Can Gio Mangrove Biosphere Reserve
Can Gio Mangrove Biosphere Reserve
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- VX XWalnut Creek, California11 contributionsWild and lovely adventureIf you are looking for some wild experience with animals and jungle views, this is the place. But due to limited exposure to tourists, the road is quite rough, monkey can steal your stuffs. It is a little bit scary when the rain was heavy and basically we are the only tourists in the park thinking about the crocodile we just met…..Visited October 2023Travelled with friendsWritten 4 October 2023
- Meander669937214587 contributionsCool day and excellent guideThe trip was very cool and well structured. A special thanks goes out to Vira our tour guide, who was very helpful and funny! We learned a lot about vietnamese culture thanks to her aswell. Excellent seafood market too. Definitely recommend!Visited November 2023Travelled as a coupleWritten 10 November 2023
- Mirto E2 contributionsAmazing timeIn this tour, I enjoyed experiencing the nature and getting to know real aspects of Vietnam. I love meeting people like our tour guide Vira, who is full of positive energy and interesting information. I had a great time and would definitely recommend it 😊Visited November 2023Travelled as a coupleWritten 10 November 2023
- QuocOklahoma City, Oklahoma22 contributionsThe Day I Became the Monkey King“The monkeys here are aggressive,” my girlfriend’s family said, “Put your things up or their going to steal it.” I confidently told them, “If they try to take anything, I’ll fight them and become the monkey king.” Spoiler alert: I did not become the monkey king. I screamed like a girl when a monkey climbed onto my back while I was walking to the restroom. When we visited the mangrove, I did not expect to learn more history of what the Viet Cong did during the Vietnam War. I always hear about the rat tunnels but have never heard about this place. The tour guide was very knowledgeable when talking about what happened here during the war and the difficulties the Viet Congs faced while hiding in the swamps. There was also food of what they ate there for sale, though it was really dry. It was an unexpected but delightful surprise.Visited September 2023Travelled with familyWritten 28 November 2023
- Brenda Stefanescu1 contributionAmazing experience! 10 out of 10 ✨💕🥇👏🏻We visited Can Gio Mangrove Biosphere Reservation and it was a delightful experience. We were in good hands with our guide, Linda, that shared with us so much interesting information that enriched our stay here. Whether warding off cheeky monkeys enticing crocodiles or pointing out flying foxes Linda truly excelled in her role. Not to mention the delicious and limitless food and final sweet treat on the last leg of our journey. We really recommend this once in a lifetime experience!Visited May 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 6 May 2024
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4.0
267 reviews
Excellent
95
Very good
80
Average
57
Poor
17
Terrible
18
Nora
Porterville, CA6 contributions
Feb 2020
Monkey Island Eco Park was so disappointing. The monkeys are teased by the guides and tossed bananas. When the monkeys come too close, the guides aimed slingshots at them. The monkeys then screech and scamper away. The guide explained that they only aim but never shoot the sling shot. They were unable to explain how the monkeys became afraid of them. The guides were completely disrespectful of animals and ignorant of their biology and behavior. The guides and other personnel threw cigarette butts, empty plastic water bottles and trash into the forest. The Monkey Island Eco Park is not a sanctuary. It is more of a poorly run zoo. Professional development and supervision is greatly needed for the staff.
Written 10 April 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
VX X
Walnut Creek, CA11 contributions
Oct 2023 • Friends
If you are looking for some wild experience with animals and jungle views, this is the place. But due to limited exposure to tourists, the road is quite rough, monkey can steal your stuffs. It is a little bit scary when the rain was heavy and basically we are the only tourists in the park thinking about the crocodile we just met…..
Written 4 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Saigon Phoenix
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam2 contributions
Aug 2019
This is really amazing place. Our team have a small trip From Ho Chi Minh to Can Gio last time. We were excited to travel by boat in the forest. Sea food is very cheap and diversity.
Written 24 May 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Meander66993721458
7 contributions
Nov 2023 • Couples
The trip was very cool and well structured. A special thanks goes out to Vira our tour guide, who was very helpful and funny! We learned a lot about vietnamese culture thanks to her aswell. Excellent seafood market too. Definitely recommend!
