Recommended by Tina Jones with children ages 2 and 4 on Fri Jul 19 2019

I chose Monkey World on recommendation from buttonandsquirt and because I have animal obsessed children 😂 The journey took about 1hr15 which on a hot day was probably the limit for the kids. Entry for under 3s is free. The site is on 65 acres and a little hilly in places so it’s worth wearing comfy footwear! The primates at Monkey World are all rescues, mostly from the illegal pet trade. There is a huge array of species, the woolly monkeys being Esmé’s first favourites because they “are cuddly and cosy”. Noah liked every monkey he set his eyes on, declaring “look a monkey” at the top of his voice! We were very lucky to have caught both the orangutans and chimpanzees up close and engaging with people by the fences and windows which obviously made both kids very happy! Facilities wise, there is a cafe, a couple of kiosks and a small restaurant that opens in the holidays. We took a picnic and there are plenty of spots to sit and eat near the various play parks. We had a great time, albeit a slightly sweaty time!

Recommended by Fiona Franks with children age 2 on Fri Jun 21 2019

We recently visited Monkey world during our holiday stay near to Poole, we had been recommended to visit by so many friends it was always going to be on our to do list! Upon arrival we were amazed at how big the car park was which goes to show how popular it is, entrance was swift & easy (we visited outside on a week day afternoon outside of term time) The park is really impressive with clean & scenic grounds & the monkeys enclosures really are wonderful & made to be as natural as possible, some enclosures have a indoor window viewing area should they be inside there houses. Each enclosure had an array of information on the breed of monkey & pictures of each monkey telling you there names, characters & how they came to end up at Monkey world. Highlights for us were the Apes & Orang-utans that we spent ages watching. There is 2 play parks on site along with a pit stop cafe one side of the park & a indoor or outdoor seated cafe in the main complex, we didn’t visit during a time to need food but I did grab a bit of cake & WOW it was honestly amazing! Another nice touch was the main cafe also hosted a small indoor soft play area for the little ones. The park is pathed throughout apart from the woodland walk so is suitable for prams or wheelchairs however it was hilly in places! The park really is wonderful & one of a kind & we thoroughly enjoyed our time here, you could make it as a real day out or just pop along for a few hours. Beware the gift shop on exit (which you can bypass) is huge & has so much on offer from pocket money items to more expensive trinkets ... we didn’t leave here empty handed! Highly recommended for the whole family

Recommended by The Wiki Mama with children ages 4 and 2 on Mon Aug 20 2018

M O N K E Y W O R L D 12 of us went enmasse to Monkey world this week! It’s a really great day out and definitely good value, at approx £38 for a family of four (plus food). Monkey World is a rescue centre so it’s packed full of incredible primates that have been rescued from horrific treatment and bad conditions all around the world. At the centre they are given huge, impeccably well kept houses/ pens to live and play with arguably better much exercise areas than they might get in the wild!! It was all I could do to keep our little monkeys out!! Certainly the animals are better treated with enhanced life chances and lifestyles than they had endured previously. It was heartbreaking to hear their stories but the staff at this centre so genuinely love and care for the animals it’s impossible not to feel huge support for them and what they do. The animals are amazing and so happy, you can see from the relaxed positions, legs akimbo in front of the windows, and playing happily like babies, showing off for the audience even! The kids loved seeing the various different breeds and then had a great hour letting out some pent up energy in the playground area! There are two parks, one much bigger, and although a few swings were missing on our visit (naturally causing a row between my two!) it was fab! We went home with two (more) little monkeys - One pink chimp with glittery starey eyes. The other a gibbon, long limbed and hands stuck together by velcro! As if we’d get away empty handed! And it’s all for a good cause after all! Definitely make the visit next time your in Dorset. You won’t regret it! 👍🏻🐵🐵

Recommended by Lindsay with children ages 4 and 1 on Thu Aug 16 2018

Really enjoyed our day out at monkey world. Reasonably priced, nice size park (for little legs), loads of monkeys to see and some lovely play parks. Cafe had decent enough food at a good price.