About Manuel Antonio
Costa Rica’s cozy oceanside village of Manuel Antonio is big on charm. One of the country’s most popular beaches, Playa Manuel Antonio provides an optimal experience for beachgoers, surfers and nature lovers.
Explore Costa Rica
Overview
Nearby Quepos offers a convenient starting point for the incredible Manuel Antonio National Park, along Costa Rica’s stunning Central Pacific Coast. Small hotels carefully carved into the hillside enable vacationers to get a close-up view of the area’s sparkling seas.
The town is also a gateway to magnificent Manuel Antonio National Park, where visitors can experience a biodiverse rainforest teeming with unique tropical plants and wildlife, including hundreds of species of colorful birds, sleepy three-toed sloths and endangered white-faced capuchin and howler monkeys.
Playa Espadilla beach, near the entrance of Manuel Antonio National Park, offers another great escape.
What To Do
Hike through the biodiverse Manuel Antonio National Park. Watch a butterfly spread its wings for the first time at the park’s colorful Butterfly Botanical Garden; and keep an eye out for colorful birds and native creatures throughout the area.
Enjoy a bite with a view in the town’s charming Marina Pez Vela Marina.
Take a rainforest canopy or iguana tour, or horseback ride around Manuel Antonio.
Head out to sea on a kayak or take an adventurous whitewater rafting trip.
Or enjoy a fun-filled day onboard a catamaran as you glide past verdant islands and stunning rock formations, and snorkel amid colorful parrotfish, angelfish and perhaps even some dolphins.
When to Go
The dry season in magnificent Manuel Antonio lasts from December through April. The rainy season runs between May and November. The wettest months are September and October. Average high temperatures can reach the low 90s F. Brief afternoon showers provide welcome relief from May to November.
Fast Facts
Although Manuel Antonio National Park may be one of Costa Rica’s smaller parks, it boasts more than 109 species of mammals and 184 colorful species of birds.
Head further off-the-beaten-track to the rural Santa Juana Mountain Village, about an hour from Quepos. Meet the locals during a village tour, sample traditional Costa Rican cooking, fish for tilapia and horseback ride through stunning mountain trails to lush waterfalls. Learn all about the region’s agriculture and reforestation during a tour of sugar cane and coffee fields. Santa Juana also runs a Carbon Offset Reforestation Program, which is responsible for the planting and maintenance of more than10,000 trees. Ecologically minded vacationers can participate in a Tree Adoption program and receive a souvenir certificate.
Travel Tips & Tools
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