Written 11 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Anna P
1 contribution
July 2017 • Friends
Don't go! After a long and horrendous journey getting there (people were nice though) we expected an eco sanctuary but instead we were faced with inhumanity and frankly, animal cruelty. The circus is heart wrenching. The monkeys were either chained or crammed into small cages. The monkeys that are free are dependent on stolen food from tourists and are used to being continuously threatened, teased and aggravated by some of the tourists. The food was awful. Please don't go, spend your money somewhere else, somewhere ethical, worthwhile and beautiful.
Written 6 October 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Robert L
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam40 contributions
Feb 2014 • Friends
Well worth the visit!
A small group of friends rode scooters from HCMC out to the "Monkey Island" area. It was about a 1.5 hour drive and was nice to be able to stop wherever we wanted along the way. The park opens at 7:30 AM but the guards wouldn't let us in until almost 8. Cost is 60 Dong per person or about $3 USD. Getting there early like this was great as it was just us and locals. By the time we'd finished feeding the crocodiles which was AMAZING! and walked some trails and visited the guerrilla camp a lot of tour buses had shown up. We felt like we had the place to ourselves until around 10 AM.
Like many similar attractions in Vietnam the sites are in urgent need of maintenance. The walkways over the crocodile pit are very dilapidated and flimsy. If you way over 220 lbs or so I'd be hesitant to walk out on those planks.
The boat ride to "guerrilla island" was short but fun. It cost 600,00 Dong or about $30 USD for a boat that holds 6 adults. The ladies used the restrooms there and although in the middle of no where they were very clean and even had toilet paper.
There are a lot of signs as you enter the park prohibiting people from taking food inside. It appears that their efforts are working as the monkeys were not aggressive towards us, although there were still some moments were they did get a little too close for comfort. Early morning could have helped also as the park puts rice out for them in the mornings.
I would not feel safe taking my small children here. Kids 8 and up would probably be OK with good parental supervision.
For the crocodile and mangrove experience alone I'd give this an excellent vote. For crumbling infrastructure I'd give it poor ratings. It was a great day and we'll definitely take friends who come to visit back to do this.
A small group of friends rode scooters from HCMC out to the "Monkey Island" area. It was about a 1.5 hour drive and was nice to be able to stop wherever we wanted along the way. The park opens at 7:30 AM but the guards wouldn't let us in until almost 8. Cost is 60 Dong per person or about $3 USD. Getting there early like this was great as it was just us and locals. By the time we'd finished feeding the crocodiles which was AMAZING! and walked some trails and visited the guerrilla camp a lot of tour buses had shown up. We felt like we had the place to ourselves until around 10 AM.
Like many similar attractions in Vietnam the sites are in urgent need of maintenance. The walkways over the crocodile pit are very dilapidated and flimsy. If you way over 220 lbs or so I'd be hesitant to walk out on those planks.
The boat ride to "guerrilla island" was short but fun. It cost 600,00 Dong or about $30 USD for a boat that holds 6 adults. The ladies used the restrooms there and although in the middle of no where they were very clean and even had toilet paper.
There are a lot of signs as you enter the park prohibiting people from taking food inside. It appears that their efforts are working as the monkeys were not aggressive towards us, although there were still some moments were they did get a little too close for comfort. Early morning could have helped also as the park puts rice out for them in the mornings.
I would not feel safe taking my small children here. Kids 8 and up would probably be OK with good parental supervision.
For the crocodile and mangrove experience alone I'd give this an excellent vote. For crumbling infrastructure I'd give it poor ratings. It was a great day and we'll definitely take friends who come to visit back to do this.
Written 27 February 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rosa T
Hanoi, Vietnam9 contributions
Feb 2014 • Couples
We took a bus/ferry/bus trip Monkey Island, which was very pleasant. One good thing of this trip was that it introduced us to the wonder of public transportation in Saigon - cheap, reliable, awesome (not for the faint of heart). Also, Monkey Island is not for the faint of heart. First of all, the rhesus macaque is a wild animal. There is some feeble signage warning people not to feed or come in contact with the animals. But they do anyway. The guard/rangers encourage it and do it themselves. We saw a monkey attack a man for taking his son's hat back (he was unharmed). We saw a man laying on his back feeding the monkey a cookie from inside his mouth (the monkey got was successful).
