Manuel Antonio National Park is one of the best national parks in Costa Rica for hiking, wildlife and beaches. Although small in size, this park offers some of the most stunning tropical rainforest and beach landscapes in the country.
If you plan to visit Costa Rica’s arguably most popular national park, here is our guide to Manuel Antonio National Park.
Please make sure to read this guide carefully as there are some very important details to know about visiting, especially for acquiring park tickets.
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How to Get to Manuel Antonio National Park
Manuel Antonio National Park is in Manuel Antonio in the Central Pacific in the Puntarenas province, 170 kilometers (105 miles) from San Jose.
It is about a 3 hour drive from San Jose International Airport (airport code SJO).
From Guanacaste Airport, Manuel Antonio National Park is 268 km (166 miles), about a 4.5 hour drive.
Public Bus
There are public buses that go to the national park. All of them leave from the Quepos bus station and the buses stop on the hill along the way.
If you do not want to drive or don’t have transportation, you can take this bus to the national park from Quepos as it stops many times along the way. The bus costs ~385 CRC one way per person and leaves every half an hour or so starting at 530 AM until 930 PM.
How to Get From the Beach Bus Stop to the National Park
*IMPORTANT* Ride this bus all the way to the last stop but this stop is not right in front of the national park entrance. The last stop will drop you off at the roundabout near the beach (Playa Espadilla Norte).
From there, you need to walk to the park entrance on a small road called “Beach Trail” to get to the park entrance (you can find “Beach Trail” on Google Maps.)
The path is right by the big parking lot across from the bus stop. You’ll walk on this dirt path to a small bridge over a little river with a large sign showing you where to go. It’s about a 5 minute walk from the roundabout to the entrance.
Are you coming from Jaco by bus? If so, take the bus from the Jaco bus station to Quepos, get off and switch buses to the one from Quepos to the national park. Read our guide to taking the bus from Jaco to Manuel Antonio.
Hours & Entrance Fee
Manuel Antonio National Park operation hours are Wednesday – Monday 7 AM – 4 PM, closed Tuesdays. The beaches close at 3 PM and everyone needs to be out of the park by 4 PM.
Around 3 PM, park rangers will close the beaches and start going around telling people they have 1 hour left. Everyone must start leaving by 330 PM.
The park is open on holidays like Christmas and New Years as long as they don’t fall on a Tuesday.
The Manuel Antonio National Park entrance fee is $16 USD + tax for adult foreigners, $5 USD + tax for kids 2-12 years old, free for kids under 2.
You cannot bring in alcohol, guns, cigarettes, drugs, drones or speakers.
Online Reservations (IMPORTANT)
You must purchase Manuel Antonio National Park tickets here. This is the only way to get park tickets, they do not sell them at the entrance. If you show up at the park without purchased tickets, they won’t let you in.
They currently are selling ~3000 park tickets a day so if you are visiting during Christmas and New Years time, January, February, March and April, please make sure you purchase park tickets well in advance as they WILL sell out if you wait until last minute!
The website has an option in English and they have a tutorial to show you how to purchase tickets.
Sometimes during very low tourism season months when the park hasn’t hit capacity, you may be able to purchase park tickets at the door. This is mostly during the month of October which is the lowest tourism season month as it is the rainiest month in Manuel Antonio.
National Park Tickets
Manuel Antonio National Park tickets are a one time entrance and cannot be used for multiple days. They don’t offer a package option to purchase one pass for several days, you will need to buy them every time you want to go to the park.
After you purchase your park tickets, they will email you the confirmation with a bar code. Keep this email as you need to show it to the park ranger to enter.
It is not necessary to print it, you can show it to them on your phone.
When you enter the park, you must have the barcode or the reservation number and your passport. You can bring your original passport or bring a photocopy or photo of the passport ID page.
Manuel Antonio National Park Parking – Important!
Unfortunately, Manuel Antonio National Park does not have its own official parking lot. However, there are parking lots just 150 meters from the national park entrance, created by locals who charge you to park in their property.
Although they are not official government manned parking lots, they are close to the national park and usually have one guy sitting there during the day until about 3 PM-4 PM. (Remember, the park closes by 4 PM and everyone must be out of the park by then).
There is one main parking lot we recommend for Manuel Antonio National Park. It is partially asphalted over, has signs and dedicated handicap spaces.
On Google Maps, it is called “Manuel Antonio National Park – Official Parking.” It will be on your right hand side of the road as you drive towards the parking lot and it has a big sign.
The parking guys will come out into the road and wave you to go inside. Once you turn in, they’ll tell you or point to you where to park. This parking lot costs ~4000 CRC for the day (around 7 AM to 4 PM).
They may offer you a guided tour but you do NOT have to say yes. You don’t have to book a tour with them in order to park there. Even if they’re pushy, just say no if you don’t want a guided tour. (If you are interested in a guide, read more as we talk about this in detail below).
Our tip: Do not leave any valuables in your car even though it’s a parking lot. If you have luggage, put it in the trunk or under your trunk cover. Don’t leave anything sitting out, visible in the car. Lock your doors and roll up your windows.
Note: There is a chance that they may charge a bit more during peak seasons like Christmas, New Years and Easter Week. Also, I recommend to pay in local currency, Costa Rican colones, not USD.
There is another parking lot across the street by Restaurante Buru Garden By The Park. This place has a small parking lot for clients of the restaurant. They told me that clients can park in their lot while having a meal at the restaurant and can leave their car there for free while they are in the national park. It is called Parking Chalo but is not that big and has only a few spots.
MUST READ IF YOU ARE DRIVING TO THE PARK!
When you are driving down to the national park, at the bottom of the last hill after you pass Hotel Verde Mar and Hotel Coco Beach, you will see guys waving at you from a parking lot to your right hand side on a curve and you will see a beach back there.
This is NOT near the national park!
You are still about half a mile away and these guys will offer you to park in their “national park” parking lot and try to offer their “guiding services.” Or tell you something like you can’t go in the national park unless you park there. Or you can’t go in the national park unless you hire them.
Do NOT park here!
These guys are not telling the truth and trying to rip off tourists. They even come into the middle of the road, physically touching your car and standing in front of you while you are driving, yelling at you to park in their lot. Ignore them, keep driving, do not park there if you are going to the national park.
4×4 necessary? Road Conditions?
The road to Manuel Antonio National Park is completely paved. A 4×4 or high car is not necessary, you can perfectly get there in a sedan.
Just be aware that the road is very narrow and curvy once you pass Quepos so drive slowly.
Facilities
The park offers locker rentals at the entrance. It costs $6 USD a day (7 AM to 4 PM).
There are bathrooms at the entrance of the national park and inside the the national park at 3 different points. You can find one facility with bathrooms, showers and changing rooms inside the national park.
Inside the park, there is a cafeteria selling coffee, bottled water, orange juice, kombucha, smoothies, pastries, salads, ice cream, pizza and sandwiches.
As for bringing food into the park – food is technically not allowed in the park.
