A Complete Guide To Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica!
A guide to Manuel Antonio! Manuel Antonio is a GREAT addition to a Costa Rica itinerary!
It is filled with lush jungle and is located right on the beach. Then a short drive up from the beach you will be cliffside with amazing views of the Pacific ocean. It is beautiful!
Plus (and maybe most importantly) it was a HOT SPOT 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.
Here is everything you need to know to plan a trip to Manuel Antonio including what to expect at the famous Manuel Antonio National Park, what to do in Manuel Antonio, where to stay, restaurant options, how long to stay and more!
- Guide to Manuel Antonio National Park
- Things to Do in Manuel Antonio Besides the Park
- Guide to Manuel Antonio: Accommodations, Food, How to Get Around & More
- Guide to Manuel Antonio Recap!
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Guide to 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 plus it has great 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!
What to know before going to Manuel Antonio National Park
As Manuel Antonio National Park is the highlight of Manuel Antonio, here are things you want to know before visiting!
general Entrance and Navigation Information
The park is easy to navigate without a significant amount of turns and trails to choose from. With a map you will be able to get through the park easily!
You WILL see wildlife. There are monkeys that just hang out in the open along the beach trails; no searching required.
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.
Cost: $18 per person
Hours: 7am-4pm and CLOSED on Tuesdays
Time Needed: at least 3 hours
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
Cost: $7 USD
Food in the park
Snacks are NOT allowed.
They will confiscate any food you bring 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!
Guided Tours of Manuel Antonio National park
If you aren’t confident you can find all the sloths you want to see or the flora, birds, etc that is available to see in the park, you can take a guided tour of Manuel Antonio National Park.
Guided tours are around $50 USD, but include the price of the ticket in the fee.
A the biggest perk of having a tour guide is they provide nice equipment and scopes to see the sloths more close up.
They also know where the sloths typically hang out and provide more information on sloths themselves.
Guided Tour of Manuel Antonio National Park
-Cost: ~$50USD per person
-Duration: 2-2.5 hours
-Rating: 4.9/5 Stars (out of 56 reviews)
– ENTRANCE TICKET INCLUDED IN PRICE
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
Punta Catedral loop: This trail is the only trail with a real elevation gain, but gives great views of the Pacific Ocean
- Recommend hiking shoes of some sort because can be wet and muddy
Peresozo Trail: 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.
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
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.
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 zip coaster.
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 3 hour 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.
Guide to Manuel Antonio: Accommodations, Food, How to Get Around & More
Here is everything else you need to know to plan a trip to Manuel Antonio!
How to Get Around
Walking: If you stay centrally enough, you can get around some of the main portion of Manuel Antonio by walking or biking (although it is hilly, fair warning!)
Taxi: If you just want to get to nearby areas like Manuel Antonio National Park from downtown, etc, you can take a taxi.
Bus: Manuel Antonio will be connected via bus from major cities such as San Jose. It will also go to nearby town of Quepos.
Drive: The easiest way to get around Costa Rica is to rent a car, especially if you don’t plan to stay in JUST Manuel Antonio.
Zoom (Carefully 🤪) Around Costa Rica!
We planned to visit Manuel Antonio as well as Monteverde and Arenal/La Fortuna so we opted to hire a car. It was a GREAT way to get around!
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!
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).
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