Manuel Antonio is a town and it is also the name of Costa Rica’s most popular National Park, located in that town!
It is probably one of the top 5 most recommended things to do in Costa Rica for tourists, and with good reason! It is beautiful and an awesome opportunity to see jungle, animals and beaches. You are pretty much guarenteed to see monkeys and other animals and it has some of the prettiest beaches in Costa Rica! Plus all of the trails are pristine and family friendly.
We would not put it on our list of top 5 things in Costa Rica, but that is probably because we had a different experience than most…..
Important Info:
- Province: Puntarenas
- Cost: Non-residents are $16 (children under 12 are free)
- Hours: Tues-Sun 7AM-4PM (CLOSED MONDAY)
- Age: All ages, and children under 12 are free
- Time Needed: All day! At least one day! There are a ton of simple trails and several beaches WITHIN the National Park. There is more to do in this area, as well!
- Best Time of Year to Go: Dry season (Dec-April) so you can take advantage of having a full day with no rain!
- What to Bring: Food (there is none inside the National Park), towel, beach toys, SUNSCREEN, light clothes (it is very hot and humid here), binoculars (looking for sloths)
- How far from San Jose: 3.5 hour drive southwest of San Jose
- Other things in the Area: Quepos, Uvita, Rainmaker, Dominical, Playa Biesanz (one of my favorite beaches in Costa Rica), Damas Island Mangrove Kayak Tour
- Pro tip(s): Manuel Antonio is EXTREMELY touristy, which means it has some high prices. If you are looking for lower prices, sleep/eat 15 min north in Quepos. Also get to the park when it opens because they have a limit of how many people they let in the park each day! Lastly, DO NOT on a Monday because it is closed and DO bring sunscreen because the sun is STRONG!
What to Do Nearby:
I can’t tell you how confused I was before we went about Manuel Antonio. I think I didn’t understand that it was both a town AND a National Park. Inside of the park there are several beaches and tons of simple walking trails (I say “simple” because they are short, not because you won’t be dripping with sweat. There are stairs and it is HUMID THERE).
Outside of the park, itself, here are some other things to do in the area:
- Playa Biesanz: This is our favorite beach we have been to in Costa Rica. It is AMAZING for children because it is a cove and there are no waves. It is a local favorite. You have to walk 5 minutes through the forest. Look for a small opening in the gate on the right side of the road at the bottom of the hill. This is THE hidden gem of Manuel Antonio. You can rent kayaks here for $10 an hour.
- Farmer’s Market (Quepos Feria): Friday afternoons at 4 and Saturday mornings until 1. See local farmers selling tamarindo, guanabana, mammon chino, and other exotic fruits and veggies. It’s a really fun outdoors market. When we went they had live music playing and it was just a super fun atmosphere!
- Rainmaker Conservation Park: Privately owned 5,000 acre conservation park, just north of Quepos. Open 7-6 and $20 for non-resident adults. It is filled with hanging bridges, waterfalls, natural swimming pools, and a TON of wildlife. We had so much fun spending a day here! It is a bummer it is so expensive to come, or else I would bring more guests! I loved how empty it was.
- Los Campesinos: Ecolodge with 600 meters of hiking trails. Access to waterfalls, natural swimming pools and a 127 meter long 40 meter high suspension bridge. 70 minutes from Manuel Antonio and $7 per entrance.
- Damas Island Estatuary: Just 15 minutes from Quepos, Damas Island owns its own unique ecosystem where statuary animals like monkeys, snakes, sloths and crocodiles can be observed. Mangrove Monkey Tours is a highly recommended tour company. You can kayak or take a boat ride! They were AWESOME to work with. I had a ton of questions!
- Nauyaca Waterfalls: These extremely impressive and popular falls are 1 hour south of Manuel Antonio. I recommend seeing them in the rainy season (May-October) for more impressive falls!
What To Pack:
- Sunscreen- The sun is deadly strong here. MURDEROUS. hahah.
- Bug spray- I don’t think we used bug spray while we were there, but it never helps to bring it!
- Food- There are no restaurants or vendors inside the park.
- Towels
- Beach Toys
- Light clothes- Did I mention how hot and humid this area is??
- Binoculars- This park is extremely famous for all of the wildlife. You can hire a guide or spot animals on your own!
- Cash
- Hats
- Sunglasses
- Hammock
- Sandals: You really don’t need hiking shoes for this park. You can wear even just flip flops.
What to Do Inside the Park:
- I recommend spending at least one whole day inside the National Park. There are many beaches and activities outside of the park, but here are the main activities inside the park:
- Beaches: There are 3 beaches inside Manuel Antonio National Park (Manuel Antonio-close to the entrance and always crowded with monkeys, Gemelas– smaller and less crowded, very rocky shoreline, and Escondido– incredible but not accessible during high tide so make sure you know when that is). There are also two popular beaches outside of the park (Espadilla– most tourists stay here and Biesanz– my favorite beach in the area and a local favorite).
- Hike: There are a ton of small trails running around Manuel Antonio. They are all family friendly and run from .6-1.4 Km! They are not difficult but you will sweat! It is very hot and humid in Manuel Antonio!
- Observe Wildlife: Last time we were in MA we saw over 9 types of wildlife without even having a guide. The park is filled with monkeys, sloths, birds and butterflies, insects, and even racoons! MA has over 100 mammal species including 3 of the 4 Costa Rican monkey species and over 180 bird species!
Tip: Come early in the morning! There is a crowd limit every day and the morning is the best time to have the park to yourself and have the best chance to see wildlife!
Where to Eat:
- Cheap Eats: Sancho’s Soda. Typical Costa Rican Soda (typical restaurant) where you can get a large plate of typical food for around $5. We really loved this place!