Previously, visitors were able to bring food like chopped fruit and sandwiches in completely resealable bags (like Stasher) but this is completely up to the park rangers as they have signs that food is not allowed.
Please note that single use plastics are not allowed inside the national park.
Our tip: If you are very hungry after your park visit, there are supermarkets and restaurants right outside the park. There will be locals selling cold coconut water too. We recommend Restaurante El Chantel del Parque, which is on the left hand side outside the park behind the Gelateria (ice cream shop). They have very reasonable prices and good local food.
Guide or Self Guided?
You can visit Manuel Antonio National Park with a guide or without a guide. Whether you hire a guide is completely up to you and depends on the kind of experience you want at the park. Here are our thoughts.
Guide Vs Tour
You can hire just a naturalist guide or you can book a full tour. The difference is that with a tour, the company will provide round trip transportation, include the entrance tickets, and give you bottled water and fruit. They will take care of you from the minute they pick you up to the minute they drop you off.
Hiring a naturalist guide is just that – only a guide. You go to the park on your own by bus, walking or driving, hire a guide who will take you around the national park for 1-2 hours and then that’s it. You will need to pre-purchase your park ticket online.
When you should hire a guide
You really want to see wildlife and learn more about the flora and fauna. Your naturalist guide will be able to find animals that are hiding or camouflaged.
Additionally, many guides have telescopes so you can see the animals up close and get photos through the telescope. The guide will share with you interesting facts and information about the wildlife and Manuel Antonio. A lot of tourists want to see sloths so if if that’s you, then hire a guide.
I highly recommend guides for families with curious children and anyone who wants to see wildlife. Manuel Antonio National Park is one of the best places in Costa Rica to see sloths but you will have better chances to see one with a guide with trained eyes.
Read more about things to do in Manuel Antonio with kids if you’re visiting with the family.
When you should book a tour
You don’t want to worry about driving, parking or buying park tickets. The tour company will take care of it all for you. I highly recommend this option for young families, big groups or those with only 1 day at the park and want to make the most out of their time in Manuel Antonio.
We have done a Manuel Antonio National Park tour and had a great experience. Our guide was incredibly enthusiastic and engaging, making our walk with him highly enjoyable.
I learned a lot about the area I never knew even though we’d been to Manuel Antonio several times before. He also found a couple very fascinating birds of prey for us!
We offer a small discount for our readers for Manuel Antonio National Park guided tours. Click here to book the tour and get our discount!
Tours are usually 2 hours long for the guided walk and they give you the option of going back to your hotel or you can stay at the park to explore more of it on your own.
They’ll tell you where to grab a taxi or take the bus to get back to your hotel.
Who should go on their own and not hire a guide or book a tour
Anyone on a budget or just wants to enjoy the park at their own pace and doesn’t have their heart set on finding animals.
We have visited Manuel Antonio National Park 5 times on our own and had a great time each time. During our self guided visits, we saw monkeys and sloths on our own and went at our own pace which was really nice.
How to hire a guide
If you want a guide or tour, I recommend pre-booking with a tour company, especially during high season. This guarantees you will have an ICT (Costa Rican tourism board) certified guide and national park tickets.
We work with a tour operator in Manuel Antonio that offers tours, park tickets and a certified bilingual guide. Book your Manuel Antonio tour here with our discount!
If you buy tickets on your own, have your own transportation but want a guide, there are guides for hire at the national park entrance everywhere. Make sure to ask for their guide certification (should be a badge with ICT certification and an ID number).
As for how much they charge, they offered me and my 2 friends $20 USD per person for a 2 hour guided walk. This should be approximately the going rate, if they try to charge you something outrageous, walk away and find another guide.
This is just for guiding service, does not include park ticket or anything else.
Manuel Antonio National Park Trails
Here is an overview of the Manuel Antonio National Park trails. There are tons of maps and signs throughout the park. You won’t get lost!
Can you hike the whole park in one day? It is possible to hike all the trails in Manuel Antonio National Park in one day but you need to be in relatively decent shape and really like hiking. It isn’t an extraordinary difficult hike, but there is incline, decline and steps.
Additionally, it is very hot and humid in Manuel Antonio so you need to have plenty of water and be in proper shape to hike in high humidity and heat. It can take around 5 hours to hike the entire park.
Most people do not hike the entire park. Many tourists just walk the main trail to Playa Espadilla Sur or Playa Manuel Antonio or walk the trails on the other side of the park, to either Punta Catedral or to Sendero Mirador.
Sendero La Catarata (waterfall trail)
This short trail is just a couple hundred meters away from the entrance of the park and leads to a small waterfall.
The waterfall trail itself is 600 meters one way so 1.2 km (.7 miles) total there and back. It does have a bit of steps and incline.
This waterfall is not very big, it’s actually quite small so you won’t miss much if you don’t see it. We did see some animals on this trail like frogs, monkeys and sloths.
This trail is mostly concrete, crossing a bridge and some platforms and is very well maintained.
Main Trail
The main trail through the park that is unpaved is technically also the vehicle access but a lot of people walk on it. Most of the guided tour groups stay on this trail.
If you stay on the vehicle access (unpaved trail), you will come to the main fork of the national park where the cafeteria is.
Universal Trail (Sendero Perezoso)
Manuel Antonio National Park does have a universal access trail that runs parallel to that trail, called Sendero Perezoso Trail. It’s a very nice flat trail built on platforms with signage every 50 meters or so.
This one goes a bit deeper into the rainforest and also connects to a platform leading to Playa Espadilla Sur Beach, next to some mangroves.
I love this trail since it’s easy to walk and is more surrounded by forest. They’ve done a great job with this universal trail with excellent signage in Braille and benches.
Only a few parks in Costa Rica are handicap friendly (Cahuita and Carara) to this extent.
These signs also have super useful information about the surrounding flora and fauna so you can read more about what you’re walking through.
This trail connects to Playa Espadilla Sur, going through the mangroves which is incredibly nice.
Cafeteria
At the cafeteria, you can get something to eat or drink, rest or use the bathrooms. From there, if you go down to the right hand side with the cafeteria behind you, you will go to Playa Manuel Antonio and the Punta Catedral trail.
If you go left, you will head to Sendero Mirador and Sendero Puerto Escondido Trail.
Punta Catedral (1.4 km/.86 miles)
Punta Catedral used to be an island but over time, it united with the continental landmass by way of sediment and sand build up.
This strip connects Playa Manuel Antonio and Playa Espadilla Sur and you can walk the Sendero Punta Catedral all the way around for beautiful views.
You start at Playa Manuel Antonio and you can go either direction since it’s a loop. This hour long hike gives you views of different parts of the park and islands.
When you get to Playa Espadilla Sur, you can see Playa Espadilla Norte and all the hotels on the hill on the other side. You can also walk all the way to the other end of Playa Espadilla Sur (trail 2) which is a dead end.
It’s not a hard walk at all and the views are incredible. If there’s any trail you should go hiking at Manuel Antonio National Park, it’s this one.
