Manuel Antonio National Park has quite a reputation. It’s the smallest national park in Costa Rica, consisting of 1,700 acres of land and over 130,000 acres of water. Don’t let the size fool you though, it has been rated as one of 12 most beautiful national parks by Forbes in 2011 and is one of the most visited parks in the country.
For anybody who is coming to visit Costa Rica and wants to see wildlife and beautiful beaches, Manuel Antonio has to be on their list of places to go. It’s also one of the best places in Costa Rica for first time visitors due to its easy accessibility, conveniences and because you can experience both jungle, beach and wildlife.
If you’re planning on visiting, here are our Manuel Antonio National Park travel tips so you can get the most out of this small national park.
What would you like to read about first? Click the section to skip to it.
- About the park
- Hours and fee
- National Park Map
- Location
- Beaches
- Wildlife
- The hiking trails
- Hotels
- Tips for visiting
- Best Time to Visit
- What to Wear
About Manuel Antonio National Park
This park was established back in 1972 when Costa Rica decided to preserve the immense natural beauty and biodiversity found within. There is such a vast variety of wildlife and nature present that it is considered one of the most biologically diverse spots in the world.
The park has many hiking trails, a waterfall and several white sand beaches all home to a plethora of animals. This area has so much wildlife, you don’t necessarily need to go in the national park to see sloths and monkeys.
See what the park looks like from the air!
The national park is very close to Quepos, the main town. To get from Quepos to the national park, you have to go through the Manuel Antonio hill where most of the hotels and restaurants are located.
Manuel Antonio entrance fee and operating hours
Manuel Antonio National Park operation hours are Tues-Sunday, 7AM – 4 PM. The national park entrance fee is $16 for foreigners. I suggest paying in cash since there is a fee for using credit card and they take dollars. The office is about 20 meters from the national park entrance, you’ll see a lot of people lining up there to buy tickets.
National Park Map
Here is a map of Manuel Antonio National Park. You can see the hiking trails, different beaches and viewpoints on it. They give you this map when you buy tickets so you’ll get a copy.
Location
Manuel Antonio National Park is on the Pacific coast, 120 miles from San Jose, an hour drive from Playa Jaco and just south of Quepos. It’s easy to get to by car since it’s just one road from San Jose through Route 27. Then you have to exit at Jaco and continue down south until you get to Quepos.
You can also take the bus to the national park fairly easily. Read our guide to taking the bus from Jaco to Manuel Antonio. There is also a bus from San Jose to Quepos every day at 6, 9, 12, 2:30, 6, 7:30 PM leaving from Calle 5, Av 18/20 from Terminal Transportes Tracopa.
You can also fly to Quepos, the town next to Manuel Antonio and then take a taxi or pick up your rental car at the airport. It’s about a 10 minute drive to the national park from the airport. Read our post about flying from San Jose to Quepos.
Manuel Antonio Beaches
The beaches in the area are Playa Manuel Antonio, Gemelas, Puerto Escondido and Espadilla Sur/Norte. The most visited beach is Playa Manuel Antonio in the national park, a short walk from the entrance along the sloth trail.
This is where most people spend their day, swimming in the waves, getting up close and personal with the white face monkeys and raccoons and relaxing on the white sand.
You can walk on the rocks at Playa Manuel Antonio and explore some of the tide pools. There are some fantastic coral reefs around the area and snorkeling is possible to do here but you need to bring your own equipment.
On the other side of Playa Manuel Antonio is Playa Espadilla Sur. From the most northern point of Playa Espadilla Sur inside the national park, you can see Espadilla Norte and all the hotels on the hill.
The other beaches, Gemelas and Puerto Escondido can by reached by the trails. Gemelas is a smaller beach that is also suitable for swimming. Less people go to this beach so if Playa Manuel Antonio is incredibly crowded, check this one out.
Playa Espadilla Norte is right outside the park entrance and many people like to surf, sail, parasail and boogie board at this beach. You can rent surf boards but it is kind of expensive at $20. Since this beach is outside the park entrance, there is no entrance fee.
