Manuel Antonio National Park is the smallest national park in Costa Rica but don’t let the size fool you. 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.
Additionally, it is one of the best places in Costa Rica for first time visitors and families due to its easy accessibility and facilities. If you’re planning on visiting, read our guide to help plan your trip.
This post was updated March 2018.
Click the section to skip to it.
- Location and Directions
- Hours and fee
- National Park Map
- Beaches
- Wildlife
- Guided vs self guided tour
- Hotels
- Tips for visiting
- Best Time to Visit/Weather
- What to Wear
Location
Manuel Antonio National Park Costa Rica Map.
How to get to Manuel Antonio National Park
Driving
Manuel Antonio is about a 2.5 hour drive from San Jose. You’ll first get on the Route 27 West and exit at the Jaco exit to get on the Costanera Sur. From there, you’ll drive straight south for about 1.5 hours. This is all on a well paved highway and a high car is not necessary.
Once you get to Quepos, drive through town to go up the Manuel Antonio hill. Continue down the hill and the official national park parking lot is at the end of the roundabout. This road gets very crowded so be careful since a lot of people park their cars on both sides of the road.
There are unofficial parking lots if you turn left at the first entrance once you are down the hill and by the beach but we recommend going to the one by the roundabout.
Bus
There is a direct bus from san Jose to Manuel Antonio. There is a daily direct bus from Calle 5, Ave 18/20 with Terminal Transportes Tracopa at 6, 9 (Mon-Sat), 12 PM, 2:30 PM (Mon-Sat), 6 PM and 7:30 PM. This takes about 4 hours and costs around 4500 colones (~$8).There is also a colectivo bus (makes a lot of stops) from San Jose (same terminal) at 7, 10, 2 PM, 4 PM and 5 PM (Mon-Fri)
From the Quepos bus station, there are buses go the national park entrance every half an hour or so.
From Jaco, take the bus to Quepos and then the national park. You can find more information on bus schedules in this guide to taking the bus from Jaco to Manuel Antonio.
From Tamarindo/Coco, you must first take the bus to Liberia, then Puntarenas and then Manuel Antonio. There is a bus from Liberia to Puntarenas at 5, 745, 830, 930, 1030, 1230, 2:40 PM and 3:30 PM every day. Then Puntarenas to Manuel Antonio is at 5, 7, 9, 11, 1:30 PM, 2:30 PM, 4:30 PM and 5:30 PM every day.
Shuttle
You can take private or shared shuttles to Manuel Antonio. A private shuttle from San Jose is around $200 and from Guanacaste, around $250-300.
A shared shuttle from San Jose and Liberia to Manuel Antonio is $54 and we have a 10% discount with Interbus, a shared shuttle company. Get the Interbus, Costa Rica shuttle discount here.
Flying
Quepos has its own local airport which both Nature Air and Sansa flies into. It’s about a 10 minute flight from San Jose and costs around $75 one way. The local airport is 5 minutes outside of Quepos. Read our post about flying from San Jose to Quepos.
Manuel Antonio Entrance Fee and Operating Hours
Manuel Antonio National Park operation hours are Tuesday – Sunday, 7AM – 4 PM. They let it only a certain number of people a day so if you leave the park, you will have to wait in line again. You can only go back in if when people leave.
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.
National Park Map
Here is a map of the park so you can see the hiking trails, different beaches and viewpoints on it.
They normally give you the Manuel Antonio National Park map when you buy tickets but don’t worry if you don’t get one. There are a lot of billboards and signs in the national park with this exact map.
Safety tip: If someone tries to charge you for it, don’t buy it! The maps are free from the ticket office. If you don’t get one, just take a photo of the board in the park or save our photo.
The Main Beaches in Manuel Antonio
The main beaches in Manuel Antonio are Manuel Antonio, Gemelas, Puerto Escondido, Espadilla Sur and Espadilla Norte. The most visited beaches are Espadilla Norte and Playa Manuel Antonio in the national park.
Manuel Antonio beach is a short walk from the entrance of the park. It has a lot of trees for shade, fairly calm waters and beautiful views.
In my experience, it’s generally the most crowded beach in the national park. A lot of white face monkeys and raccoons pass through here so people love seeing them jump and play around on the beach. No wonder people stay at this beach the longest!
On the other side of Manuel Antonio beach is Playa Espadilla Sur. I personally love this beach more because there isn’t as many people and you get a wonderful view of Manuel Antonio hill and Espadilla norte.
The other beaches, Gemelas and Puerto Escondido can by reached by the trails. Gemelas is a smaller beach that is also suitable for swimming.
When I stopped by Gemelas beach, there were only 6 people and tons of iguanas. Nice place to get away from the crowds!
And lastly, there is Playa Espadilla Norte which is right outside the park entrance. Since it is not in the park, it’s free.
You can go parasailing, jet skiing, surfing and swimming at this beach.
Aerial Video
See what Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica, the national park and beaches look like in our aerial video.
Animals in Manuel Antonio
If you want to get up close with wildlife in Costa Rica, Manuel Antonio National Park is the best one to go to for that experience. Since the small national park is home to over 100 species of mammals and 180 species of birds, you can see a lot of wildlife.
