Manuel Antonio is the smallest national park in Costa Rica but is well known for its many beaches, rocky islands, hiking trails, tropical forests and a diversity of wildlife and..is a place to relax after you Costa Rican adventure.
It’s a three hour drive from Puntarenas to Manuel Antonio, following a stay in Santa Teresa, and the roads are good via Route 27 and 34.
There’s a number of beaches and towns you can make stops along the way such as Playa Mantas, Playa Hermosa or Jaco.
Jaco is a bustling party town for a slightly younger generation so if you’re looking for hostels or larger resort accommodation and a bit more nightlife mixed with some basic surf and surf lessons, on the doorstep of many national parks, then Jaco is for you.
The famous Crocodile Bridge is about an hours drive on Route 27 from Puntarenas and there’s parking either side of the bridge and a walkway across on both sides over the Tarcoles River where you can clearly see a number of American crocodiles that have made their home there. You can pay to do a river boat tour with the The Crocodile Man but it was enough for us to see dozens of them from the bridge walkway.
Our stay in Manuel Antonio was at the Layan Hotel and Spa where the rooms have fantastic views over Manuel Antonio and Espadilla Beach which is the main beach by the national park. The reason why we picked this hotel is its away from the main town area and you can use the pool facilities at their sister hotel Shana by the Beach which is a 5 min walk up/down a steep road or, you can get the hotel to take you there and back for free on their golf buggies.
The highlight of our stay here and in Costa Rica was seeing a pair of Macaws that had a nest inside a tree right by one of our hotel balconies. It was such an impressive sight to see and so quintessential of the beauty and diversity the country has to offer no matter where you are.
As well as the pool facilities and restaurants at Shana you can access via the hotels track to Playa Biesanz. This is a secluded beach where you can hire chairs, umbrellas, sea kayaks, snorkelling and SUPs as well as buy drinks and food. It’s very safe for children and much quieter than Playa Espadilla and Manuel Antonio town itself which is not the greatest beach and is often busy.
The following day we had a pick up at 8am for a pre-planned guided tour of Manuel Antonio Park. Something to bear in mind is the park is closed on Tuesdays and entrance numbers are currently limited to 1200 people per day (was 3000 but some tracks are closed for upgrading) so booking a tour before hand is key.
The busiest times are first thing in the morning and although you will see a lot of different animals in their own environment there are a lot of people and it can get crowded and noisy especially when groups are trying to get the best positions for photos. We still recommend a visit as you’ll get many animal experiences all in one place.
Our guide George has been guiding for over 15 years, speaks very good English and is very knowledgeable of the area, the local people and wildlife. His WhatsApp number is +506 8802 4389 and he will pick you up and drop you back to your accommodation.
Cost was £60 / €73 / $75 per person for the private guide including tickets and transport or £44 / €54 / $55 as part of a mixed group.
Entry to the park on a self-guided tour is £14 / €17 / $18 but we recommend doing this trip with a guide and via a private tour not in a mixed group. The reasons being;
- the guide will arrange your entrance tickets (they communicate with other guides to share tickets which is useful as there are limited numbers)
- they will avoid the parking ‘mafia’ (the locals genuinely call them this as they hassle tourists to park and overcharge them)
- they have great knowledge of the animals in the park
- they can find the animals in the first place (as many are well hidden)
- they have high powered spotting scopes which allow you to see the animals clearly and take amazing photos and videos through.
Animals we saw on this circa 3hr tour which included time in the parks beach included giant grasshopper, sloths, deer, iguanas, bats, butterflies, monkeys and coatimundi.
We spent our final days in Costa Rica relaxing with a little trip to Quepos to the marina and to watch the sunset and for the adventurous there’s plenty of activities to do here in Manuel Antonio which we can recommend:
- Zip Lining – El Santuario Canopy Adventure
- Deep sea/sport fishing from Quepos – Costa Rica Fishing Charters
- Boat trips – Catamaran Adventures
- Jet ski tours – Manuel Antonio Jet Ski
- Parasailing – Costa Rica Parasailing
- Rafting – Manuel Antonio White Water Rafting
- ATV – Manuel Antonio ATV Tour
The Manuel Antonio area is hilly and hotels and restaurants require either driving or good exercise up and down the roads although footpaths are far and few between with limited street lighting.
Restaurants we highly recommended include El Avion with a bar inside a complete C-123 from the 1980’s Iran-Contra Affair or; EL Lagarto which has an amazing BBQ method of cooking with a great steak, fish and wine menu and; La Luna which is atop the Gaia Hotel and Reserve Gaia Hotel.
Manuel Antonio is a great place to finish up your Costa Rican pacific coast adventure and with San Jose International airport an easy 2.45 hour drive away, back up the coastline via Route 34 and 27, it makes it an ideal stop before your departure home.
Pura Vida!