You can also go parasailing here, jet skiing and swimming. Waves are great for short boards, not long boards since the break isn’t very long but waves are chubby for short boards.
Wildlife
Wildlife watching is one of the best at Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio. Over 100 species of mammals and 180 species of birds can be found in the park and it is common to see white face monkeys, the endangered squirrel monkey, iguanas and lizards and 2 and 3 toed sloths.
We saw several families of white face monkeys, a sloth, squirrel monkeys and lizards and iguanas. We were fortunate to see a white face monkey hunting, catching and eating a lizard! Awesome wildlife encounters like these are common in the park.
Be very careful with the white face monkeys and raccoons as they will try to steal your food and they have no fear of humans.
Other animals you can see are toucans, frogs, coatis, and out in the water it is possible to see dolphins and whales. No matter what day you go, you’ll be guaranteed to see some monkeys at the very least!
The Hiking Trails
There are several trails in the national park that you can spend a whole day exploring. They lead to beautiful viewpoints, beaches and a waterfall and since many people spend their time at the beach, you can have the trails all to yourself.
Though the beaches are really nice, I highly recommend hiking at least a couple of the trails. Venture into the hot and humid jungle and reward yourself with a refreshing dip in the bright blue waters.
Read our complete guide to hiking in Manuel Antonio.
Manuel Antonio Hotels
There are no shortages of hotels, resorts, and hostels in Manuel Antonio, you can find the most luxurious hotels in this area in fact. If you’re here for a romantic getaway or luxury vacation, you have many 5 star resorts to choose from. Likewise, it’s a great area for backpackers or those on a budget as there are plenty of hostels.
Here are our recommended hotels in Manuel Antonio National Park and around Manuel Antonio.
- Hotel La Mariposa, an upscale hotel with a great view of the national park.
- La Mansion Inn, a luxury boutique hotel also with an amazing view.
- El Faro Beach Hotel and Hotel San Bada for the closest location to the national park.
- Vista Serena, a hostel not too far from the national park with a great view.
- Selina Hostel, a new hostel chain in Costa Rica. Has its own yoga deck and restaurant. Great backpacker atmosphere.
If you want to splurge a little on your Costa Rica trip, we recommend doing it in Manuel Antonio since there are many high end hotels with incredible views of the national park.
Tips for Visiting Manuel Antonio National Park
- You can no longer bring food like chips or peanuts in to prevent feeding of wildlife. Park rangers will check your backpack at the entrance.
- There are bathrooms, showers and changing stations on the way to Playa Manuel Antonio.
- The national park can easily be enjoyed in one day. You can go as soon as the park opens if you want to hike all the trails or just spend a relaxing day hiking a little and relaxing at the beach.
- Do NOT feed the animals! It may seem hilarious that the monkey stole your sandwich but it’s harmful to them. Please zip close your backpacks, don’t leave food or even food inside bags out and do not feed the wildlife.
- Do not walk off the trails. The paths are there for a reason so please don’t wander off the path.
- If you drive, park at the lot by the roundabout. It’s free.
- If you decide to hire a guide, make sure he is certified by the ICT (Instituto Costarricense de Turismo). Some guides pretend to be certified and will try to charge you a ton of money. Or book one through a tour company or you hotel, they work with certified guides. For guides outside the entrance, always bargain. They offered me $40 for a guide for 3 hours, 1 person. One good thing about hiring a guide is that they will have a telescope which you can use to take pictures through your phone.
- There is a lot of other things to do in Manuel Antonio besides the national park so don’t worry about being bored!
Best Time to Visit Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio
You will be able to see wildlife and hike the trails any time of the year. However, there are a few things to keep in mind about visiting this national park.
It is very crowded end of December – end of April. This is high season and this park, being one of the most popular in Costa Rica, gets very crowded. It gets especially crowded on weekends and Costa Rican holidays as locals visit as well (mid July, Easter week and New Years).