We had heard about this, so we didn't bring food. But as I put sunscreen on, lo and behold, a monkey emerges to attack me for it. We tried to step towards it to scare it off, but it lunged and screamed at us. It swiped and tried to climb my leg as I ran away. So, for all those taking care of their skin...do it indoors.
The rhesus macaque has been known to have Herpes B, lethal to humans. The guards have given me mixed answers to if anyone has been bitten, but maybe it's not very often. But these creatures come dangerously close. They are NOT scared of us. Also, it seems that since their introduction to the island, they have flourished and have a growing population. Their main source of food, I do not doubt, is from people. Anyone who is educated and loves wildlife would be horrified by this place. It's too late for these monkeys, they're completely habituated and food conditioned. Don't go near them.
Oh, and the restaurant nearby has an ongoing battle with the monkeys to keep them off the property. Please do not disrespect the establishment by feeding/luring monkeys to their business for your own amusement. There are guards there, but as I said, these monkeys have a growing population....
We had heard about this, so we didn't bring food. But as I put sunscreen on, lo and behold, a monkey emerges to attack me for it. We tried to step towards it to scare it off, but it lunged and screamed at us. It swiped and tried to climb my leg as I ran away. So, for all those taking care of their skin...do it indoors.
The rhesus macaque has been known to have Herpes B, lethal to humans. The guards have given me mixed answers to if anyone has been bitten, but maybe it's not very often. But these creatures come dangerously close. They are NOT scared of us. Also, it seems that since their introduction to the island, they have flourished and have a growing population. Their main source of food, I do not doubt, is from people. Anyone who is educated and loves wildlife would be horrified by this place. It's too late for these monkeys, they're completely habituated and food conditioned. Don't go near them.
Oh, and the restaurant nearby has an ongoing battle with the monkeys to keep them off the property. Please do not disrespect the establishment by feeding/luring monkeys to their business for your own amusement. There are guards there, but as I said, these monkeys have a growing population....
Written 20 February 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Babs_D_M
Atlanta, GA83 contributions
June 2015 • Couples
I'll start with the positives: I did enjoy seeing the mangroves and the boat ride was a lot of fun. It's an absolutely beautiful park and it was really impressive how the recreated the Vietcong living areas.
Unfortunately the positives did not outweigh the negatives. I find it really hard to believe some of the other people writing these posts are animal lovers. First of all, the monkeys are very aggressive. The little ones are okay and will sit on your shoulder for a picture, but the larger ones are very mean and will scratch or hit you (or attack) for food. The guides will use sticks to hit them and keep them away but the entire thing is very sad. Why do you think they are becoming more aggressive? Well because you conditioned them to take the food from humans. Do NOT bring small children here.
We also got to go see the crocodile "sanctuary". Although the area itself was fine, I found it repulsive that you could "fish" for a crocodile with half of a dead eel. People were feeding them and then ripping the eel right out of its mouth so it had to try again. It was just sad.
The worst part of all were the caged animals. We were told that some animals were unable to get along with the others, so they had to be caged. The conditions were simply inhumane. There was even one monkey tied to a tree with a very short leash. To be clear I am not one of the people that are against zoos, I am just against inhumane treatment of animals. The porcupine cage literally made me cry. We were told that there were bears caged up at another end of the park but even our guide said that it was too depressing to show the tourists.
I cannot recommend going to visit this park. I actually wrote to the park director and UNESCO voicing my concern. I know that many places in Asia do not have the best animal welfare practices, but we need to stop going to them in order to make change.
Unfortunately the positives did not outweigh the negatives. I find it really hard to believe some of the other people writing these posts are animal lovers. First of all, the monkeys are very aggressive. The little ones are okay and will sit on your shoulder for a picture, but the larger ones are very mean and will scratch or hit you (or attack) for food. The guides will use sticks to hit them and keep them away but the entire thing is very sad. Why do you think they are becoming more aggressive? Well because you conditioned them to take the food from humans. Do NOT bring small children here.
We also got to go see the crocodile "sanctuary". Although the area itself was fine, I found it repulsive that you could "fish" for a crocodile with half of a dead eel. People were feeding them and then ripping the eel right out of its mouth so it had to try again. It was just sad.
