio Mangrove Forest, is one of the most unique places near Ho Chi Minh City.

This was one of the first places we visited on our most recent trip to Saigon, and I loved it so much more than I thought I would. First, it’s not just a standard monkey sanctuary. It has hundreds of monkeys, a unique historical recreation of a Vietnam War-era camp, crocodiles, and tons of nature.

However, I do not recommend visiting Monkey Island if you fear monkeys. There’s minimal supervision from the staff, and there are, as mentioned, hundreds of monkeys walking around in plain sight. If you aren’t afraid, you should continue with caution.

I’m afraid of wild monkeys, but I had a blast. I’m here to share everything you need about visiting Monkey Island and Can Gio Mangrove Forest from Ho Chi Minh City, including how to get there, what to do, and some general safety tips.

How To Get To Monkey Island From HCMC

Monkey Island is off Cat Ba Beach near Hai Phong City, Vietnam. It’s located southeast of Ho Chi Minh City and is called Can Gio Mangrove Forest or Can Gio Biosphere Reserve.

Google Maps location & distance from HCMC

Location: Google Maps Location Pin | Distance from downtown HCMC: 33 miles (53 km) | Travel Time: ~ 2 hours, including a 20-minute ferry ride

Monkey Island is approximately 2 hours from downtown Ho Chi Minh City. There’s no easy bus to hop on (and traveling by bus takes a long time), so I highly recommend hiring a driver, going on a tour, or going by motorbike.

As you can see on the map, Monkey Island isn’t as much an island as the name lets on. But you do have to cross the river to travel there. You’ll take a 20-minute ferry ride across the Dong Nai River.

Traveling by motorbike

The first time we visited, we drove from Saigon to Monkey Island by motorbike, and I genuinely believe this is the easiest route if you’re comfortable driving a motorbike in HCMC. Just use the Google Maps location for Monkey Island, map the path, and follow it.

District 7 is the closest starting point for visiting Monkey Island. Near D7, you’ll take a ferry to cross the river, and it’s a straight shot from where the ferry lets you off. The only downside to driving by motorbike is dealing with safety concerns (because driving in the city can be scary) and worrying about getting pulled over.

We did pass traffic police both before and after getting on the ferry that was actively pulling over people.

Traveling by car/taxi

There’s no easy way to get to Monkey Island by bus, so the next best option is to travel there with a private driver or a taxi. This is probably the most expensive option, but also the most convenient. Your driver will take care of everything for you, and you can travel on your own time. While expensive, things are relatively affordable in Vietnam compared to hiring a private driver in London or New York City.

The second time we visited Monkey Island, we hired a private driver because there were four of us, and not everyone wanted to rent a motorbike. We hired our driver through a small company on Facebook that comes highly recommended. You can message the owner, Binh Yen, directly on Whatsapp: +84 908 800 919.

We used her driving services and can confirm they are timely and professional, the car was very comfortable, and the driver was nice. I don’t get any kickbacks or commissions for sharing her contact information with you; I’m just sharing because we had a good experience. We paid 2,800,000 VND ($110 UD) for a 10-hour day, including pickup and drop-off at our accommodation. They have cheaper packages for a smaller car, shorter days, etc.

You can coordinate a driver directly through your accommodation. They likely have a list of drivers they recommend and are usually trustworthy, as they’ve worked with your hotel/hostel/host with many tourists. However, you can also look on tour booking sites, like GetYourGuide or Viator, or ask around at nearby travel agencies (there are hundreds of them in the city center).

Guided tours to Monkey Island/Can Gio Reserve

A group tour is probably the easiest and best value option for visiting Monkey Island. The good thing about tours is they coordinate everything for you, from pick-up to activities to entry fees. It’s hassle-free, and you’ll probably learn a lot more than if you go by yourself because the guide knows their way around the Rung Sac museum portion of the trip.

Again, you can book this directly with your accommodation or ask around tour agencies in the city center. If you decide to go with a tour group, try to ask a few different places to get the best price. Sometimes, they’ll quote you wildly different prices, which is annoying.

If you don’t want to deal with the hassle, book online through reputable tour agencies like GetYourGuide.

This From HCM City: Explore Can Gio Mangrove Forest & Monkey Island Trek is the most popular tour option with five-star reviews. The tour includes transportation from your accommodation, an entrance fee to Monkey Island, a set lunch, bottled water, and an English-speaking guide.

How Much Does It Cost To Visit Monkey Island?

Visiting Monkey Island is very affordable. They have different prices for foreigners and locals, but there isn’t a huge difference. Here’s a breakdown of the entry fee for foreigners and a rough estimate of the cost:

• An organized tour from the city center, including transportation, snacks, water, and entry fees: Between 500,000 VND and 1,000,000 VND (20 USD-$40 USD)
• Ferry ticket if you’re driving a motorbike: around 12,000 VND (0.50 USD)
• Entry ticket to Monkey Island: 100,000 VND (3.95 USD)
• Boat ride on the river (this is not included in the guided tour or in any activity): 800,000 VND (31.50 USD) per boat, up to 6 people per boat
• Crocodile fishing (also not included): 60,000 VND (2.30 USD) per fishing pole

These were the prices when we visited Monkey Island in 2024, but remember, prices change often. There shouldn’t be any drastic changes, but these might not be exact.

What Is There To Do At Monkey Island?

To be honest, we arrived at Monkey Island with very little expectations. Based on the name, I thought it was just an island with many monkeys, not an uncommon tourist attraction for Southeast Asia. But I was pleasantly surprised by how many other cool things to do. Here’s what you can expect:

See the monkeys, of course

The monkeys are the main attraction at Monkey Island, and they don’t disappoint. There were little monkeys everywhere when we went, and they loved to interact with everyone (and try to steal your sunglasses).

