A Visitors Guide to Manuel Antonio

Manuel Antonio was one of our favourite destinations that we visited in Costa Rica. The beautiful white beaches, luscious tropical forests and endless activities make Manuel Antonio a top tourist destination in Central America. Manuel Antonio National Park was definitely a highlight and is the biggest draw to this coastal village; however, there are still loads of other great activities to fill your time with on your visit. This travel guide will outline what the must-do activities are, where to eat and drink and answer all the questions you have about visiting Manuel Antonio. 

Disclaimer: Some of the links included on our website may contain affiliate links. We may receive some commission from purchases made via these but it will NOT affect the price you pay. This is to allow this site to stay online and ensure that readers use, what we believe, are the best products possible whilst travelling.

Where is Manuel Antonio?

Manuel Antonio is located halfway down Costa Rica’s Pacific coast and directly south of the capital San Jose. 

How to get to Manuel Antonio 

Airport Shuttle from San Jose Airport (SJO)

If you’re visiting Manuel Antonio for a holiday and want to get there with little stress then booking an airport shuttle may be the best way forward. These can be booked with a range of private providers and it costs roughly 37,500 colones per person for a shared shuttle or 125,000 to hire a private minibus. If you’re travelling as a family, it’s definitely worth looking into the latter if this is your preferred transportation method. 

Do note that a private minibus will likely conform to your time of arrival. Alternatively, if you’re looking to use a shared shuttle then you will have to adhere to the company’s schedule. Some companies only operate two buses per day, one in the morning and another mid-afternoon. 

Bus 

If you’re on a budget or are looking to experience a more authentic travel method then taking a bus is the way to go. 

If you’re flying into SJO then you’ll first need to catch a bus to San Jose Tracopa; this is where the buses to Manuel Antonio leave from. There are two bus services from the airport to the city; the Tuasa (red and white buses) and Station Wagon (yellow and orange buses) and they run every 10 minutes between 4am and 11:30pm. It costs 700 colones per person and takes up to 45 minutes. The final destination for both buses is the Tuasa terminal at Merced Park on Second Avenue. You’ll then need to walk 15 minutes to the Tracopa Bus Terminal.

Once you’re there, you can purchase a bus ticket at the ticket office (taquilla) for approximately 4,500 colones per person. Buses leave every day at 6am; 9am; 10:30am; 12pm; 1:15pm; 2:30pm; 6pm and 7:30pm and the journey takes roughly three and a half hours. 

Due to the bus route, it will involve numerous stops before reaching its final destination of Manuel Antonio National Park. This includes the city of Quepos which is a great destination to stay if you’re wanting to stay in a busier destination than the Manuel Antonio area. Buses leave the Terminal-de-Buses-de-Quepos every 30 minutes to Manuel Antonio and it costs just 4,500 colones for the 20-minute journey. 

However, if you’re backpacking and visiting multiple locations, getting the bus is the best way of getting around. If you’re attempting to reach Manuel Antonio from further afield, you’ll need to go via the capital San Jose. This includes places like Tamarindo or Playa de Talamanca.

Taxi

This is by far the most expensive option at 105,000 colones and the price will depend on travel time and your final destination. However, it is the comfiest and fastest way to travel and is available pretty much 24/7. The only taxis that are licensed to pick passengers up from the airport are those in full orange paint. You can grab one when you arrive or reserve in advance by calling 2221-6865 or 2222-6865.

FAQ

Top Tips for Manuel Antonio

• Use the public buses to get around Costa Rica
• Get to the national park early as it gets busy
• Don’t miss the sunset on the beach 
• Carry cash 
• Be very respectful of wildlife and be quiet 
• Take advantage of happy hours

Best time to visit Manuel Antonio: 

February – April

We ended up visiting Costa Rica in January and it turned out to be the perfect time to visit. Whilst it was the dry season, we still experienced some rain; these were often torrential showers and only lasted up to an hour. Nonetheless, we knew that December to April was the “dry” season and the other seven months were the “rainy/green” season. As such, we think that any time between January and April would be perfect. This is because the sun is constantly shining and you get to experience everything Manuel Antonio has to offer.

Having said that, even with the impact of Covid, this period also correlates to the increase in prices as it is the more popular time to visit Costa Rica. On top of that, we’d recommend avoiding late December/early January or the Easter period as this is notoriously the peak season for foreign tourists visiting Manuel Antonio. 

Ultimately, there isn’t a bad time to visit Manuel Antonio as the rainy season will still enable you to see beautiful wildlife. However, if you’re coming for some sun and relaxation, February to April is the time to visit. 

Recommended Stay:

3-5 days 

How long you stay in Manuel Antonio entirely on your plan what your plans are and what you like doing. If you’re here for its famous national park and Playa de Manuel Antonio then you could easily spend up to five days here relaxing with a book in hand. In addition, you could break your time up by chilling around your Manuel Antonio hotel pool instead!

Conversely, if Manuel Antonio is just one of the many stops you have in Costa Rica or you don’t have that much time, you can easily spend just three days here and leave feeling like you’ve seen everything. 