Sendero Playa Manuel Antonio Trail and Sendero Espadilla Sur Trail
These two trails connect the main trail to the entrance via Playa Manuel Antonio beach. Most tour groups will do this loop as it connects back to the Sendero Perezoso Trail to the park entrance.
Playa Espadilla Sur is a gorgeous beach as well and I usually find it less crowded than Playa Manuel Antonio. There is also another bathroom station here.
This trail is short and flat, passing through mangroves when you start walking on the platform. There is also an observation tower that you can climb up for nice views.
Sendero Playa Gemelas
If you want to go to the Sendero Miradores Trail, we recommend to go first to Playa Gemelas, then Sendero Puerto Escondido Trail, Sendero Los Congos Trail and then Sendero Mirador Trail.
First, the Sendero Playa Gemelas Trail leads to Playa Gemelas beach and connects to the other trails on the western side of the national park. Playa Gemelas is on the other side of Playa Manuel Antonio and is a bit smaller.
If Playa Manuel Antonio gets too crowded, come to Gemelas. It’s still the same white sand, sparkling turquoise water beach but more cozy and intimate due to its smaller size.
If you walk all the way past the rocks, you get a a gorgeous views of the coast, the west side of Punta Catedral and a bit of Playa Manuel Antonio.
When I went to this beach, there were only two other couples there and it was really nice to sit on the rocks and enjoy the ocean views by myself for a bit.
Keep walking on this trail until you hit the mirador (view point) at the end to see Playa Puerto Escondido.
The beach is gorgeous, I could never get tired of the quintessential “tropical jungle meets ocean” views!
Keep your eyes out at the beach, you may even run into some reptile friends who are basking in the sun!
Sendero Congo
This is a short path that connects the Sendero Playa Gemelas to the Sendero Mirador. On your way back from the Gemelas trail, you can take this path instead of going all the way back to the start to get to the Mirador trail.
It’s named after the howler monkey. Here you can see lots of howlers and white face monkeys hanging out. So when you’re walking this trail, keep your eyes open for those little guys!
Sendero Mirador (1.3 km/.8 mile)
This path, Sendero Mirador leads to the view of Punta Serrucho. Punta Serrucho is a piece of land with a rigged coastline that guts out. It’s the result of many movements of the earth as it’s right on a tectonic fault. So now it looks like a saw, hence the name.
There’s a couple of viewpoints along the way where you can catch glimpses of bright blue water peeking through the trees.
This path has a lot of steps so take your time if you need to go slow. The viewpoints have benches to sit, have some water and take a breather.
Also read the information boards they have at every stop. You’ll find out exactly what you’re looking at, learn about the various flora and fauna that’s around and the primary/secondary rain forest.
Manuel Antonio National Park is popular for a reason: the lush jungle, abundant wildlife and exquisite beaches all rolled together in one big bundle bursting with nature.
What to Wear/Bring to Manuel Antonio National Park
- If you’re visiting in rainy season (May to December), have a waterproof backpack and a light rain jacket shell.
- As it’s tropical rainforest, it may still rain throughout December and it can rain hard.
- Find out what to pack for rainy season here.
- You can walk the short trails to the beach in flip flops but hiking sandals are the best if you want to hike the longer trails.
- What to bring and wear: No need for full on hiking gear. I always wear a hat, running shorts and a dry fit tank top.
- Make sure to use mosquito repellent and sunscreen.
- If you plan to go to the beach, bring a light microfiber beach towel and wear your swimsuit or bring it to change into.
- An insulated water bottle here is a MUST.
Don’t forget that we offer discounts for tours in Manuel Antonio, including guided walks of the national parks (click the link to get more information and request to book).
Read about other national parks below!
Rio Celeste (Tenorio Volcano National Park)
Rincon de la Vieja National Park
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- Click the link to get our detailed Costa Rica Packing List so you know what essential items to bring.
- Check our Costa Rica destinations map and Costa Rica restaurant map
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Kerri says
If I hadn’t read this blog post hours before we went to the park, we would have been mislead by the guys telling us where we “had” to park. I told my husband to roll up the windows and keep driving, even as they blew their whistles and knocked on the sides of the car. We parked in the “not official” official lot and hired a guide right there. One minute walk into the park. It was perfect. Thank you!
Tiffany says
I was at MA Park a week ago today (on 3/17/25) and can confirm that the parking mafioso was out in full force. The photos here were very helpful; it was an identical experience. We were in our rental and a car in front of us stopped; there were 3 of them in the roadway directing the car into their lot, just like in the pic. My husband honked and went around the car, and one of them pounded on the roof of our car but we proceeded with no problems. Just keep your windows rolled up and keep going. We parked in the not official “Official Parking” lot, paid $10 and were good to go. We were in the 8am slot and there was still plenty of parking.
The tour groups were nearly blocking the main access road but we meandered through them, got ahead and saw a coatis crossing. Took the Mirador trail and heard a howler monkey, saw lots of little crabs. Saw a bunch of white face capuchin monkeys on the last trail we did, Punta Catedral; they were adorable and hilarious. Swam at Playa Gemelas in the am and MA afternoon; Espadilla Sur was too rough later in the afternoon (3:00pm). Saw an agoutis and a SLOTH! 🙂 on the way out of the park w/the help of a kind guide.
We did not hire a guide; we explored the entire park on our own and spent the whole day there (8am-3:30pm). About 5 miles of hiking total. The trails are mostly paved, there are some steep stairs on the Mirador trail, plus a couple of wobbly loose ones. Ate lunch at the cafeteria; the food was subpar but edible. Refilled our water bottles at Playa MA.
Thank you for the guide, it was very helpful!
Sammi says
Hi Tiffany, thanks for your report back, it’s super interesting to read. We’re glad you had a great time at the park – sounds like you did and saw it all so that’s awesome 🙂
Nicole says
Hi there, do you know if the lockers are big enough for large backpacks? We are back packing through on our way from dominicalito to puntaneras and thought we would stop in the morning to see the park.
Thank you for your helpful guide!
Sammi says
I don’t think so. A normal size backpack yes. But not like a 65 L hiker backpack. I’m looking at the picture I have of the lockers and I’d say probably like a 40 l but not fully stuffed can fit, since you may need to smush it a bit.
Mariette says
Thank you for your helpful blog. We did a tour today November 6 and the tour guide said that the police have removed the mafiosi- unofficial Parking people. Closer to the park there are still people asking money to watch your car but not i intimidating
Dwight H. says
My wife and I were there August 2nd (FWIW – we’re a 60 yr old reasonably active couple). This blog was extremely helpful to us, as we knew to get tickets in advance, and how to avoid any scams, and park in the best place.