Some of the most common animals in Manuel Antonio are 2 and 3 fingered sloths, white face, howler and squirrel monkeys, raccoons, agoutis and frogs.
As if it’s not enough to just see the animals, you can see some pretty wild things. Our first time at the park, we saw a white face monkey hunt down and eat a huge iguana right in front of us!
You can watch in the video below our experience at Manuel Antonio.
Guided vs Self Guided Tours
We recommend taking a guided tours in Manuel Antonio National Park park if you want to see wildlife. The guides have binoculars or telescopes so they can find animals for you. You can also use their telescopes to take pictures of the animals up close.
However, if you’re not that dead set on seeing wildlife, you can perfectly do a self guided hike at Manuel Antonio National Park. Signage is excellent, trails are well maintained and not too difficult so a self guided hike is definitely doable.
Hiking in the Park
Although most people like to stay at Playa Manuel Antonio, we highly recommend hiking a few of the trails in the park. Here’s why – Not as many people go to Punta Serrucho, Punta Catedral or Congo trails.
If you feel like the park is crowded, you won’t if you venture away from the beach area. When I hiked up to Punta Serrucho, I was the only one for a good amount of time even though there was a huge line. I even saw monkeys and sloths all by myself!
If you want to hike the park, read our complete guide to hiking Manuel Antonio Park.
***As of February 2018, the park has opened a brand new universal trail! It goes for about 1 kilometer from the park entrance down to Playa Manuel Antonio so that people with disabilities or wheelchair can go on it.***
Manuel Antonio Hotel Recommendations
There are no shortages of hostels, resorts, apartments and hotels in Manuel Antonio. If you’re here for a romantic getaway or luxury vacation, you have many 5 star resorts to choose from. Likewise, there are plenty of budget, mid range and hostels.
Here are our recommendations for hotels in 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.
- Jungle Beach Hotel, a comfortable “rustic” hotel right by the beach.
- Tres Banderas, a newly refurbished hotel with a restaurant and bar.
- Selina Hostel, a new hostel chain in Costa Rica. Has its own yoga deck and restaurant. Great backpacker atmosphere.
- Tulemar, a luxury vacation rental that has its own beach and offers an exclusive sloth walk to guests.
Things You Need to Know About Visiting
- You can’t bring food like chips or peanuts in. Park rangers will check your backpack at the entrance and take them.
- There are bathrooms, showers and changing stations.
- They only let in a certain amount of people a day so if you leave the park and want to go back in later, you can enter again if there are enough space.
- Do NOT feed the animals!
- Do not walk off the trails.
- If you drive, park at the lot by the roundabout, it’s free. The parking lot by the entrance charges 3,000 colones.
- If you hire a guide, make sure he is certified by the ICT (Instituto Costarricense de Turismo). Some guides pretend to be certified and try to charge you a ton of money. Or book one through a tour company as they have certified guides.
- For guides outside the entrance, always bargain. They offered me $40 for a guide for 3 hours, 1 person.
- There is a lot of other things to do in Manuel Antonio besides the national park.
Best Time to Visit Manuel Antonio Costa Rica
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.
Weather
The weather at Manuel Antonio is hot and humid with temperatures in the 90’s and high humidity. This area experiences typical tropical weather so you have the normal dry season from roughly beginning of December – end of April and rainy season from beginning of May to end of November.
Number of People
It is very crowded end of December – end of April. This is high season and this park gets very crowded Weekends and holidays (New Years, Christmas and Holy Week) are very busy. July is also a busy month.
September – November are best times for less people: I visited once mid November and there weren’t very many people. However, these are the peak rainy months. Make sure to go as early as possible in the morning for less people and more wildlife.
What to Wear and 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 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. 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.
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Read about other national parks in Costa Rica!
Rincon de la Vieja National Park
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Cynthia says
What are the options and prices from Jaco in November to Manuel Antonio?
Sammi says
You can take the bus, drive or a shuttle/tour. Here is our post on taking the bus: Jaco to Manuel Antonio bus
Dane Moore says
Do you know if one member of a party can show up early to buy tickets for everyone and then come back with them a little bit later and go directly in? Or does everyone have to be present at the time of purchase for immediate entry? Thank you!
Sammi says
Hi Dane, I’m pretty sure you don’t all need to be there, only if there is a Costa Rican citizen because then they will need to show their ID.
Christine says
Hi. First of: love your blog!!! We want to come to CR march 2019 for two Weeks my haubans,me and my two kids. I want to do Cahuita, Monteverde and after that is it better to go to Manuel Antonio or in Guanacaste ??
Thanks!!!
Sammi says
Hi Christine, if you’re flying out of San Jose Airport, I would recommend Manuel Antonio as it’s closer.
Christine says
Thanks guys!!!!
Wayne says
I have enjoyed your blog and it’s really getting us excited for our upcoming trip! We are taking our 9 and 10 years old to M.A. Great info and I’m looking forward to seeing more of your adventures.
@sd_wayne
Steven Delforce says
Hello,
First and foremost, you guys have a great blog and instagram page with loads of informations and recommendations :-).
