Manuel Antonio is one of Costa Rica’s most visited national parks. With adorable wildlife, beautiful beaches, and lush jungle paths only a few hours from San Jose, it’s easy to see why. Of course, all those crowds tend to detract from the experience of visiting the park. In fact, there are several things I wish I had known before visiting (free opportunity to learn from my mistakes!).
The park opens at 7am, so I chose to stay the night before at a hotel in downtown Quepos. This was my first mistake, as Quepos turned out to be a rather un-charming city that smelled strongly of sewage no matter where I went. I would recommend staying instead in one of the hotels leading up to the park. My second mistake was underestimating the crowds at the park. I arrived about an hour after the park opened, just as the gate guards were letting in an enormous line of people. As we all stood in the que inside the gate, I received an unpleasant bit of news – I was supposed to have bought a ticket before getting inside the gate. There’s a building called Coopealianza just outside the gate that sells tickets. Luckily, there were a few other people in the same situation and the park ranger was kind enough to let us out to buy tickets and let us back in. Getting past this hurdle wasn’t the end of it though. The park limits the number of people who enter at a time. Although they had let part of the line into the gated area, this didn’t mean they were letting us into the park anytime soon. I ended up waiting another two hours there before they were able to let more visitors into the park.
Once inside the park though, I couldn’t deny it was beautiful. The wildlife seems completely unafraid of people. I saw several sloths, monkeys, birds, land crabs, and countless iguanas. The trails are nice – wooden slat bridges over the jungle floor, though they do get a bit crowded with so many visitors. There are a few different beaches and trails to explore in the park. Manuel Antonio beach is the most popular with white sand and playful monkeys (watch out if you have food in your bag!). I took the trail up to the mirador for a nice view of the coastlines to either side of the park. There are also trails that lead down the other side of the peninsula to Playa Escondido.
I really did enjoy my visit to Manuel Antonio, though I’d have preferred not to contend with so many other tourists. The abundance of animals and natural beauty in the park makes up for it though. I was happy to see all three of the native species of monkeys there (and hear, especially in the case of the howler monkey – they really make some noise!). I even saw a sloth moving from branch to branch and eating (since they spend the majority of their time sleeping this was a pretty cool sight to catch). It’s a photographers dream to have the wildlife so unafraid of visitors and happy to stay in one spot for a photo. I’d still recommend visiting Manuel Antonio to anyone visiting Costa Rica, just be prepared for all the crowds that go with it!
Manuel Antonio is easy to reach by car or bus. By car, the routes are all paved and well-marked, whether you’re headed in from further up the Pacific Coast or from San Jose.
Buses run from San Jose to Quepos frequently throughout the day. Locations up the coast, such as Puntarenas, typically have daily buses to Quepos as well. From Quepos, you can take a bus to Manuel Antonio.
- Make sure to get to the national park early (before it opens even), to avoid the possibility of not getting in at all.
- Buy your tickets outside the gate at the Coopealianza before getting in line to enter.
- If you’re driving, you’ll need to pay to park at one of the private lots leading up to the park. Attendants will try to wave you into their lots and tell you there are none further up the road. The first one who tried this with me was a solid 10 minute walk from the park and wanted to charge twice as much as the closer lots. Drive up to the entrance first then circle back to get the closest/cheapest available lot.
- Choose your hotel location wisely (I’d recommend not choosing something right in Quepos).
- Bring sunscreen , bug repellent, and plenty of water with you – you’ll need it!