This place is AMAZING. We were there from 7:45 until 3:15. Did all the trails. It’s some of the wildest, and most beautiful places we’ve ever hiked, and it’s all on paved or planked trails. No mud, roots, rocks, etc. Just sand when you venture onto the beaches. It’s also very well marked with informative signing explainging your surroundings. The weather was (unusually?) great for this time of year. Mostly sunny, until it started to rain a little just as we were leaving. That was actually welcome, as we were sweat soaked at that point. Sensational scenery, lots of wild life, big enough for varied experiences, but small enough to complete in one day. We did not hire a guide, as we’d been in CR a week at that point, and had gotten pretty good at finding hidden wildlife. It worked out well as my wife spotted a large sloth before all the guides and other guests. Must have taken a dozen picture of the first iquana we saw up close. By the end we realized they’re nearly as common and unafraid as squirrels at home. Got the capuchin monkey experiece first hand. Only heard the howler monkeys though. They were making a racket as we were leaving. Doing all the trails requires a lot of climing. They’re mostly in the form of stairs, but there’s a lot of them. It’s possible to stick to some reasonably flat trails, but you’d miss out on a lot. I think I took 300 or more pictures that day. This place is THAT good.
Ann Schmidt says
Zipline – Tucanes Tours
After visiting Manuel Antonio National Park, we wanted to do something more adventurous. Thank you for the great recommendation to try Ziplining with Tucanes Tours. Our experience was very positive. The team is quite organized, fun and they are focused on safety.
At the end of several ziplines, we then had a very exciting Tarzan swing WOW!
The area for the tour is quite beautiful and lush.
Sammi says
Hi Ann, thanks for your feedback and glad you had fun! It’s a great ziplining tour.
Lisa Miller says
We just want to hang out on a sandy beach. Staying near Jaco but will drive down to Manuel Antonio. Do we need to still get tickets for the park to have access to the sandy beaches in that area. Are there places to swim and enjoy the sand inside the National park or am I not in the right place for that?
Thanks so much for any insight!
Sammi says
You can visit the Playa Espadilla beach outside the national park, that one is public and does not require a park ticket
Jas says
Those guys at the beach are ruthless, keep driving past them, don’t stop! Thanks my tan feet for warning us!
Christine Rubino says
Once you buy tickets can you switch the dates through the online reservation system?
Sammi says
I am not sure you will have to read their terms and conditions. As far as I have heard, I think if it’s like at least 15 days before your ticket date they may but you need to email and contact them asap
Eric says
Is it possible to hire a certified guide directly at the park entrance and we are planning to go at 7 am when the park open ? We do need to have a tour with transportation included
Thanks
Sammi says
Yes you can, you can buy your own park tickets and get to the park on your own, then there are tons of guides at the park entrance who will ask you if you want a guide.
Eric says
Ok thanks.. but do you know if the guide at the park entrance are certified guide? I have in some review comments that these guides may not be certified and then we should not hire them …so not sure how we can pick the right guide …
Sammi says
You need to ask them to show you their ICT badge and certification and ID number
Nathan Baker says
If I understand the official park website correctly, outside food is NOT allowed and they now sell food inside the park.
Erik says
Allow me to give back to this website which has given me so much. I just spent 6 hours at this national park. You can bring in NO food! All bags are checked at the entrance for food and they confiscate any they find no matter how it is stored. There IS a place to buy food. We had ham and cheese sandwiches and chicken as well. They also sell pizza, salads, coffee, soda, and fruit drinks. Hope this helps as I could find nothing definitive online before we went.
Sammi says
Thanks for the update, this soda seems to close and open randomly as last we checked in the last quarter it was closed. I do know that single use plastics aren’t allowed in the national park
Laura says
Hi! I hope you and your family are well. Thank you so much for all you do! I go to Costa Rica annually and your advice has provided me with new places see and things to do every year! Historically, I have booked the first tour in the morning for Manuel Antonio Park. I had always heard wildlife is most active in the early morning. I decided to try a new guide and he left a message that we should go on the 11:30 tour because there will not be as many people and the wildlife will be active. What is the best time to take the Manuel Antonio Park tour? Thank you!
Sammi says
We personally like morning since its not as hot but afternoon can work too. Just be aware the park closes around 3 PM (they start herding people out) so if you go in the morning you can spend all day and more time in the park.
Chris G. says
This site is truly amazing!! Thank you for all of the great detail. One thing I don’t think I fully understood was how AGGRESSIVE the parking “attendants” are when getting to Manuel Antonio. When you start to get close to the park there is a place to park. The girl stepped out into the road wearing a yellow vest and blew her whistle and put her hand up, as if she was a police officer. She was insane. We luckily had read the website and knew not to park here. Later in the week at the same place a guy stepped in the street and I waved him away. He moved aside and then hit our car with his whistle! So if you are traveling to Manuel Antonio be prepared to be harassed.
Sammi says
Yes unfortunately that is one of the annoying things about Manuel Antonio and that paking lot they try to get you to go to is still quite far from the entrance and they can get not so nice if you ignore them. I’m glad the blog was helpful for this.
George B. says
I agree with Chris. Thanks to your blog, I was prepared in advance for this aggressive behaviour when we visited in April 2023. What surprised me though was when the parking attendant stepped into the roadway to try to force me to stop my car. I was able to hide my look of concern behind my mirrored sunglasses, shook my head “no”, and waved him off. That moment still made my heart skip a beat though. I was not expecting a human to play chicken with a moving vehicle.
Sammi says
Hi George, unfortunately that is how pushy they are over in Manuel Antonio. We are actually here now and they do the exact same thing to us and every car, it also amazes us how they literally run into the middle of a busy road (and on a curve no less) to actually physically step in front of your car and knock on your window or door. It’s really unfortunate. If you’re going to the national park, definitely do not park there!
Anisha says
Hi! We are visiting CR for the first time next week. We’re visiting two spots- MA and La Fortuna. We’ll be driving from Manual Antonio to La Fortuna. We are thinking to leave the house around 9 am and stop somewhere for lunch and then head to our hotel in La Fortuna. Do you have any recommendations for affordable and easy restaurants on the way? Is 9 am a good time to head out? Your blog has been very helpful. Thanks for all the tips!
Sammi says
There are several roadside restaurants along the way, particularly as you go from San Ramon to La Fortuna
Shea says
Hi, we are in CR with 5 of us (2 adults, 3 teens) so we all fall under adult ticket prices. We are very interested in seeing animals so anticipate having a guide is the smartest way to go about things. We are planning for this Friday. But looking at the booking options online it is pretty pricy, 60$ per person with a guide, 80$ per person with a private guide, unless I’m reading this wrong. Would it be better to just book the park tickets and hope a guide is available?
Sammi says
You can do that, there are lots of guides at the entrance of the park offering their services, just make sure they are certified. The tours for the guided walk through the park normally include the park ticket, roundtrip transportation and refreshments so it’s more expensive but if you get just the guide, you need to arrive at the park on your own and purchase your own park tickets
Jurgen says
Hi, if I see it correctly, you always book the ticket for a fixed time slot to enter the park (e.g. 07:00 am – 07:40 am).
Do I have to show up at the entrance in this time slot or can I come later and still be admitted?
Thank you very much for your answer.