In February we are coming to Costa Rica for 3 weeks. We will be driving a 4X4 car with rooftop tent from Nomad America. Do you know a good campground or camping near Manuel Antonio National Park?
Kind regards from Belgium
Steven
Sammi says
Hi guys, thanks for the nice words! Regarding campsites, I recommend downloading the iOverlander app and I see on there that you can camp at Beach Packers, Kacha Hostel and you can also check out the day time parking lots.
Randy says
Hi Sammi,
My kids (ages 7 and 9) and I are going the area in early May. Is it possible to get a private tour of the park? Thirty people in a group sounds like a lot for them (and my weak ears). Thanks! Randy
Sammi says
Hi Randy! Yes you can definitely get a private tour. I recommend booking one beforehand and you can book one through tour companies like Jacamar. You can also wait until you get to the park and hire a guide, but just make sure they are ICT certified naturalist guides (there are some people who try to pass off as guides and charge a ton of money).
Jackie says
The guides that are onsite are awesome! They each will carry a telescope and can look up into the trees to show you up-close the animals they see. Our guide was super helpful in taking pictures thru his lens from your phone camera so you can actually look back and see what you spotted high in the trees! Well worth the few $ to get a guide! This is a MUST if you’re heading to Costa Rica…Manuel Antonia is such a beautiful park, but the ‘end’ of the tour is breathtaking!!
Jen Hollandsworth says
I will be arriving from La Fortuna by bus at 115pm. I will need to check in to room first and would like to head over immediately to see the guided tour of the National Park. Will we be able to get a guided tour around that time? Or will it be too late? Only have one other day and want to do the beach. Thanks!
Sammi says
Hi Jen, the park closes at 4 PM so you won’t have a lot of time in the park. You can probably still get a guided tour but it won’t be very long. There are beaches inside the national park so you can do a beach/hike day at the park because a couple hours at the park won’t really be enough.
Amy says
Hello! We will be visiting Manuel Antonio NP early May this year. I was wondering if you can get in and out the park with your ticket the same day? Let’s say we want to go at 7am to watch the wildlife, then go out for lunch and come back to enjoy the beach the rest of the afternoon.. is this possible? I read somewhere that you can if you leave through the main entrance/exit and the rangers sees your ID. Not sure how reliable this information is though…
Do you know?
Thank you for your help!
Amy
Sammi says
Hi Amy! I believe you can, I would let the ranger know when you enter the park (the one who checks your bags) and keep your ticket. I am not positive in May though since during high season, they will only let people go in as they go out and there’s always a long line during the busy months. May is still busy but not quite as crazy as February – April but I would let the ranger know, and ask the person who you buy the ticket from if they have a stamp or can initial and date your ticket to show when you go back in.
Johanna says
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!
Sammi says
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.
Shelley Williams says
I have a question and can’t seem to find where I can type my own question. Sorry I have invaded your post!
Are the trails accessible for someone using a walker? We are wanting to travel with my mother in law who needs a walker some. How accessible is the park?
Sammi says
Hi Shelley! I have a post about the trails in this national park here: Hiking Manuel Antonio National Park with pictures. Most of the trails are gravel/dirt, there is only the sloth trail that is on platforms and the small section down to Playa Manuel Antonio from the bathrooms has a concrete sidewalk. Unfortunately most of the national parks in Costa Rica are not very handicap friendly but if she can walk on her own to the platform sloth trail, she can use the walker there and then on the concrete sidewalk down to the beach. It is maybe like… a quarter of a mile from the park entrance to the sloth trail platform.
Millie says
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.
Sammi says
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.
Ryan Biddulph says
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
Samta Varia says
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!
Sammi says
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
Kathy says
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?
Kim says
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?
Sammi says
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.
Ben says
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!
Sammi says
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.
Jes says
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.
Sammi says
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!
Fer says
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?
Sammi says
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
Leigh Anne says
We just arrived in Manuel Antonio. Excited to explore.
Sammi says
Have a great time!!
Evelymn says
How much is the entrance fee?
Sammi says
$16 for foreigners. Cash only, they do take dollars
Cata says
Great post! Thank you!
Do you happen to know about night life in Manuel Antonio? Like nice bars and restaurants to go to?
Sammi says
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.
Phoebe @ Lou Messugo says
Oh how I’d LOVE to go to Costa RIca and your photos have only made the longing stronger! Thanks for sharing this experience.
Sammi says
Thanks Phoebe! Hope you make it here one day 🙂
Nina says
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! 🙂
Sammi says
hehe you guys should!!
budget jan says
Your first photo says it all for me. I could happily use that photo to gaze at all day and dream.
Sammi says
Me too, that view was simply stunning!
noel says
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.
Sammi says
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
The Dessert Engineer says
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?
Sammi says
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!
Sand In My Suitcase says
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…
Sammi says
It’s touristy but gorgeous and definitely worth a visit. One of the gems of Costa Rica!
Bob R says
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. 🙂
Sammi says
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!
Corinne says
Such a good post…amazing photos and practical info. I still have to get to Costa Rica…and tussle with those pesky monkeys!!!
Sammi says
Thanks Corinne! haha careful, those monkeys are quite feisty!