September – November are best times for less people. I visited once mid November and there weren’t very many people on the beach compared to February when it was packed. However, these are the peak rainy months so you will need to keep that in mind.
What to Wear/Bring
- Bring your swimsuit (there are changing stations) if you don’t want to wear it in, towels, water, sunscreen and mosquito repellent.
- If you’re visiting in rainy season, make sure you have a waterproof backpack or backpack cover.
- You can walk the trails with flip flops but hiking sandals are the best especially if you want to hike and go in the water.
- You don’t need to wear long hiking pants or shirts, the trails are nicely made with platforms and you won’t be going in the forest. I always wear shorts and a tank top because it’s so hot there. Just make sure to use mosquito repellent.
- For photographers or wildlife lovers, bring binoculars or a camera with good zoom lens (at least 250 mm) for photographing wildlife.
Manuel Antonio National Park hours are Tues – Sunday from 7 AM to 4 PM.
Read about other national parks in Costa Rica!
Rincon de la Vieja National Park
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Hi Sammi!
My husband and I are going to Costa Rica the first part of July, and we’re hoping to visit Manuel Antonio National Park, but we have a question about food. You mentioned that things like sandwiches and fruit are okay, but foods like peanuts and chips are not allowed into the park. Does that include all nuts? Can we bring trail mix? What about beef jerky or power bars, or other bite-sized foods? Are there any places near the park to buy appropriate, but packable lunch food?
Thank you!
Hi Johanna, any kind of snack food like chips aren’t allowed, I brought in granola bars before and they said they were fine but I don’t recommend bringing trail mix since that has nuts and raisins and bite size things too. There are a lot of restaurants around the national park entrance and lots of convenience stores/snack stands to buy food.
We just visited today, and your guide was so helpful! We were especially glad to know about the scam parking guys. They were actually out in the road, stopping traffic and waving us into their lot. I would have been so angry to realize that they are nowhere near the park entrance. The real parking near the entrance wasn’t free, though. It was 3000 colones.
It’s rainy season, so it was hard to see any wildlife and we got drenched. I was glad you had recommended the guide, because we would have seen absolutely nothing without him.
Hi Millie! Glad the guide was useful! Yeah this year’s rainy season has been very strong so far so good idea to get a guide to see wildlife! If you guys park by the roundabout by Playa Espadill Norte, that parking is actually free. I learned that the hard way too since I parked by the entrance by the park entrance which was 3,000 and then found out the roundabout parking was free.
Great review guys! Those monkeys ARE feisty LOL although they did not mess with me too much. I did see them pester other tourists. This is one of my favorite spots in Costa Rica because it is small and easy to cover yet wildlife is everywhere. We even saw a caiman which was super sneakily hiding just below the surface. Thanks for sharing!
Ryan
Such useful info! I’m here in Manuel Antonio NOW, at San Bada and love this property! The rooftop bar has excellent views of the beach and the howler monkeys treated us with a visit during lunch test and woke up to one on our balcony this morning! Thanks again for such a great blog!
It’ll still be very hot and probably pretty humid since the rains have started but you can still wear shorts and hiking sandals 🙂 The trails won’t be muddy since they are well laid out and aren’t on dirt, they have platforms. You can see what the hiking trails are like in this post: Hiking Manuel Antonio National Park
Thank you for all the great info. We’re arriving next week, and the forecast calls for rain. Will the trails be muddy? Are shorts and hiking sandals still recommended during the rainy season?
Hello, since the park closes at 4pm do they kick you out or can you get stuck there? Or do they just stop letting people in at 4pm?
They won’t let people in past 4 and will start ushering people out. You won’t get stuck there – they’ll make sure everyone is out.
Thanks for the awesome site. We will be visiting Manuel Antonio in April. Are there any lockers available at the park? I would like to bring our nice DSLR to photograph wildlife but I’m hesitant to just leave it in a bag on the beach when we go swimming. Also, if you go in and walk around for a while and decide to hire a guide later can you do that without leaving the park or do you only find guides outside the park entrance? Thanks!
