Just outside Los Cristianos in southern Tenerife, Monkey Park is a small, hands-on animal park where you can get surprisingly close to lemurs, marmosets, meerkats, reptiles and a menagerie of other creatures. It's a world away from the big glossy zoos — intimate, a little rough around the edges, and all the more charming for it. For families with young children, and anyone who loves the idea of a lemur perching on their shoulder, it makes a delightful and affordable couple of hours.
Up close with the animals
The whole appeal of Monkey Park is the closeness. Rather than viewing animals through thick glass from a distance, you walk through enclosures and along paths where many of the residents are within touching distance. Ring-tailed lemurs and tiny marmosets are the stars, often bold enough to come and investigate visitors, while squirrel monkeys chatter overhead. You'll also meet meerkats standing sentinel, colourful parrots and toucans, iguanas and other reptiles, tortoises, and assorted small mammals and birds. It's a place that rewards patience and a gentle manner — stand quietly and the animals come to you.
A hands-on, feed-the-animals experience
Much of the fun comes from feeding. For a small charge you can buy little pots of appropriate food and hand-feed some of the friendlier animals under the park's guidance, which is a huge thrill for children (and plenty of adults). Having a lemur delicately take a piece of fruit from your fingers, or a marmoset scamper close, is the kind of moment kids remember long after the beach blurs together. Because the park is compact and the animals are so accessible, even young children stay engaged from start to finish.
Follow the feeding rules. Only feed the animals the food the park provides and where staff say it's allowed — human snacks can make them ill. Keep bags zipped and hold tightly onto phones and sunglasses, as the cheekier monkeys are quick to grab a shiny souvenir.
A conservation-minded little park
Monkey Park has run since the early 1990s as a small centre focused on the care, rescue and breeding of primates, including some endangered species. It's modest in size and homespun in feel — don't arrive expecting the scale or polish of Tenerife's giant attractions — but that intimacy is exactly what many families prefer. A visit typically takes an hour to two hours, which makes it easy to combine with other plans rather than eating a whole day.
Manage expectations on size. This is a small, old-school animal park, not a sprawling modern zoo. Go for the close encounters and the charm rather than grand enclosures or big shows, and you'll come away happy.
Where it is and getting there
The park lies a couple of kilometres inland from Los Cristianos, on the edge of the southern resort belt of Tenerife that also takes in Playa de las Américas and Costa Adeje. It's a short taxi or car ride from any of these — there's no direct beach walk to it, so the easiest options are driving (there's parking) or a quick cab. If you're basing a family trip in the south, it fits naturally into the wider plans in our guide to the Canary Islands with kids.
Combine it with other family days
Because a visit is short, Monkey Park pairs easily with the rest of a southern-Tenerife itinerary. Animal-loving families might follow it with the birds and big cats of Jungle Park, while thrill-seekers can save an afternoon for the slides at Siam Park. It also makes a gentle, shady change of scene on a day that's too hot for the beach.
Planning your visit
Monkey Park opens daily with a low admission charge and cheaper tickets for children; the little pots of animal food are extra but inexpensive. As of 2026, prices and opening hours can change, so it's worth a quick check of the official site — monkeypark.com — before you go. Bring sun cream and water, keep small children supervised around the enclosures, and allow a relaxed hour or two. For more ideas across the island, browse our full list of things to do.
Hand-feed a lemur, meet the meerkats and let the marmosets come to you — Monkey Park is a small, hands-on charmer that families adore.