How To Visit Manuel Antonio National Park (2024)
Manuel Antonio National Park is Costa Rica’s most visited national park, and one of the best places in the country to spot wildlife.
I spent a day hiking in Manuel Antonio National Park and it was by far the highlight of my trip. Not only does it have idyllic white sand beaches, but it’s incredibly biodiverse, and home to all four species of monkeys native to Costa Rica!
This article will cover how to purchase entrance tickets online, where to park safely, what to do in the park, and more.
Here’s everything you need to know before visiting Manuel Antonio National Park.
How To Purchase Entrance Tickets
To visit Manuel Antonio National Park, you must first purchase entrance tickets online at SINAC. Entrance is $18.08 USD + tax for nonresident adults. If you’re currently in Costa Rica, the website defaults to Spanish.
You can easily switch it to english on the homepage to make it easier when buying tickets.
After buying tickets, make sure to screenshot the receipt so you can show it at the entrance when you arrive.
Where To Park At Manuel Antonio National Park
The entrance to Manuel Antonio National Park is labeled “Oficinas Administrativas Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio” on google maps. You can park at any of the private lots on the street leading up to the entrance.
For your convenience, I’ve included a parking map showing where this is at the end of the article.
Parking is around 2,000-5,000 CRC ($4-$10), so make sure to bring cash. I forgot to bring cash, and spent 15 minutes trying to withdraw cash from the ATM by the entrance, so avoid my mistake! Additionally, make sure to lock your car and to not leave any valuables in it.
A common mistake people make when visiting is parking far from the entrance. There are parking attendants that will try to have you park at their private lots by the beach area, which is around 2 blocks from the main entrance.
You can technically park here, but it’s a much further walk from the entrance. Instead, turn onto “Calle Parque Nacional” and find parking close to the end of the street, as this is where the entrance is.
Manuel Antonio National Park At A Glance
Manuel Antonio National Park is teeming with wildlife, so single-use plastic and food is prohibited from entering the park.
Your bags will be checked before you enter the park, so make sure to use a reusable bottle if you’re bringing drinks into the park.
There’s a cafeteria inside of the park where you can buy food and drinks.
Things To Do In Manuel Antonio Park
Manuel Antonio Park has 11 hiking trails in total. Once you enter the park, you’ll be hiking on the El Perezoso trail for 0.68 miles until you reach the cafeteria.
This cafeteria sells everything from kombucha to sandwiches, pizza, and ice cream, so it’s a great place to stop for lunch after hiking.
Then you can visit Manuel Antonio Beach (on the right), or walk past the cafeteria to hike to Playa Gemelas, a smaller, more secluded beach.
Both of these beaches are less than a half mile hike from the cafeteria.
Beyond the beaches, there’s three trails that lead to scenic viewpoints of the ocean, Mirador Puerto Escondido, Mirador, and Punta Catedral.
Mirador Puerto Escondido is a short trail, past Playa Gemelas that leads to a nice viewpoint of the forest and coastline. It was closed when I visited, so I chose to hike the “Mirador” trail instead.
This trail connects to Playa Gemelas via Los Congos Trail. It’s an uphill 0.6 mile hike, with hundreds of stairs, that dead ends at an incredible view of the rugged coastline.
Punta Catedral is a popular trail on the opposite side of the park, accessible by walking past Manuel Antonio Beach. It’s a 0.75 mile loop trail around a peninsula with multiple scenic viewpoints of the ocean.
Many people visiting the park visit Manuel Antonio Beach, and hike to Punta Catedral, or visit Playa Espadilla Sur, since they’re on the same side as Manuel Antonio Beach.
Here’s a quick summary of the most popular places in Manuel Antonio:
- Manuel Antonio Beach: Most popular beach, 0.3 miles to the right of the cafeteria
- Playa Gemelas: Small secluded sandy beach, less than a 0.5 mile past the cafeteria
- Playa Espadilla Sur: Long stretch of sandy beach north of Punta Catedral
- Mirador Puerto Escondido: Short trail past Playa Gemelas to a viewpoint of the forest and ocean
- Mirador: Mostly uphill 0.6 mile trail, with over 200 stairs to Punta Serrucho (Saw Point), a beautiful viewpoint of the rugged coastline.
- Punta Catedral: Loop trail around a peninsula with 3 scenic ocean viewpoints, past Manuel Antonio Beach
Where To Spot Wildlife
You can spot wildlife in nearly every corner of Manuel Antonio National Park.
From iguanas sitting on the cafeteria’s roof to deers blocking the trail, I was blown away with how much wildlife inhabited this park.
One of the most popular areas to spot wildlife is on the main trail (Perezoso trail). When you enter the park, this trail is divided into a dirt trail (evacuation route) and a boardwalk trail.