Hi Ben, there aren’t any lockers in the park. Whenever we go, we always have one person watching our things, it’s annoying but it’s better that way to prevent any theft since there isn’t anywhere secure to put your belongings. You can hire a guide later, and there are always groups walking around so you may be able to join in on one at the entrance or ask the rangers at the entrance office if there are any guides for around.
Thank you for a great post. One question, you state that your not allowed to bring in items like chips or peanuts. I take it this is because they dont want you feeding the animals.
But then you say in your tips to bring water and snacks. Can you give us a list of what is and isn’t allowed in? We are visiting with a 6 year old so we need to ensure she has snacks she’ll eat.
Hi Jes, yes they don’t allow snacks like peanuts and chips because they don’t want visitors to feed the animals which is what most people give them. You can bring food like sandwiches and fruit. Just make sure to zip them up in a bag and always close your backpack because those monkeys are smart and know where the food is!
Very expensive if you will visit from other Latin American countries… 🙁 16 usd is a lot of Mexican pesos.
And how much is bus fare from San José? Which bus and parada?
Yes I totally agree, the entrance fee for foreigners to national parks in CR is very expensive :/
I don’t know how much the bus far is from San Jose, but here is the bus info:
San José, calle 5, Av. 18/20 Terminal Transportes Tracopa: Todos los días, directo, 6:00, 9:00 (L-S), 12:00, 14:30 (L-S), 18:00, 19:30.
4:00 (L-S), 6:00, 9:30, 12:00, 14:30, 17:00, D 6:00, 9:30, 12:00, 15:00, 17:00
3:45 hrs. 200 km.
San José, calle 5, Av. 18/20 Terminal Transportes Tracopa: Todos los días, Colectivo, 7:00, 10:00, 14:00, 15:00, 16:00, 17:00 (L-V)
5:00, 10:00, 14:00, 16:45 4:30 hrs, 200km
We just arrived in Manuel Antonio. Excited to explore.
Have a great time!!
How much is the entrance fee?
$16 for foreigners. Cash only, they do take dollars
Great post! Thank you!
Do you happen to know about night life in Manuel Antonio? Like nice bars and restaurants to go to?
Hi Cata! It’s not a huge party town but when you drive through Quepos and Manuel Antonio you’ll see restaurants and bars all around.
Oh how I’d LOVE to go to Costa RIca and your photos have only made the longing stronger! Thanks for sharing this experience.
Thanks Phoebe! Hope you make it here one day 🙂
Ow boy, we so need to go to Costa Rica! I’m reading this while haven a luch break at work and I know this park will be on top of my mind all afternoon.Love the little monkey’s! 🙂
hehe you guys should!!
Your first photo says it all for me. I could happily use that photo to gaze at all day and dream.
Me too, that view was simply stunning!
Yes tourism raises it’s ugly head when businesses start popping up and it ends up becoming a big tourist zone just outside some park or attraction, but the economy depends on it so hopefully it’s done in a sustainable fashion.
Costa Rica has many laws regarding environmental protection and conservation. There’s always more that could be done but as far as it’s come, they’ve done a good job it seems
Your posts are really, really tempting me to visit Costa Rica soon… Since my husband and I hardly speak a word of Spanish, how easy would it be for us to get around CR?
In the tourist areas, most of the locals speak some degree of English so you will be able to find someone who speaks English by asking around. It does help to know a few basic phrases though just in case!
We’ve heard many good things about Manuel Antonio National Park – and that it’s a true highlight of a visit to Costa Rica. We so want to visit one day…
It’s touristy but gorgeous and definitely worth a visit. One of the gems of Costa Rica!
I was there last July, a return visit after 15 years. The change in the immediate area was quite dramatic but certainly expected. The beach was still very nice. 🙂
I would have loved to see what it was like 15 years ago. I’m sure it was every bit as beautiful as it is today. The beaches are amazing!
Such a good post…amazing photos and practical info. I still have to get to Costa Rica…and tussle with those pesky monkeys!!!
Thanks Corinne! haha careful, those monkeys are quite feisty!