We personally split our time between Quepos and Manuel Antonio and spent around five days between both and we thought it was a perfect amount of time. If you’re ever in Quepos then definitely check out the beautiful Marina Pez Vela. 

Where to stay in Manuel Antonio 

Hotel Coco Beach

During our time in Manuel Antonio, we stayed in Hotel Coco Beach and we really enjoyed our stay. Even though the hotel was halfway between the main Manuel Antonio village and the national park, we found this to be a great location. This was because it was within walking distance of both and the numerous restaurants in the area. The room itself was perfect for our needs; it had to work aircon, a hot shower and comfy beds and we also made good use of the swimming pool. One of the favourite parts of our stay here had to be seeing a wild Iguana sunbathing every day and monkeys scampering across telephone wires! 

Selina 

Whilst we didn’t stay at this particular Selina, we spent a lot of our time in Costa Rica staying at other Selina’s and can vouch that they’re always a safe bet. They’re always clean, full of people to meet and have great wifi. The only reason we didn’t stay here was that we needed our own space for a few days. However, we did still manage to visit for drinks one evening and the place looked really sociable and discovered they regularly do events like karaoke or quiz nights. 

Igloo Beach Lodge

If we were on a larger budget or visiting only a few places in Costa Rica, we’d have definitely opted for the Igloo Beach Lodge. We regularly walked past this hotel and thought they were beautiful and would have been a really fun option. It’s also right on Espadilla Beach and next to The Fringe restaurant so you can’t go wrong by staying here. 

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Top things to do in Manuel Antonio

Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio

Manuel Antonio National Park is arguably the most popular activity to do in Manuel Antonio and it really doesn’t disappoint. 

Firstly, the park is open all week, apart from Tuesdays, between the hours of 7am and 4pm. However, rangers will start asking people to leave as early as 3pm so everyone can get out in time. 

In order to get into the park, you must pay an admission fee of 125,000 colones and present some form of valid ID; you can choose to pay this fee at the front gate or online. 

Please be aware that you’re not allowed to take any food into the national park as the government is attempting to keep the impact on the environment as low as possible. You are allowed to take in non-alcoholic beverages such as water or fizzy drinks. Do be careful when leaving any bottles unattended as monkeys will attempt to steal them!

You can choose to hire a guide at the gate or online but make sure to hire only official guides who can be identified with their ID. It is very common for people to sell their own services as “guides”. They will dress like official rangers or guides and may have tags identifying them as park staff but have no relation to the park whatsoever. They will try and sell you overpriced tickets and tours for the park. 

Beaches, Beaches and more Beaches

One of the main attractions of Manuel Antonio is its beautiful white beaches and turquoise waters.

Whilst the beaches of Playa Manuel Antonio, Espadilla South and Escondido are all located in the National Park, which means you essentially have to pay to visit them, you can still see Espadialla; Playitas; Biesanz beaches (to name a few) for free and they’re all easily accessible. 

Apart from those beaches in the park itself, there are plenty of sun loungers you can rent for the day (umbrella included) or you can lie directly on the beach and top up your tan. 

Surfing 

As the town is situated on the Pacific coast and is one of the best surf towns in the country!

If you’re a beginner and want to learn how to surf then there are no better places than Outward Bound Costa Rica; Manuel Antonio Surf School; and Endless Olas (Isla Damas); all of which have a great reputation and only the latter has beachfront properties where you can stay and take surf lessons.  

Night Walk

In a similar fashion, if you love hiking and all things wildlife that you’ll undoubtedly love a night walk through Manuel Antonio. 

The best bit about going on a night walk is the ability to see nocturnal animals that you wouldn’t catch during the day. This includes frogs, snakes, spiders and scorpions and you’ll get to experience the park in a whole new light. 

Make sure to bring loads of snacks and water to keep you energised and hydrated on your walk.

Hiking 

Despite being one of Costa Rica’s smallest protected areas, Manuel Antonio National Park is full of flora and fauna and you’ll get to see it up close thanks to the walkways that take you through the best of the park. 

You can choose to go on a hike through the rainforest where you’ll be able to see Capuchin, Howler and Squirrel monkeys as well as sloths, iguanas, agoutis and hundreds of species of birds; if you’re an animal lover or love hiking, this is definitely the place to visit. 

The full hike (1.4km) takes approximately one hour and you can choose to do it at your own pace or hire a guide. As with the majority of activities, this depends entirely on your budget but having a guide will always make you get the most out of your visit. 

Chocolate & Coffee Tour

The Chocolate and Coffee Tour was by far one of the most enjoyable activities we did in the whole of Costa Rica so you MUST check it out for yourselves.

We were able to visit the farm to see the various stages of the vegetation growth and learn about the steps in making coffee, chocolate and sugar cane production as well as all the history. 

Once we’d completed the learning part of the tour, roughly two hours, we were able to taste the different types of coffee as well as the different cocoa flavour combinations; this was by far the most enjoyable part as we have such a sweet tooth!! 