Sammi says
You need to show up at your entry time
kay says
I was looking to go to the park of Feb 9th which is the second wed of the month. It says the govenment allows locals in for free that day. Would you recommend going a different day or just going at 7am when the park opens?
Sammi says
I would recommend to go early regardless since February is a busy tourism month
Cristina Floarea says
Hi, how bad are the mosquitoes in January in this park? I plan on wearing mosquito repellent clothing and spray, but spray doesn’t help me much here in New York in the summer I still get bit a lot. Are there a lot of mosquitoes on the trails or the beaches?
Thank you.
Sammi says
Mosquitoes are present all year round in Costa Rica and are worse in tropical rainforest and coastal areas.
Mandy says
Hi Sammi, thanks so much for this helpful information. I’m going to the park on December 29th, do you know if it’s still possible to leave the park to have lunch then go back in with the same admission ticket?
If not, do you know where I can get a sandwich to bring into the park (a place that will seal the sandwich to meet the requirements of the park)?
I’m doing a guided tour in the morning, but also wanted to stay in the park after to walk around on my own. I read that the restaurant inside the park is expensive and not very hygienic so wanted to bring my own food instead.
Sammi says
Hi Mandy, technically you could leave the park and go back showing your ticket, however the park has a maximum capacity at a time and a maximum capacity for the day so once they hit that maximum capacity for the day, they don’t let anyone else in and if they’re at maximum capacity at the moment, you’ll have to wait in line to get in but if they hit maximum capacity while you’re in line, you won’t be able to go back in (and the park also closes at 3 PM, and by around 2 PM, the rangers start telling people they need to get ready to go).
As you’re visiting over the winter holidays, it’s incredibly busy at this park so I would recommend to bring something to eat instead to avoid the possibility that you won’t be able to go back in. You can bring a sandwich in like a tupperware or brown bag in your backpack, there is the small cafe/restaurant in the park but last time we went, they only had like snacks and ice cream, nothing that substantial.
Mike says
Your advice about the phony parking was very helpful ! ( our guide called them the mafia haha).
We parked in the lot on the right side right before the entrance as you suggested. There we met a very pleasant group who asked for 4000 C for parking. They offered a naturalist guide for 50$, but accepted 40$ plus 5000 C – all I had in my pockets. Our guide was excellent, spoke good English, and had a high quality scope.
We would have seen only a small fraction of the wildlife without a guide, so it was worth the money for us. Unless you have spent some time in this environment and know what to look for, the creatures here are difficult to find.
I think we would have gotten lost without Waze in the Quepos area.
Also we were 20 minutes late for our time slot, but this didn’t seem to be a problem.
This was in late August. After our tour we swam at playa Manuel Antonio until the rain started.
Thank you for the excellent website!
Sara Hirsch says
I have never been to Costa Rica and this is extremely information, thank you! My question is taking a bus from San Jose to Manuel Antonio do the buses have AC?
Sammi says
I believe the direct ones do but not 100% sure, usually the buses for long cross country routes do
Jim says
I am wondering if this is good place for someone who uses a walker. Can you recommend other places for hanicapped people. Thanks
Sammi says
Cahuita National Park also has a universal trail and so does Carara National Park. The one in Carara is actually super nice.
Aaron says
We were interested in just hiring a guide rather than booking a full tour. Do you know where we can hire a guide?
Sammi says
Hi Aaron, you can read in the section of this post about where to get a guide for the national park
Eillen Ford says
Planning a trip during this time of pandemic is challenging. However, your blog is very detail, and it really gives us the picture where to go and what to do. I appreciate it
Camille says
Planning a trip in April, I’ve read sooo many of your posts! Thank you. I tried to go online and buy tickets, but they only go through April 3. I think I read somewhere that they were switching over to Tuesday being the day the park is closed in April of 2021. Any idea if this is true and if they will allow to buy tickets at that point online?
Sammi says
Hi Camille! Yes they are switching the closed day to Tuesdays, their online system doesn’t always work 100% but keep checking until the date is closer, you should be able to buy tickets online
Kathleen says
The official website says no food allowed and that the cafe inside is not open. What do you recommend for a full day visit? Is leaving the park for lunch then returning an option? We begin a guided tour at 730 am.
Sammi says
From what they told us, you can bring food that is completely sealed but no bags of snacks like chips, candy, popcorn, granola bars, etc. (since monkeys know how to open those). We’ve done two tours in the park. One was half a day and they gave us snacks when we left. The second was a full day from San Jose and the guide gave us a bagged lunch with a sandwich, apple and banana which we were able to bring into the park.
You could also leave the park to get lunch but they limit the number of people that can be inside and tickets sold a day so if they hit the limit before you go back in, they won’t allow more people inside. There is a restaurant literally right outside the park entrance that you can go grab lunch quickly. Depending on when you visit, it may not be that busy if it’s a weekday not during the holidays.
Laura Ahrns says
Hi. We’ll be visiting Manuel Antonio in a few weeks. I just noticed that you can’t bring food into the park. My husband is Type 1 Diabetic so he MUST have sugar on him at all times, especially if we’ll be hiking, so I need some help. Can we bring fruit in? Or hard candy? Or juice? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Also, the rest of your site has been so useful – thank you!
Sammi says
If you put it in a paper bag, you can bring fruit (we brought a banana and apple in a paper bag or you can bring it in tupperware), there is also a small cafeteria with ice cream and snacks in the park. You can bring water, juice, soda, etc. but they don’t allow chips, cookies, crackers, etc.
Rachel says
Is it just for the next day you can buy tickets in advance? More specifically, we’ll be passing by on a Thursday afternoon – is it possible to stop in and get tickets for the next Tuesday?
Sammi says
I believe you can – not 100% positive but I think so though I’m not sure how many days in advance.
Karen` says
Spent a great day in Manuel Antonio on January 7. Used all of your information – it was great. We did a “test drive” to the park on Monday (when it’s closed) and bought our tickets that day (no line) – when we arrived on Tuesday, we parked, and went right in. You’re right, it costs more to park in January. I don’t remember exactly, but it was 5 or 6,000 colones. We went on our own and had no trouble finding the trails and enjoying the various beaches and sights.
You mentioned that the road to the park entrance is narrow – I think you could revise that to VERY narrow – I don’t know how those delivery trucks get up there!!!! They seem to be able to squeeze by with only and inch to spare!
Charis says
Hi guys – thanks so much for all the useful information! My husband and I are visiting Costa Rica next month for our honeymoon and your site has been so helpful with the planning.
I have just been reading your info about 2019 rule changes/advice for the park e.g. arriving at 6am to queue! Is this just the advice if you are entering the park unguided? If we’re booked on a guided tour with the park or another company, do we still have to purchase tickets and queue up or is there a different process for meeting the guide/entering?
Thanks,
Charis
Sammi says
Most guided tours if you prebook with a company will have entrance tickets included so you don’t need to purchase tickets beforehand but check with who you booked with to be 100% sure because if you’re hiring JUST the guide and you’re meeting him at the park entrance, then you will porbably need to get your own tickets but if you book a tour that is all inclusive with transportation, guide and national park tickets, they all you have to do is show up at your designated pick up time and location and they take care of the rest.
