Jane's Midlife Journey

Monkey World is an Ape Rescue Centre in Wareham, near Bournemouth. The centre houses over 250 rescued and endangered primates, including chimpanzees, orang utans, gibbons and monkeys. This multitude of primates live in enclosures spread across a 65 acre site, which is interspersed with playgrounds and cafes. A visit to Monkey World is an interesting and educational day out, especially for children.

How to get to Monkey World

Monkey World is just 20 miles west of Bournemouth along the A350/A35.

By Bus

For much of the year, Monkey World isn’t easy to reach by public transport. There are direct trains from Bournemouth to Wool Station (on the London Waterloo to Weymouth Line). From here, it is a 1.5 mile walk/taxi ride to the park.

During the summer (May to September), the Purbeck Breezer No 31 links Wool Station to Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove, with some journeys extending to Monkey World. First Bus Route 55 follows a similar summer route.

Parking

There is plenty of free on site parking.

Opening Times

Monkey World is open daily from 10 am until 5 pm.

Price

Regular entry costs £19 for adults (£18 online) and £12.75 for children (£12 online). Look out for special offers, particularly during school holidays. During January, local residents get a 50% discount.

Details

Animals

Monkey World is big. We spent 4 hours there and only covered around half the site. The animals live in numerous enclosure spread across the grounds, each with both outdoor and indoor areas. In good weather, you can watch the animals at play outside. If it’s cold or wet, they are likely to be indoors. There are indoor viewing areas, from where you get great close up views.

Monkey World has the largest group of chimpanzees outside of Africa, living in four separate social groups. Many have been rescued from the black market pet trade, laboratories and from abuse as tourist photo props.

There are three groups of orang utans, including Europe’s only orang utan creche, five species of gibbons and 14 species of monkeys. So plenty of ape action to keep you entertained.

Tours and Talks

Guided and self guided walking tours are available. Alternatively, you can purchase a guided tour by golf buggy (the park is a bit steep in places, so this if a great option for those with restricted mobility). We opted to pick up a map and wander around freely.

Several talks about various species are organised throughout the day. These are very informative, but delivered in a way which is more suitable for adults than children.

Food & Drink

There are up to 5 cafes and kiosks spread across the park. Note: Some are open seasonally. So if you visit off peak, you may find yourself some way from an open venue when in need of refreshments. There are also picnic benches dotted around the park, if you prefer to bring a picnic.

Monkey World for Children

There is loads to keep children entertained at Monkey World. Orla absolutely loved it here and was totally fascinated. She particularly enjoyed watching the play fights and bodily functions!

Playgrounds

There are three Playgrounds spread across the park, the largest being the Great Ape Play Area at the far end. We didn’t make it that far, but Orla enjoyed climbing like a monkey in the first two playgrounds.

• Updated: January 2026

I hope you found this information useful. For more inspiration on things to do in and around Bournemouth, check out my 101 Things to do in Bournemouth here.

For more inspiration on things to do in and around Bournemouth with young children, check out my 101 Things to do in Bournemouth with Babies and Toddlers here.