The owner was incredibly passionate about the eco-friendly methods which made the tour far more fun because you could tell he enjoyed what he was doing. 

Scuba Diving

We were gutted not to have been able to Scuba Dive in Manuel Antonio as we only obtained our Open Water License a couple of months after visiting Costa Rica.

Nonetheless, if you’re a beginner and want to learn or already have your license, you won’t go wrong at all by diving here.

Home to one of the most beautiful marine life in the world, you’ll be able to see everything from turtles to manta rays and octopuses to reef sharks; you definitely won’t be disappointed with the 20 dive sites in the area.

For a PADI Open Water Course, prices are roughly 425,000 colones but this includes absolutely everything!

Quepos Day Trip

If you’re in Manuel Antonio for some time and wish to break up your stay or just fancy visiting a busier place then you should definitely visit Quepos for the day. 

As we’ve mentioned above, it’s incredibly easy to get to as a bus between one runs directly between the two with various stop-offs along the way. 

Despite its relatively small size, Quepos is always bustling and has a wide variety of restaurants to choose from. 

Whilst there is admittedly not a tonne to do here unless you like big game sport fishing, we definitely recommend spending the evening at Marina Pez Vela where you can watch the beautiful sunset over the harbour and indulge in some very affordable cocktails. 

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Best Restaurants in Manuel Antonio

El Avion

_{Puntarenas Province, Aguirre, Costa Rica}

If you’re visiting Manuel Antonio then it’s essentially a right of passage to visit this restaurant. 

The main attraction of El Avion is that it incorporates a full aeroplane into its restaurant; sounds crazy but it actually does. You can even climb into the cockpit (carefully) and take a few snaps of yourself and the helm. 

Other than that, the restaurant is known for its beautiful view over the pacific ocean and is THE perfect spot to watch the sunset. 

As a result, the restaurant can get quite crowded so make sure to book in advance. Also, the price of food is higher than in other restaurants in the region because of its setting. Having said that, we found the food quality to be utterly amazing and totally worth it. 

You can definitely make an evening out of your visit here and I can assure you it won’t disappoint. 

“En Todas” Food Truck

_{Manuel Antonio, antiguo Mar y Sombra, Manuel Antonio, Quepos Costa Rica}

Located at the entrance to Espadillo Beach, this food truck is built into an old American-style school bus and is not something you come across every day and it’s definitely worth visiting. 

It has lots of outdoor seating which is a perfect way to enjoy the beautiful Costa Rican evenings. 

The food itself was particularly yummy and we enjoyed it so much the first time we had to go again; our particular favourite food was easily the quesadillas and tacos. 

You also have to get the 2-4-1 Sangrias as they tasted SO GOOD!

El Wagon

_{618, Provincia de Puntarenas, Quepos, Costa Rica}

Famous for its wood-fired pizza and the self-proclaimed “best pizza in Manuel Antonio”, El Wagon really didn’t disappoint! 

It’s very affordable and we were very surprised given the food was so yummy. 

We also really enjoyed the 2-4-1 cocktail offer they had going and if it wasn’t for closing time, we easily could’ve stayed here longer.

The location also makes it really accessible wherever you’re staying in Manuel Antonio.

The Fringe

_{Puntarenas Province, Quepos, Costa Rica}

Arguably the most Instagram-able place to eat in the whole of Manuel Antonio and the place really doesn’t disappoint. It’s a really calm and peaceful place to grab a bite to eat, drink or somewhere to use your laptop if you’re a digital nomad. 

The Fringe Umbrella is an ideal brunch cafe in Manuel Antonio that also allow you to fill up a picnic basket and sit out on the beach.

As you can imagine, the food also lived up to expectations and it made us wish we stayed here for longer so we could visit more.

The staff were noticeably friendly and put you at ease as soon as you walked in the door. 

Baldi’s Fresh Restaurant

_{Puntarenas Province, Quepos, Costa Rica}

Directly opposite Playa Manuel Antonio, Baldi’s Fresh is a great spot if you’re looking for breakfast with a view. 

They were incredibly generous with the portion size of the fruit plate and it tasted really fresh; quite possibly the best fruit we had in the whole of Costa Rica! 

The staff were also incredibly nice so you really can’t go wrong visiting here.

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To conclude, the village of Manuel Antonio is such a beautiful place and is absolutely worth visiting. This village is literally built into the national park and is the perfect place to relax on a beach with a book in hand and forget about the world. It’s also incredibly easy to get to and from and the locals are all super friendly.

If you are looking to travel around Costa Rica, check out our ultimate guide for backpacking Costa Rica!

There you have it; our visitors guide to Manuel Antonio, giving you all the best places to stay, eat and see BEFORE you visit so you won’t be left disappointed.

Feel free to add any of your own recommendations in the comments!

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Disclaimer: Some of the links included on our website may contain affiliate links. We may receive some commission from purchases made via these but it will NOT affect the price you pay. This is to allow this site to stay online and ensure that readers use, what we believe, are the best products possible whilst travelling.