- A View: Ronny’s Place. Said to have “The best view in Manuel Antonio”. Best sunset view over the ocean that you will find in the area. Food is incredible and the atmosphere is amazing. You can either sit at the bar facing ocean or outside on tables. Either way you are facing the ocean and the sunset. Keep in mind, the portions are not huge. $
- Family Friendly: El Patio de Cafe Milagro
- Vegan: Manuel Antonio Falafel Bar. Incredible falafuls stuffed full with all of the works. Great drinks, too.
*Tip: Head out of Manuel Antonio and 15 minutes north to Quepos for better prices.
Where to Stay:
- Budget: Millenium Hostels Manuel Antonio.: $61/night and you can get cheaper but I included this in the budget because this is an INCREDIBLE place for the price. Peace of Paradise is another budget option for $45/night. Blue Morpho House has rooms for $16 and is a very clean and budget friendly option. This one books fast.
- Mid-Range: Hotel Plaza Yara is a beautiful hotel close to the beach and has breakfast included. You can reserve a two person room for $108/night.
- Luxury: Arenas Del Mar Beachfront and Rainforest Resort is one of the best options out there. Rooms are pricey at over $400/night, but you are getting the top end here and breakfast is also included 🙂
Our First Time in Manuel Antonio
Manuel Antonio was one of the first weekend trips we made after moving to Costa Rica. We live close to San Jose where there really is not much to do and we knew that we would want to travel a lot on the weekends in order to truly see “Costa Rica”.
On the way down we spent a day at Rainmaker and had a blast. We hiked over hanging bridges, jumped into natural pools and swam around waterfalls. It was so beautiful and we felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. We ended up seeing quite a bit of wildlife.
After Rainmaker we headed to Playa Biesanz, which is my favorite beach in Costa Rica so far. It is a small local hidden gem only a 5 minute walk from the road. It is so tranquil because it is in a cove. You can rent kayaks for $10 an hour. We took one out with Beckham and ended up coming in after 10 minutes of him screaming bloody murder. Our kayak tipped on the shore and I fell into the water with both of our phones. My legs got cut up pretty bad but “laughed it off” hoping that we could still laugh when we had to pay $2000 for new phones haha. We stayed and played until the sun set.
That evening we went to the farmer’s market in Quepos. It was so fun and there were a lot of exotic fruits to buy. We ended up buying some typical torta cake and fruit for the park the next day.
For dinner we hit up the falaful bar. It was amazing and we got huge falafuls for $9 each. Beckham got away from me as Dan was in the bathroom and I was paying for our food. He ran from me and went straight for the street (the restaurant is pretty much outside so it wasn’t hard for him). Luckily a man jumped up from the table seconds before Beckham jumped into the dark street in front of passing cars.
That night we decided to put our plan to the test. We decided to sleep in the car to save money on accommodations. Beckham was so excited while we made his bed in the trunk. We have a hatchback so the trunk is connected to the main body of the car. He popped his head above the seats and said, “Hola!” He stopped smiling, though, as we shut the door to the trunk. We could hear him screaming bloody murder as we sat on the street outside the car. We had hung up towels in the windows so it would stay dark in the morning and as people walked past us I am sure they thought of calling the police haha.
Around 10 PM Dan and I tried to climb slowly in the car to not wake Beckham up. We spent 2 hours trying to get comfortable but it was SO hot. Dan kept turning the car on and off every 10 minutes to turn the AC on. We wanted to roll the windows down but the passing traffic was too noisy or would honk occasionally and wake Beckham up. Around 2 AM Beckham woke up and climbed over the back seat. I switched him places and slept in the trunk which was somehow the coolest part of the car. At 4 AM Dan finally called out to me and said that Beckham had been playing and stepping all over him in the front seat. So we switched back.
Long story short, we ended up walking into Manuel Antonio the next morning on 2 hours of sleep. We felt so terrible. We were sweaty, sandy, sticky and cranky. BUT WE SAVED $50 ON A HOTEL SO OVERALL WIN, RIGHT?? haha
We showed up at 7:30 AM and the park was already filling up for the day. We paid the first parking guys we saw (probably got ripped off) I had done so much research but was too tired to think by the time we were parking the car haha. For future reference, you do not need to stop at these guys blowing their whistles. Feel free to drive around and compare prices, though you probably won’t find anything cheaper than $5 for the day.
Inside the park we were both so dead but Dan carried Beckham dripping with sweat up all of the stairs. We saw SO much wildlife and my favorite part was when a bunch of monkeys jumped down from the trees, snatched our bananas and brought them up to their friends to fight over them. Everyone on the beach ran over to take pictures and we were all laughing at how evil they were!
We spent about 8 hours in the park watching animals, walking the trails, playing in the water, and building sand castles and then decided to head out. I had a waterfall I was wanting to find in Manuel Antonio. We drove around asking people for 90 minutes before we finally decided to just go to dinner and head home. For dinner we went to Ronny’s Place, which is known for having the best view in Manuel Antonio. It was INCREDIBLE.
The sun was just about to set over the horizon and they turned some soft music on. As it grew darker waiters came out to light the candles. Our table was experiencing something slightly different, however. Because we were eating outside, Beckham had full reign of the parking lot. He would not sit at the table for longer than seconds and kept jumping up in front of incoming cars. At this point he had gone two days without sleeping much and we were all feeling the wrath.
After an extremely anxiety filled dinner, Dan ended up taking Beckham to the car while I paid for the check. I took my time paying because those 3 minutes were the most relaxing I had in the past few days haha.
So maybe we had a different experience than most people do in Manuel Antonio. Do I regret any decisions? No. Would I do it again? No. Do I want to go back? Definitely.
