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The Park is closed on Mondays
Opening hours are from 7 am to 4 pm every day of the year except for Mondays, including all holidays.
Admission fee is $16, children under 12 are free of admission. Tickets may be purchased at the park entrance at Coopealianza by cash or Visa. Guided tours are available at $51 for adults and $35 for children. Private tours are available at $71 for adults and $55 for children.
All guided tours include round trip transportation from MA / Quepos hotels and vacation homes, entrance fee, bilingual certified guides with high tech telescopes, 2.5-3 hours of guided tour including time to spend at the beaches and tropical fruit. You can choose to spend the rest of the day inside the park but might need to take the bus or a taxi back to your hotel.
For those visiting the park during Christmas, New Years and Easter, make sure to arrive as early as possible (7-7.30 am) in order to get in. It is recommended to visit the park in the afternoon (12-4 pm) as there are less visitors during that time.
Food restrictions:
Sodas and waters are permitted, no alcoholic drinks, you may bring packed sandwiches or a ready cut fruit. This is in order to keep the impact on the environment as low as possible.
Distance from San Jose:
132 kilometers
Dry season:
December through March
Size:
682 hectares
Trails & Beaches:
Yes
With the establishment of Manuel Antonio National Park in 1972, the people of Costa Rica decided to preserve, for future generations, one of the most beautiful and bio-diverse areas in the world. Although it is the country’s smallest national park, the stunning beauty and diversity of wildlife in its 683 hectares is unequaled.
Manuel Antonio contains a charming combination of rain forest, beaches and coral reefs. These beaches are the most beautiful in the country, lined with lush forest, and the snorkeling is excellent, too. The forest is home for sloths, iguanas, the rare and adorable squirrel monkeys, white face monkeys and millions of colorful little crabs. The trail that winds around Punta Catedral features some spectacular views. The park is easy to reach, south of the town of Quepos, and is near a good selection of hotels and restaurants.
Visiting the park, one is treated to an abundant diversity of wildlife. Cathedral Point, with its forest topped cliffs was once an island, but is now connected to the coast by a thin strip of island. This land bridge now forms the spine separating the parks two most popular beaches, Playa Espadilla Sur and Playa Manuel Antonio. The southern facing beach, Playa Manuel Antonio, is a picturesque half mile long, white sand crescent bisecting deep green foliage to one side and a private, secluded cove to the other.
Standing with your feet dug into the sand and watching the wave crash against the rocks on either side of the lagoon, it is easy to believe that you are a thousand miles from anywhere.
Getting there
Travel to the area is easy and can be done in a number of different ways. Regularly scheduled air service from San Jose is available through Sansa Airlines, the flight takes 20 minutes. It is a 2.5-3-hour drive by car or bus from San Jose depending on the weather and traffic.
Direct buses leave from Tracopa Terminal at Plaza Viquez in San Jose six times a day.
These are large, comfortable Mercedes buses.
If you are renting a car it is advisable to rent a 4X4 vehicle in order to be more flexible, especially if you are planning to visit different areas of the country. Quepos/Manuel Antonio, the little slice of paradise for all interests and pocket-books.
Contact us to assist in planning an unforgettable experience or Book your guide now
Why hire a guide to visit the Park?
When you hire a tour guide for the park, you get a unique educated experience about the park.
Customer comments:
“On the tour, they will go in small groups of 8-10 passenger’s maximum. This makes the customer service personalized by receiving full information on the flora, fauna, history of the park and information on the culture of the area. Using their telescopes, observing animals is much easier. If you want to observe a particular animal, tell the guide and he will make it come true.”
“Through their telescopes the guides will take incredible photos of the flora and fauna of the Park.”
“As the tour has roundtrip transportation included from Quepos-Manuel Antonio, you do not have to worry about getting in line to buy tickets. It also includes a bottle of water and fresh tropical fruits”.
Difference between Private Tour and Group Tour
Private tours: Only you and your guide. You will have flexibility to go to the other trails that normally do not get visited. If any of the clients have a special need to enter the park like difficulty walking or needs a wheelchair, our guides will make arrangements with the management of the park.
Group tours: Minimum 2 passengers, small groups of 8 people per guide.
Exclusive Sale of National Park tickets
After a contract was signed between COOPEALIANZA and SINAC on January 23 2012, COOPEALIANZA assumes the exclusive sale of entrance tickets to the National Park Manuel Antonio. Tickets will be sold to nationals and tourists starting January 23 in both COOPEALIANZA offices in Quepos and Manuel Antonio and in a second phase, starting 1 April 2012, will be sold also to tour operators. The tickets can be purchased at COOPEALIANZA Don Bosco. Tour operators may purchase the tickets in in advance and they do not expire, but are valid only for one entrance, people are not allowed to leave and re-enter the park as they were before.
Contact us to assist in planning an unforgettable experience. Book your guide now
Manuel Antonio’s hidden history
Ponce de León, the Spanish explorer, whose futile search for the Fountain of Youth became his signature expedition, is rarely recognized for one of his greatest discoveries – Quepos and Manuel Antonio – which he put on the charts in 1519.
So abundant are the riches of Costa Rica’s Central Pacific coast, that he might have found his fabled fountain had he gone ashore and explored the region.