The first part of the boardwalk trail is called the “Mangrove Trail”, and has a turn-off where you can visit Playa Espadilla Sur.
The rest of the boardwalk trail extends to the cafeteria and is referred to as the Sloth trail. I saw birds, a sloth, and heard howler monkeys on this trail.
The boardwalk and dirt trail both end up at the cafeteria, so it doesn’t really matter which one you take.
The best place to spot capuchin monkeys in the park is Manuel Antonio Beach. From the cafeteria, it’s just a short 0.3 mile hike to the right.
When I first arrived, there was a capuchin monkey grabbing people’s belongings that were having a picnic.
The monkey eventually dropped their stuff, but this isn’t always the case, so make sure to keep your belongings secure!
I saw around 3 capuchin monkeys and a sloth in a tree at Manuel Antonio Beach.
Just north of Manuel Antonio Beach, Playa Espadilla Sur is known for having lots of huge iguanas on the shore.
Lastly, if you hike any of the mirador trails (Mirador, Punta Catedral, Mirador Puerto Escondido), you can spot even more monkeys, sloths, lizards, and fascinating wildlife.
Relax On The Beaches
Manuel Antonio has three stunning white sand beaches with clear blue water, Manuel Antonio, Playa Gemelas, and Playa Espadilla Sur.
Manuel Antonio Beach has warm water and gentle waves, so it’s a great beach for swimming. It’s the closest beach to the cafeteria, and it has restrooms and showers.
Playa Gemelas is a small secluded beach that’s accessible by hiking past the cafeteria. It has a rocky shore and harsher waves so it’s not ideal for swimming.
Playa Espadilla Sur is the longest stretch of sandy beach in the park, just north of Manuel Antonio Beach.
It’s accessible by hiking the “Bahia 8 trail” (blue trail) from the park’s main entrance, or from Manuel Antonio Beach. This is a nice beach to relax away from crowds, but the current can be too strong for swimming.
Hike To Scenic Viewpoints
Most people visiting Manuel Antonio Park hike the main trail from the entrance (Entrada Principal), and stop at one of the beaches. If you want to see more of the park, I recommend hiking one of the mirador (viewpoint) trails.
The three mirador trails are Punta Catedral, Mirador Puerto Escondido Trail, and Mirador.
Punta Catedral is easily accessible via Manuel Antonio Beach, and the most popular trail. The Mirador Puerto Escondido trail connects to Playa Gemelas, but it was under construction when I visited.
So instead, I turned onto Los Congos Trail from Playa Gemelas, and hiked the Mirador trail to Punta Serrucho.
This was a steep uphill hike with lots of stairs, but the viewpoint made it worth it! I was able to spot many birds, and squirrel monkeys hopping from tree to tree on the way up as well.
Parking Map: Manuel Antonio National Park
The entrance to Manuel Antonio Park is labeled “Oficinas Administrativas Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio” on google maps.
This is where you’ll show them your entrance ticket, and have your bags scanned before entering the park.
There’s no official parking, but there’s private lots on both sides of the street leading up to the entrance. I paid 4,000 CRC ($8 USD) to park here, and had no issues.
Just remember to lock your car, and bring all of your valuables with you into the park.
Tips for visiting Manuel Antonio Park
- Wear sunscreen and bug spray
- Bring a reusable water bottle (food and single-use plastic is prohibited)
- Don’t feed the wildlife (it’s against the law in Costa Rica!)
- Park close to the entrance and don’t leave any valuables in your car
- Bring cash for parking (credit cards not accepted)
- Follow the signs for the “evacuation route” to get back to the entrance from any of the trails.
Visiting Manuel Antonio FAQs
How far is Manuel Antonio from the San Jose airport?
Manuel Antonio National Park is around a 3 hour drive from the San Jose airport. It’s an easy drive on well-paved roads, so you don’t need a 4×4 vehicle to get to Manuel Antonio/Quepos from the airport.
How far is Manuel Antonio from Liberia airport?
Manuel Antonio is around a 4.5-5 hour drive from the Liberia airport.
How many days do you need in Manuel Antonio?
You only need one full day in Manuel Antonio to explore the national park. It took me around 2.5 hours to hike more than half of the park.
However, I recommend staying in Manuel Antonio/Quepos for two days, so you can visit the nearby attractions.
What is there to do in Manuel Antonio besides the park?
Beyond Manuel Antonio National Park, there’s beautiful beaches, waterfall hikes, animal sanctuaries, and many more fun activities within an hour drive from Manuel Antonio.
For more ideas on what to do near town, check out our article on the best things to do in Quepos and Manuel Antonio!
Should you stay in Manuel Antonio or Jaco?
I recommend staying in Manuel Antonio (Quepos) or Dominical if you plan on visiting Manuel Antonio National Park. This region has much nicer beaches for swimming and relaxing at.
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