The worst part of all were the caged animals. We were told that some animals were unable to get along with the others, so they had to be caged. The conditions were simply inhumane. There was even one monkey tied to a tree with a very short leash. To be clear I am not one of the people that are against zoos, I am just against inhumane treatment of animals. The porcupine cage literally made me cry. We were told that there were bears caged up at another end of the park but even our guide said that it was too depressing to show the tourists.
I cannot recommend going to visit this park. I actually wrote to the park director and UNESCO voicing my concern. I know that many places in Asia do not have the best animal welfare practices, but we need to stop going to them in order to make change.
Written 13 June 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Panthera2013
London, UK94 contributions
Nov 2017 • Solo
I looked for a day trip from Saigon and read on TripAdvisor about this visit to Can Gio Biosphere as being very good. Sorry to say we folks need to be educated a lot more if this is seen as a good trip to do. It is absolutely awful. I did the trip with Les Rives. On a positive note, they were punctual with the pick-up from the hotel, the speed boat was well maintained and the food and drinks on it were excellent. However, the river itself is filthy and you see a lot of slums along the river with no sewage facilities so just guess where it goes. We were taken to a riverside market which was not on the itinerary and while we were not being sold anything here, I did not want to spend an hour walking around a filthy market with all sorts of dead animals, fish, clothes etc. The mangrove trip itself then was just awful as well as there is nothing natural about it. You pass farms of birds that are artificially attracted to make bird's nests (local delicacy), see some fruit bats, taken to a place where they feed wild monkey's on banana and biscuits and feed 40 crocodiles kept in a small pond with some fish. There is nothing natural or conservation focussed about this horrid trip. The forest itself is a small patch of private land which used to be a small amusement park full of concrete animals. The guide was more keen on wanting you to photograph yourself with a cement crocodile than stopping to look at the Kingfishers we saw.
Written 23 November 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Zoe B
3 contributions
Went here today and was horrified by the treatment of the animals, upkeep of the area and other visitors. We came via public bus so we're not part of a tour company. At first by the ticket gate there was a male monkey chained up with no water. He was very aggressive and bit my leg when I went to fill his empty water container, the staff there did nothing and did not look the slightest bit ashamed when the monkey guzzled up the water I gave him, obviously very thirsty!
Next we walked down to the main area where we enjoyed watching the monkeys in the mangrove forest... That was until we got to where the other tourists were. They were heckling and throwing rubbish and food at the monkeys. No wonder everyone writes reviews on here saying that the monkeys were aggressive! They are so used to people aggravating them that I honestly don't blame them. The blatant disrespect shown to the monkeys was horrifying. At one point I had to yell at a man who was going to throw his sandal at a monkey. The lack of empathy and enjoyment these tourists were obviously gaining from the monkeys distress was disgusting. There is rubbish everywhere and many monkeys were given sweets in plastic wrappers and other foods which I am sure is probably not their optimal diet.
The monkeys only showed mild interest in us as we just quietly walked through and watched them. We had all of our loose belongings in our backpacks and my boyfriend was able to take photos without the monkeys paying any attention to us, so forget what the other reviews said about the monkeys behaviour. I think this reflects more on the reviewers behaviour.
Walking through to the crocodile area we were confronted with a "circus", which we did not see as seeing the kind of place this was we could only imagine how awful the circus would be, there were also many animals in tiny cages along the lane; chickens, a porcupine, two macaques... The cages for the macaques were far too small and one was using a swing, to the delight of onlookers. To me it seemed it was so bored and under stimulated it was forced to use the swing. Very sad to see.
The crocodiles are amazing, huge animals. We were both quite excited when we first saw them, that was until we saw the way they were being treated. They were being taunted by tourists who were dangling pieces of eel over them. The eel was tied very tightly to a piece of string and due to the gaps in between the crocs teeth they were unable to chomp the eel off the string when they caught it. Only to have the tourist yank the eel piece back and have it slapped over their face and eyes. At one point a teenage boy actually hit the croc with his wooden "fishing" pole. No one seemed to care about this taunting and abuse of the crocodiles which are truley magnificent creatures. It seemed the staff were there purely to sell eel pieces, not to oversee the conduct of the visitors at all.
