A guide to Manuel Antonio! Manuel Antonio was one of our favorite stops in Costa Rica. Filled with lush jungle and right on the beach, it was a hotspot for wildlife. Looking to see an abundance of monkeys and sloths? This is the place to go! This is by far the most wildlife-dense area we visited while in Costa Rica and we loved it. Read on for info on:
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Manuel Antonio National Park
If you are headed to Manuel Antonio, there is probably a 90% chance you are planning to go to Manuel Antonio National Park; it is the main attraction. It is a small park compared to most national parks and is navigable by foot only. Manuel Antonio National Park consists of a coastal rainforest with nice beaches and forest trails. However, it is known mostly for its abundant wildlife. Our opinion was that the entry fee was worth seeing all the monkeys, sloths and beaches!
A few things to know before going to the Manuel Antonio National Park:
- Cost: $18 per person
- Open 7am-4pm and CLOSED on Tuesdays
- Time: at least 3 hours
- The park was easy to navigate and the monkeys hang out in the open along the beach trails
- Sloths are extremely hard to see on your own. However, there were a lot of people in Manuel Antonio and each time there was a sloth, someone had already spotted it for us and showed us where it was
Parking
- As you drive toward the park, several men will try to stop you to park about 2 km away from the entrance. They are very convincing (badges that looked as if they worked for the park) and make it look like you HAVE to park with them. FALSE. Keep driving until you can’t drive anymore.
- If parking gets full toward the entrance during busy season, you can always turn around and park further away. But for us, we got there early and there was parking right near the entrance
- $7 USD
Food in the park
Snacks are NOT allowed. They will confiscate at the gate. You can bring your own water. If you are afraid of getting hungry, there is a small cafe within the park where you can get ice cream, sandwiches, slices of pizza and a few other foods!
Tour Guides
- Also, when you park there will likely be people come up to you asking if you want to pay for a guided tour. The gentleman who we paid to park wanted us to agree to a guided tour. He initially said it would be $50 per person ($150 for the three of us) and when we declined he dropped it to $50 for all three of us. We politely declined and did a self-guided tour through the park; just be aware.
- Pre-purchased guided tours are a little less than $50 per person as well, so you can opt to find one at the entrance or book one before visiting.
- A perk of having a tour guide is they provide scopes to see the sloths more close up, they know where the sloths typically hang out and they can provide more information on sloths themselves.
Hiking Trails in Manuel Antonio National park
- A good portion of the park has wooded walkways that are easily accessible. There was even someone getting pushed in a wheelchair on the Perezoso trail
- The Punta Catedral loop is the only trail with a real elevation gain
- Cliffside views of the Pacific
- Recommend hiking shoes of some sort because it is typically wet and muddy
- Peresozo= Sloth in Spanish. It was our Spanish vocabulary word of the trip! Take the Peresozo trail to find your sloths. The likelihood of seeing a sloth even without a guide is probably at least 90%.
- Several people (guide and non-guides) had spotted the sloths and were gathered where the sloths were visible. We were able to see three on the trail without a guide.
Pro Tip: bring your own binoculars if you are searching for sloths on your own. They are HIGH up in the trees and hard to spot at times!
Punta Catedral climb, flat sandy trail along the beach and the boarded Peresozo Trail
Tickets must be purchased ahead of time (don’t know if it has always been or if it is due to Covid). You have to provide name, passport, etc on everyone in the group. Click here to purchase your tickets (you will have to create a login).
Things to Do in Manuel Antonio Besides the Park
A guide to to Manual Antonio activities! Manuel Antonio boasts a lot of things to do (as does the whole country of Costa Rica)! Here are a few things to do besides go to the park (which you should).
Zip Coaster
As you drive along the main road 618, you will see the Zip Coaster. Is it worth visiting?
- It is only $12 to either do a short, quick zip-line type ride or a slow zip coaster.
- The zip coaster is intended to go slow and see wildlife from higher in the canopy. It is not intended for an adrenaline rush 😆. We were lucky and saw a sloth while on the ride!
- The staff was super friendly and pointed out two other sloths located near the zip coaster as well. For $12 we got to see 3 more sloths and MANY monkeys that crossed the road to the trees near the zipcoaster.
Zip-Lining
Manuel Antonio offers zip-lining excursions. You NEED to zip-line while you are in Costa Rica. It is EPIC. I honestly recommend zip-lining in Monteverde due to the length and height of the zip-line being more intense. However, if you are not planning to visit Monteverde, you should do it while in Manuel Antonio!
Visit the beaches of Manual Antonio
Manual Antonio has a lot of great beaches and people often visit to surf! There are beaches you can visit inside Manuel Antonio National Park, but there are also several public beaches (that are free to visit) outside of the park!
Take Surf Lessons
If you don’t want to just visit the beach, you can take surf lessons through the Manuel Antonio Surf School! Lessons can be at a 3:1 ratio, 2:1 ratio or private with prices of $80, $90 and $100 respectively. Lessons are about 3 hours and they offer pick up from hotels as well.
ATV Jungle Tour
Want to see the Costa Rican jungle, waterfalls, creeks and more? Take a guided ATV tour. This tour will allow you to drive through creeks on multiple trails on your way to a waterfall where lunch will be provided. While you wait for lunch you can swim in the waterfall as well. Helmets are provided.
Chocolate and Coffee Tour
Coffee and chocolate are two of my biggest addictions and these tours can be so fun! Chocolate Tour Manuel Antonio offers history and background in the collecting, grinding and making of chocolate and coffee as well as sugar. Tours are $60 for adults and $45 for kids age 5-9. Book a tour here.
Where to stay in Manuel Antonio
Along the main road 618 through Manuel Antonio, again, there are many places to stay among all of the restaurants.
- I recommend staying between the town of Manuel Antonio and the national park on rd 618 due to its proximity to the park and with many restaurants in walking distance.
- However, be warned that the road is hilly and curvy! Quepos is nearby, but it is a little out of the way from the national park. However, you’ll likely save money staying there!
| The Falls at Manuel Antonio | Hotel Villas Nicolas | ECOTICA Boutique Hotel |
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Where to eat in Manual Antonio
Guide to Manuel Antonio food! One road goes along Manuel Antonio toward the national park and along the road there are several restaurants. We took recommendations from the friendly front dest worker at our hotel. Among his recommendations were:
- Agua Azul
- Rafaeles
- El Avion
- El Wagon
We headed to Rafaeles, but unfortunately it was not open while we visited. Give it a try if it is open when you go! I recommend at least going to El Avion for a drink during the day. It is definitely geared toward tourists with its old plane sitting in the middle of the restaurant. However, it has a great view of the ocean from the restaurant and honestly the plane is pretty cool!
El Wagon is owned by the same people (I believe) and has a cute patio in the jungle. The fish wrap was amazing!
The old plane and views at El Avion
Recommended length of stay
We spent 8 nights in Costa Rica and allotted two of the nights in Manuel Antonio.
- Two days is plenty of time to see Manuel Antonio National park, spend some time at the beach and do an excursion of your choice in the area (zip-lining, water rafting, horseback riding, hanging bridges, etc).
- You can most certainly spend more time in Manuel Antonio if you aren’t looking to drive around and visit other cities, however, I encourage you to split your time between Manual Antonio and other areas of Costa Rica!
Guide to Manuel Antonio Recap!
Your guide to Manuel Antonio! We loved Manuel Antonio mostly for the monkeys and sloths 🦥 . It is the go-to place for increased chances of seeing both (outside of the rescue ranches/refuges).
Click here for a full guide to Costa Rica or for the best way to spend 8 days in Costa Rica!