Vipa says
Thank you so much for this detailed guide! We found it super helpful, especially how to get into the park without getting scammed. So many tried for us to park on the beach access road before the Marlin restaurant or sell us their guide services. We had our 1.5 year old with us and we all loved Playa Manuel Antonio.
Sammi says
Hi Vipa, glad to hear it was helpful and that you guys had a great time! 🙂
CJ says
Hi there, any recommendations for tours coming from Jaco? We have a group of five and are looking for transportation and a guide. Thanks!
Sammi says
Hi! We just sent you an email. I just reread this comment and realized you were asking specifically about Manuel Antonio National Park but I included information about other activities too 🙂
Olivia Menning says
Hi!
My hubby and I will be staying in the area for about a week, do you know if week-long passes are available for us to purchase?
Thanks so much!
Sammi says
No unfortunately they only have day passes which you have to purchase each day. You can buy them beforehand though so when you go to the park, you can purchase tickets for that day and the next day.
Mike says
We are currently staying at Hotel Manuel Antonio and the weird thing is we can’t find where the actual entrance to the park is located. The map shows a park trail right next to the hotel but the road is a dead end.
Sammi says
You need to walk out of the roundabout and you’ll see a little path to the right crossing a small river to get to the park entrance. On google maps, it’s called “beach trail”
Tim says
Hi, thanks for all your great info! I’ve read so many of your posts as we prepare for our trip to Costa Rica. We plan on spending the first Sunday in February at Manuel Antonio. We won’t be able to make it to the park until about 11:0am or maybe even noon. I heard that there is a limit to people at the park and that it can fill up. Would our group of 5 people have issues with getting into the park as late as 12pm on a Sunday? Thanks
Sammi says
Hi Tim, they do only allow a certain number of people at a time and it usually gets pretty crowded by 10 AM or so, so if anything you’ll just have to wait until people leave and then you can go in. I have visited once in March and we didn’t get there until like 230 PM and we only had to wait like 5 minutes. Usually the traffic of people is pretty smooth as there are always people going in and out, I can’t guarantee you won’t have to wait at all but I don’t think it will be that long.
Michelle says
Hi again Sammi! We’re excited to be spending the second half of our trip to Costa Rica in Manuel Antonio. I was wondering if you recommend booking a guide in advance, and if so which company you mentioned for going with a guide on our own rather than with a large group?
I’m not sure if we’d want a guide with us the whole day, but I think having an expert along in the morning to point out animals and leaving us on our own to enjoy the beach in the afternoon would be ideal.
I’ve heard that monkeys will steal your backpack – if you leave it at the beach while swimming or even right off of you while hiking! Is this true? If so, what do you suggest for bringing a picnic, swim stuff, etc. I’d presume once we pay the entrance fee, we’ll likely want to spend the entire day in the park.
Sammi says
Hi Michelle, you can book a private tour with any of the guides at the park office (ICT certified) or you can talk to the companies like Iguana Tours or Jacamar to see how much a private guide is.
Monkeys don’t really steal your backpack but they’ll go through it to see if you have any food so you aren’t allowed to bring any food in the national park anymore due to people feeding the animals and monkeys stealing stuff. If you want to bring food, you can’t bring snacks like chips, cookies or anything like that but you can bring like sandwiches in well sealed containers. Never leave the food out, always zip up your backpack and wrap your food in a towel or something inside because they can smell it if it’s open.
Allison Sumner says
What a wealth of information!! But I do have a few questions and didn’t find the answer yet – How long is the walk from the Playa Manuel Antonio back to the parking? Is the beach there accessible if you don’t pay the entry fee? Is there a bathroom at the beach? We heard there might be a boat shuttle from the beach back to the parking area. Is that true?
Sammi says
It depends on where you parked because there are several places you can park outside the park. From Playa Manuel Antonio to the entrance of the national park is around I would say maybe a little less than kilometer, it’s not too far.
There are bathrooms on the way to Playa Manuel Antonio in the park and it also has showers. I’m pretty sure there isn’t a boat from the beach to parking lot…it’s not very far and since it’s in the national park boats aren’t allowed without permissions.
You can go to the beach outside the national park, Playa Espadilla Norte which is the public beach with no entrance fee. But if you want to go to the beaches inside the national park you have to pay the entrance fee to go in the park.
John says
Our suggestion would be not to go to Manuel Antonio. We’ve all seen the warnings about the unofficial guides by the entrance of the park. Well we got stopped in the street by a person in some sort of uniform standing next to a police officer. Asked if we were here for the park. He then said the parking for the park was right there. Then another person in uniform with an ID came to our car with a receipt book asking if we wanted a private or group guided tour. We thought we were at the entrance actually I think it was the public parking for the beach.
We got scammed. The “guide” just walked us up the access road and dumped us at the beach to find our way back.
It wasn’t until we had to walk back that we saw the ticket office and the official guides office right next door.
Aside from being taken by a thief is that you knew everyone local there knew what was going on. The signage was minimal so it was easy to be convinced we had arrived.
The advice I wish I had was don’t stop until you drive all the way to the top at the “last parking” sign. The road looks more like a driveway. It is next to the ticket office.
Sadly I will tell this story more than all the nice people we meet, but that’s how it goes.
Sammi says
Sorry to hear about your experience! Unfortunately Manuel Antonio NP does have a few locals trying to scam tourists and it can be difficult to know who is or isn’t legit so we always recommend booking through your hotel ore a reputable tour company beforehand if you want a guided tour or going to the official guides by the ticket office. It’s a very nice park though so I hope you got to enjoy it despite the bad experience. Most of the locals aren’t like that!
Wendy says
Thank you so much for your in depth post! We used this and decided to do more of the hiking paths because of it. The views from the less crowded paths were amazing and worth the steeper climbs!
Sammi says
Hi Wendy! I’m so glad the guide helped and you guys enjoyed a nice day hiking the park. I always recommend it because there are way less people and the views are soo nice! Definitely worth it.
Amy Sa says
What trails are best for seniors? We have 3 people in their 60s who will be traveling with us.
Sammi says
Hi Amy, I would do the waterfall trail (super short flat trail from the main trail) and the Punta Catedral. The up to Gemelas and Punta Serrucho has many steps.
Sammi says
Hi Kevin, at 330 PM they will start asking everybody to leave so you can’t stay at the park past 4 PM.
kevin b says
What a Great post with lots of
Helpful information! Regarding closing time- I see the park “closes” at 4pm, but can you stay later than that once you are in- or must everyone clear out at 4? We were hoping to do a short stop on our way by as part of a longer travel day- but probably won’t arrive in the area until close to 3pm… any thoughts?