It was shocking to see that we were the only people who seemed the slightest bit upset by the treatment of the animals.
This could really be an amazing place, the monkeys and crocodiles are amazing but due to what I see as animal rights abuses and lack of any sustainable action I would recommend you stay away from this place.
Next we walked down to the main area where we enjoyed watching the monkeys in the mangrove forest... That was until we got to where the other tourists were. They were heckling and throwing rubbish and food at the monkeys. No wonder everyone writes reviews on here saying that the monkeys were aggressive! They are so used to people aggravating them that I honestly don't blame them. The blatant disrespect shown to the monkeys was horrifying. At one point I had to yell at a man who was going to throw his sandal at a monkey. The lack of empathy and enjoyment these tourists were obviously gaining from the monkeys distress was disgusting. There is rubbish everywhere and many monkeys were given sweets in plastic wrappers and other foods which I am sure is probably not their optimal diet.
The monkeys only showed mild interest in us as we just quietly walked through and watched them. We had all of our loose belongings in our backpacks and my boyfriend was able to take photos without the monkeys paying any attention to us, so forget what the other reviews said about the monkeys behaviour. I think this reflects more on the reviewers behaviour.
Walking through to the crocodile area we were confronted with a "circus", which we did not see as seeing the kind of place this was we could only imagine how awful the circus would be, there were also many animals in tiny cages along the lane; chickens, a porcupine, two macaques... The cages for the macaques were far too small and one was using a swing, to the delight of onlookers. To me it seemed it was so bored and under stimulated it was forced to use the swing. Very sad to see.
The crocodiles are amazing, huge animals. We were both quite excited when we first saw them, that was until we saw the way they were being treated. They were being taunted by tourists who were dangling pieces of eel over them. The eel was tied very tightly to a piece of string and due to the gaps in between the crocs teeth they were unable to chomp the eel off the string when they caught it. Only to have the tourist yank the eel piece back and have it slapped over their face and eyes. At one point a teenage boy actually hit the croc with his wooden "fishing" pole. No one seemed to care about this taunting and abuse of the crocodiles which are truley magnificent creatures. It seemed the staff were there purely to sell eel pieces, not to oversee the conduct of the visitors at all.
It was shocking to see that we were the only people who seemed the slightest bit upset by the treatment of the animals.
This could really be an amazing place, the monkeys and crocodiles are amazing but due to what I see as animal rights abuses and lack of any sustainable action I would recommend you stay away from this place.
Written 1 January 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Does every monkey in the island get vaccinated against rabies?
Written 7 April 2018
Hi how do we get there? Is it advisable to stay a night? Or should we stay at vung tau instead?
Written 7 December 2017
You can get there through any tour operator buffalo tours took us - it’s a half day tour from HO chi Minh city
Written 7 December 2017
Hello can you please tell me if the monkey circus still exists? I would not wish to visit if animals are being used in this way, it is cruel, disrespectful and unnecessary.
Thank you
Written 26 April 2017
We didn't see any monkey circus.
Written 26 April 2017
ghedinalea
Innsbruck, Austria
Hi,
is it possible to just go there and see the place on our own and and then maybe book a boat ride there?
Thanks!
Written 2 January 2017
Bonjour, comment avez vous organisé votre balade à la Magrove? Etes vous passez par un tour operator ou bien est il possible une fois sur place de se balader seul où l'on veut et de louer un kayak? vous avez fait plein de choses ça à l'air génial! j'avoue que je suis un peu perdue pour organiser les activités sur place là bas :/ Merci beaucoup!
Written 28 February 2016
Hi, I'm planning on going solo to VN in September and have gone back and forth on whether to go to Can Gio Monkey Island because of reviews that say the animals are mistreated or perhaps just not treated with respect.
Curious if you could give me your opinion on whether you feel going here would be a sad rather than enjoyable feeling.
I loved Costa Rica for its diversity and love of animals, and would like to some animal life in VN.
Written 3 April 2015
Hi Carol. I'm sure there are nicer places to see animal life than this one. To be honest, most of us and other visitors (especially children) didn't enjoy the visit, quite the opposite. We were scared of the monkeys as they would jump on people to take anything (bottles, glasses, hats, etc.). I definitely don't recommend going there.
Written 8 April 2015
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