Travel + Leisure says SC island that's home of 3,000 monkeys is worth seeing. But can you?

Morgan Island, also known as “Monkey Island,” is a 2,000-acre island off the coast of Beaufort, South Carolina.
The island is home to a colony of over 3,000 Rhesus monkeys used for scientific research.
The public is prohibited from setting foot on the island, but the monkeys can be viewed from a boat.

There’s a lot of monkeying going around at a South Carolina island that’s found its way onto Travel + Leisure’s destination radar.

“Tucked away in the St. Helena Sound, off the coast of Beaufort, South Carolina, sits Morgan Island. It’s made up of more than 2,000 acres of pristine land, but don’t get your hopes up about lounging on the sand. This island strictly belongs to the monkeys — more than 3,000 of them, to be exact,” said the travel media brand.

But the monkeys don’t always stay either.

In November 2024, 43 female Rhesus monkeys escaped from Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center in Yemassee, fueling international headlines and questions about what’s really been happening behind the gates of the Morgan Island (nicknamed “Monkey Island”) facility.

The situation became so “Madagascar” that even state Rep. Nancy Mace got involved.

But despite all the monkey business, Travel + Leisure thinks Monkey Island is still worth seeing, especially if you find yourself boating around the Lowcountry’s coast.

Here’s what visitors should know before they go.

What is the origin story behind Monkey Island?

The origins of Monkey Island date back to the 1970s on the Puerto Rican island of La Parguera, where 1,400 Rhesus monkeys lived at the Caribbean Primate Research Center, according to Islands. In 1979, the monkeys were relocated to Morgan Island under the care of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to be used as research animals.

“It was all part of a plan by the U.S. government to establish a ‘self-sufficient breeding program’ after India banned the export of viable research animals,” Travel + Leisure said.

Where is Monkey Island in South Carolina?

Known as Morgan Island, it sits along the coast of South Carolina.

How did 43 monkeys escape from the island?

A previous Greenville News story said 43 scientific research monkeys escaped from Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center on Castle Hall Road outside of Yemassee on Nov. 6, 2024. The incident was caused by a caretaker failing to secure a door.

“For years, Alpha Genesis has racked up federal contracts and taxpayer dollars while consistently violating animal welfare laws and exposing the public to dangerous escapes,” Mace wrote in a three-page letter on the same date of the incident. “NIH and USDA need to step up and ensure South Carolinians don’t bear the risk of this lab’s negligence.”

Alpha Genesis worked closely with Yemassee-area officials to track the monkeys down, successfully recovering all 43, which were in good health.

Officials reported that the final monkey was captured in January 2025.

Can the public access Monkey Island?

The public is prohibited from setting foot on Monkey Island ― owned by the SCDNR ― and the colony of monkeys who live there is owned by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. And before you get any funny ideas, the island is under strict surveillance, with cameras to watch your every move.

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