There’s a little path that stretches about a mile through the forest. It is well-maintained and very scenic. It leads up to Rung Sac, where there’s a recreation of the Vietnam War-era military base. Monkeys are everywhere along the path—baby, old, friendly, and mean monkeys.

Some areas have more monkeys than others, but they just walk around as they please, so it depends.

There are about three different covered areas protected from the monkeys. These are located near a bathroom and sell water, drinks, and little snacks you can eat in the safety of the fenced-in space. Monkeys usually congregate around these areas.

Crocodile fishing

There’s also crocodile fishing. You’ll stumble across it right off the path. It’s a high-up platform overlooking a large, fenced-in swamp area with crocodiles. When we went swimming around the platform, there were around 10 crocodiles (the platform is probably 15+ feet high, so it’s not dangerously close to the crocodiles).

On the platform, someone sells fishing rods with fish at the end, a stick with a long string, and a fish attached at the end. You dangle your fish over the water, and a crocodile will come up and eat it right off your stick.

Rung Sac special zone

The Rung Sac zone was probably the most fascinating part of the entire trip, mostly because I wasn’t expecting it and because I learned so much more than I thought I would. It’s basically a recreation of the Rung Sac base camp that was there.

The recreation is entirely on small wood logs, just like how it was designed, over the swamp. They have different rooms and offices with wax recreations, real photos from the war, and placks explaining each room in English and Vietnamese.

I learned a lot of random tidbits, like the missions carried out by the leaders at Rung Sac and how they attached bombs to ducks to try to eliminate the crocodile problem near the military zone.

Ride a boat down the river

If you haven’t had enough fun for the day between the monkeys and crocodile fishing, you can also ride a speedboat down the river. It’s about a 60-minute boat ride and will take you to areas of the mangrove forest that are impossible to see otherwise.

We didn’t do this bit because it was pretty expensive, and we spent a lot of time walking the forest and were kind of tired afterward, but we saw a lot of families doing it, and everyone looked like they had a blast.

Safety Tips For Visiting Monkey Island

Monkey Island is not your traditional zoo. It’s not a zoo at all. It’s a nature reserve with thousands of monkeys. Employees are walking around, and some staff are selling snacks and drinks, but there isn’t much oversight. So, there likely won’t be any staff around to help if you get bit or hurt in some way or another.

Don’t let this scare you away. Hundreds of tourists are still showing up daily, and I haven’t heard of any first-hand dangerous situations in the park. But just continue to explore the park cautiously and don’t get too close to the monkeys. Here are some general safety tips for visiting Monkey Island:

Don’t feed the monkeys (or bring food)

The monkeys are mainly interested in any food (and drinks) you have on you. If you have something in your bag or pockets, they can smell it and try to get it. If you have nothing of interest, they’ll probably just go about their day and not mind you much.

Not to mention, feeding the monkeys human food is incredibly unhealthy for them. They are fed; when we were there, a ranger dumped buckets of fresh food out for them. The monkeys are not starving, and I promise they don’t need your Oreos or Gatorade.

Keep your hat and sunglasses secure (and any valuables)

The monkeys hunt for your food but are also interested in some of your accessories. We saw one monkey steal a pair of sunglasses off a tourist’s head. That monkey sat there the entire day playing proudly with its new sunglasses and wouldn’t let a sole near him. We walked into the park with our sunglasses hanging on our shirts, and the staff immediately warned us to put our sunglasses away.

Just to be safe, make sure sunglasses and anything else a monkey could easily snipe are tucked away someplace out of reach. That includes your phone, purse, backpack, and anything of value.

Don’t touch the monkeys (or get too close)

This should go without saying, but I will say it anyway: do not touch the monkeys. The monkeys on Monkey Island are wild and are not trained to behave in a certain way or anything. The monkeys are all around, so you won’t have any problem seeing them. There’s no need to approach one and make it feel on edge. Remember, this is their home, and you’re visiting. Try to visit with some respect.

Stay away from the babies (and their mommas) in general

There are tons of babies and momma monkeys on Monkey Island. When we were there, it was basically like every other monkey. This is cool, and the babies are adorable, but you should be extra careful.

I was lunged at once while visiting Can Gio, and it was when I got a little too close to a mom and her baby (while I was trying to take a photo). Looking back, it was stupid of me. So, just avoid this and give them extra space.

Stay on the path

There’s a clear, designated walking path through Can Gio Mangrove Forest. It’s a nice path that goes over bridges, through the forest, and to the open-air museum at the end of the line.

It’s not easy to venture off the path because the forest gets a bit dense, and there are rivers and streams around, but don’t even try. Stay on the path and enjoy a nice stroll through the forest.

Try not to panic

If a monkey attacks or jumps on you, don’t panic; that will just freak the monkey out more. We saw one monkey jump on a girl’s head when she was walking to the bathroom, and that same monkey seemed to be waiting around the bathroom area to scare people.

Fortunately, the monkey didn’t do anything other than jump on her. That monkey, and some of the other ones, just seemed more playful than anything. They shouldn’t try to attack if you’re not aggravating them, so don’t panic.

Is Monkey Island Worth Visiting?

Yes, I think Monkey Island is worth visiting. It’s unique; there aren’t many foreigners there, and it’s a nice way to get out of the city and into nature without too long of a drive.

Monkey reserves and parks are popular tourist attractions in Southeast Asia, but this one felt a little more authentic than others. Like Cat Tien National Park, there are fewer tourists. The Rung Sac museum was a nice touch, and I also learned a lot while I was there.

I wouldn’t travel all the way to HCMC to visit Monkey Island, but if you have an extra day in HCMC and want to do something a little different, it’s worth visiting.