Sammi says
There aren’t any steps from the main entrance to Playa Manuel Antonio, it just gets a tiny bit steep from the bathrooms but from the bathrooms to the beach is the paved sidewalk on the left hand side. You can see what the trail looks like in the video in this post. Most of the trail is like a hard dirt path with just some loose rocks so it’s definitely not loose gravel all the way or completely. And from the main path to the sloth entrance, it is not super long (maybe a few hundred meters) and then you can go onto the sloth trail which is a very nice flat wooden platform.
Kirstin Hill says
Hi Jepson and Sammi,
Wondering if you can provide some insight in to the accessibility for wheelchairs on any of the paths/trails and getting to the beaches?
Thank you. KIRSTIN
Sammi says
Hi Kirstin, at Manuel Antonio National Park there isn’t a universal trail unfortunately. Most of it in on a dirt/gravel path or going up and down steps, only the sloth trail is on a flat platform. Then going down to Playa Manuel Antonio, there is a sidewalk on the left hand side, it is a bit steep but there is a paved section. But from the beginning of the park to the sloth trail, it is all on a gravel path.
Kirstin Hill says
Thank you. (And sorry for the auto correct on Yeison)
Are there any steps to get from the main entrance to Playa Manuel Amtonio?
Is the path from the main gate a very loose gravel or more compact?
yeison says
Hello Char,
Thank you for reading our blog! You can’t do both activities in one day. The Nauyaca waterfalls will take you all day since it is about a 2 hour drive from Jaco and the hike is around 8 kilometers total. Manuel Antonio National Park is a full day activity as well and an hour drive from Jaco.
Regarding which one I recommend, it will depend on what you want to see. Nauyaca waterfalls is a hike through the rain forest to beautiful waterfalls and Manuel Antonio National Park is an easy hike with beautiful beaches and wildlife. If you want to experience more beach,go to the Manuel Antonio National Park (it’s close from Jaco) and spend the day hiking their trails and enjoying the beaches there. If you want to hike and visit a big waterfall, go to Nauyaca. The people who own Nauyaca waterfalls also offer a horseback riding tour to the waterfalls which is $75 per person and you should make reservations beforehand.
Char says
Hi Yeison and Samantha!
My boyfriend and I are staying in Jaco next week and have a free day to visit somewhere. We have rented an SUV but still debating on whether to drive down to Manuel Antonio NP or Nauyaca waterfalls. Do you think we can do both? If not, which would you recommed more?
Thanks in advance!
Sammi says
Hi Christine, I have written many posts that answer all your questions 🙂
Here are our favorite things to do in Arenal: Things to do in Arenal and La Fortuna (I included photos and videos of rafting and canyoning). Canyoning is rappelling down waterfalls, rafting is rafting on a river.
Things to do in Papagayo Gulf (Guanacaste):Things to do in Manuel Antonio
You won’t need a 4×4 but for your routes, the roads are in good condition for the routes getting to each of those destinations. You can read more renting a car in Costa Rica tips here: Costa Rica car rental tips
. We work with Adobe Rent a Car, a Costa Rican company to give our readers up to a 20% discount plus a ton of other benefits: 2 free extra drivers, free booster/baby seats, a free local cell phone and more. YOu can check it out and make a reservation here: Costa Rica car rental discount
The additional coverage is optional, and for your routes you won’t be going on very bumpy rough roads or off roading or anything so you may not necessarily need it. It is up to you though if you want that extra coverage (I always feel personally it’s a good idea when driving in a foreign country but everyone is different).
Christine says
Hi Sammi, we are going to CR in July for 10 days. I have a 12 yo and a 15 yo. Planning 3 bites in MA, 3 in Arenal & 4 in Papagayo. Could you suggest a list of best activities for each area. Like which area should I do zip line, water rafting, what is the difference between rafting and canyoning?. also we will be driving. Do we need a 4×4 or SUV also the mandatory insurance do we have to pay that? Should we buy additional coverage for damage? Any trustworthy rental company you could recommend? Thank you
Neal says
If we want to snorkel should we do it in the park or one of the beaches outside the park. Trying to figure out the best area. Thanks for the site!
Sammi says
Snorkeling in Manuel Antonio isn’t that good but you can try to snorkel at Playa Manuel Antonio if the tide isn’t high. I’ve seen people do it there before.
Sammi says
Hi Cora, if you get to the park say at 7 when it opens, you can hike the whole park in one day easily and you won’t be that rushed. If you get to the park later, I suggest doing the section that goes around the Playa Gemelas and Punto Serrucho and then you can relax at the main Espadilla beach, there are more views on that hike. You can definitely add a night guided tour like the one at Si Como NO (There are no night hikes at the national park), they usually start around 5 PM so I’d plan it so you have time to go back to your hotel, freshen up and change for the night tour. You can usually book the tours there but if you’re going in high season I’d book them beforehand as spots can fill up.
Cora says
Thank you!!! I’ll see if I can get my family to wake up early to hike all those trails you mentioned (we’re 2 hours away from MA so it might be hard to get them out at 5am! :)) After driving around Costa Rica for 2 days, I think we’ll definitely go with Waterfall Tour you took – otherwise we’ll probably waste time looking for these hidden waterfalls 🙂 BTW, love your website so full of great information. And I concur with everybody’s comments, what a lovely romantic turn of events for you, plus I admire your courage to follow your dreams!!
Sammi says
You’re welcome Cora, I hope you have a great time! Thanks for reading the blog
Cora Wong says
Hi Sammi, just found your blog and it’s amazing full of information that I wish I had before we arrived in Costa Rica yesterday . We would love to follow your hiking trip. Can you do it all in one day? If not, which trails would you recommend for one day? Do you think it would be too much to add the night guided tour? Can we book that tour the morning we get to MA or should we reserve it in advance? BTW do you have a list of waterfalls in Jaco that we might be able to explore on our own? Thanks! CW
Sammi says
You don’t necessarily have to spend 1-2 nights in MA, some people visit for a day to the national park. Southern humpback whales begin passing by Uvita around that time so there’s a good chance to see them (nothing is guaranteed with nature) but August is a good time. You can read more about whales here: Humpback whales Costa Rica
Jenny says
Hola,
My family and I will be visiting end of July beginning of August. We’ve been all over CR but not to MA. We plan going to MA from SJO then spending our time nite Dominical/Uvita area. Do u think we should spend 1 or 2 nights in MA? Also will we be able to see whales in Uvita the end of July beginning of August? I see conflicting answers online. Thanks in advance.
Cindy says
Hi guys- what is the deal with accessing the parking lot? Once you park your car and enter the park, can you go back to the car to get towels or supplies or do you need to carry everything in with you?
Sammi says
Hi Cindy, I’d bring everything with you, you can show them your ticket stub but you’ll have to walk alllll the way back so bring all your stuff with you, it’s just more convenient.
Eve says
Thank you for your wonderful collection of posts abut Manuel Antonio! We’d like to take a bus there from the Esterillos region, but are concerned about getting there too late, even with the first bus of the day, where we wouldn’t get to the park until probably around 9am (if there is no line up too, etc.). Do you have any suggestions for other options, like a private driver or taxi, and any ideas on how much that may cost? Thanks so much in advance.
Sammi says
Hi Even, honestly I am not sure how much it would cost to hire a private driver or taxi for the day. I’d assume it’s at least $100 since it’s about 55 kilometers and I know a private shuttle from San Jose to Jaco is $100 and that’s around 85 kilometers. Your hotel will probably be able to give you recommendations for a private driver. Another option is to rent a car which may be cheaper. You can get a small compact for about $40 a day and the road from Esterillos to Manuel Antonio is very straight forward, it’s just 55 kilometers on a well paved highway and you can leave as early as you want.
Eve says
Thank you for your quick reply Sammi!
Steffi & Melih says
Hi Sammi and Yeison,
We are from Germany and currently planning a roundtrip in beautiful Costa Rica and your blog is helping us out a lot! We are planing to stay a night at San Jose then couple days near Arenal, a week at Manuel Antonio and 4-5 nights at Puerto Viejo on the Carribean side, we’ll be travelling with a rental sedan (will be using the link here), you think this is a good plan and feasible? Have one more question, is there a weekly or fortnightly national park pass? or do we have to pay the single entrance fee for everyday we visit the park, especially at Manuel Antonio?
Thank you very much for everything you guys did for this lovely website!
Steffi & Melih
Sammi says
Hi guys! That trip is doable but you will be driving a lot – I do recommend staying a night in San Jose from Manuel Antonio to break up the drive because it’s pretty long. A sedan should be fine for those destinations, there aren’t too many places that absolutely require a 4×4. There aren’t any weekly or multiple day passes, you’ll have to buy them every time you enter the park. Manuel Antonio is a pretty small park though and you can easily hike and enjoy it in a day. Same with Arenal, the hiking trails aren’t too long and most people just spend a few hours at Arenal National Park.
phuong mai says
Hi Sammi
Does Manuel Antonio park close on Monday on year around or depend on the season?
yeison says
Hi, All year around they use that day to recover the trails
Sammi says
There are a ton of guides outside the park, you don’t need to hire one beforehand or anything. I suggest reading this post for more info: Manuel Antonio National Park
Thomas says
Any idea what would be the going rate for hiring a guide outside the park? This would be for the Easter week(I guess this might be peak season?)
Sammi says
Sorry I don’t know for the going rate during Semana Santa
Tracy says
Thanks for the guide to Manuel Antonio. We had read/heard that we should hire a guide for hiking in the park. What do you think?
Sammi says
If you really want to see wildlife, I’d hire one. Some people don’t care too much to see flora and fauna and don’t, so it’s up to you. One advantage of hiring a guide is that many of them carry telescopes and can take a picture of the animal for you on your cell phone through the telescope. If you are just there to hike and not interested in seeing wildlife (which you probably will anyways without a guide cause they’re everywhere!) you don’t need a guide to hike the park, it’s very simple and all the trails are laid out – impossible to get lost. But if you want to see wildlife, I definitely recommend it and they can tell you a lot of interesting facts about the park and nature 🙂
Tracy says
Thanks, this is helpful!
Sammi says
You’re welcome!
Lori says
Do they have paid guides in the park or do you recommend getting one outside the park? Typically how much are the guides?
Cindy says
Hi guys- how many days would you recommend we budget to see Manuel Antonio and do some hiking and snorkeling?
Thanks!
Cindy & Russ
Sammi says
Hi guys 🙂
You can hike the whole park in one day, so I’d say 2-3 days to enjoy the beaches and the area
Laura @Travelocafe says
Thanks for introducing Manuel Antonio National Park to us. It seems to be an amazing place.
Sammi says
You’re welcome. It is amazing indeed!
Sammi says
It’s dry season right now so you won’t need to bring a rain jacket (read more about the weather here: Costa Rica weather).
It is very hot and you won’t need long pants or long shirts at all. Shorts and tank top/tshirt are perfectly fine, even if you plan to hike the trails. When we hiked the trails, I wore running shorts and running tank top with my KEEN hiking sandals which are probably the best shoes for Costa Rica and they are perfect for this kind of national park since the trails are nicely paved with platforms. They’re way better than sneakers because they’re open so your feet can breathe and it has more protection than flip flops.
You won’t be going off trail and into the forest (it is prohibited to walk off trails), so you don’t need to worry about branches in your face or ants in your shoes. You can wear flip flops too, I wore them the first time we went but we only walked to Playa Manuel Antonio which is about a 10 minute walk from the entrance. If you are planning on doing the hikes, I suggest wearing shoes like the KEEN sandals because you can also easily take them off if you want to go swimming and don’t have to worry about wet socks or anything.
As for restaurants, Quepos is a pretty local town so there’s no fancy clubs or restaurants, casual clothing is perfectly fine.
Enjoy 🙂
Ken says
Thanks!
Ken D'Souza says
Hi! Thanks for the great information. We are planning a trip to Manuel Antonio in two weeks with another couple and their 2 year old son. The Park is already on our itinerary and we`re very much looking forward to it.
Just a quick question about how to dress in the Park. I understand that it is very humid and I`ve read mixed things about what to wear. Some say long pants, others say rain jackets. We were thinking just shorts and a tank top or t-shirt. Thoughts?
Also, we are renting a condo attached to a hotel. Most nights we will venture into town for dinner. Are the restaurants pretty casual or will be need to bring more dressy clothing?
Thanks for any feedback!
Ken
Katie says
Thanks for the guide, we are heading there this weekend and can’t wait!
Sammi says
You’re welcome! Have fun!
Tim & Anne says
We were there in 2008 with our son and all three of us thoroughly enjoyed the trails you mentioned. We were fortunate enough to see all three species of monkeys on the waterfall trail. Great birding along the way as well. Thanks for sharing. Tim & Anne
Sammi says
Hi guys, glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Neil says
Thanks for this guide, Yeison and Samantha. Love the details! We took a special trip to Manuel Antonio Park Feb 2015, but when we got there, it was closed for the day due to some bathroom problem? Anyway, that was what we were told. We did have a very nice day on the playa anyway and some excellent fish tacos across the road. After spending quite a bit of time on both coasts (Puerto Viejo, Ojochal, Zancudo), we’ve probably seen most of Costa Rica’s creatures. Your photos reawakened our interest though. Next time!
Sammi says
H Neil! That is really odd and unfortunate! At least you enjoyed the beach, hopefully next time you’ll get to go in the park!
Emma says
We just came back from a morning at the park and it was incredible – we saw all kinds of wildlife (without a guide) on the trail to the beach (one of our main reasons for going was to be able to swim in calmer waters – the beach was perfect!) Your tips and info about the park were very helpful, thank you!!!
We’ve been in CR two weeks and have two more to go – your site has been invaluable as we’ve made out way around this beautiful country. Thank you!
Sammi says
Hi Emma, we’re happy you had a great time at the park and saw lots of wildlife, it’s a beautiful national park. Enjoy the rest of your time in Costa Rica and thank you for reading!