Costa Rica · Central Pacific
Manuel Antonio (Quepos)
The rainforest park where sloths and squirrel monkeys share the trail down to a swimming cove.
Manuel Antonio National Park is a compact strip of rainforest running straight down to pale coves on Costa Rica's Central Pacific coast, and one of the most visited parks in the country. Sloths, white-faced capuchins and the rare Central American squirrel monkey are easy to see from its trails. Outside the gate, a hillside road of hotels and restaurants climbs back to Quepos, an old banana and palm-oil port that is now a sportfishing base. It is busy and well set up, the classic first stop for wildlife and beach together.
Suggested stay
2–4 days
Language
Spanish
Currency
CRC
Timezone
UTC-6
Why you'll love Manuel Antonio (Quepos)
Easy wildlife Sloths, capuchins, howlers and squirrel monkeys are routinely spotted within a short walk of the park gate
Forest to sand Rainforest trails end on sheltered coves where you swim with the jungle at your back
The ridge Hotels on the hill between Quepos and the park look over offshore islands and Pacific sunsets
Sportfishing Quepos is one of the Pacific coast's big billfish ports, with sailfish the prize offshore
Best time to visit
Jan-Mar
31-32° days
9.413° N, 84.065° W
UTC-6 · America/Costa Rica
whenywhere contains ads and partner links that we think are helpful and that earn us a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Weather & when to go to Manuel Antonio (Quepos)
Month by month: typical highs and lows, rainfall and rain days.
✓ Best Jan-Mar
Watch for May-Nov monsoon flooding risk · Jun-Nov cyclones & hurricanes risk
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
When to avoid Manuel Antonio (Quepos)
May-Nov is the wet season, with rain usually building through the afternoon and at its heaviest in Sep-Oct. The park closes one day a week (check which before you go), and in the dry season and over Easter and Christmas it gets crowded and entry, which is capped, can sell out.
Top things to do in Manuel Antonio (Quepos)
-
Manuel Antonio National Park - a guided wildlife walk
nature wildlife ⭐ Highly recommendedThe main trail runs flat through the forest from the entrance towards the beaches, and it is where most people see their first sloth. A naturalist guide with a spotting scope finds far more than you will alone: sleeping sloths, tree frogs, bats, snakes and birds. Go at opening time, before the heat and the crowds.
-
Playa Manuel Antonio - swim the park's sheltered cove
nature wildlife scenic 👍 PopularThe beach inside the park is a curve of pale sand backed by forest, with calmer water than the open beaches outside. Capuchins and raccoons patrol the sand and will open an unattended bag, so keep food sealed and never feed them.
-
Punta Catedral - loop the headland trail
nature wildlife scenicA forested headland that was once an island, joined to the shore by the sandbar that forms the park's two main beaches. A short, steep loop trail climbs through the forest to lookouts over rocky islets and the open Pacific.
-
Playa Espadilla - surf lessons and sunsets
scenic 👍 PopularThe long public beach just outside the park gate, lined with umbrella rentals and surf schools. It is a forgiving place to stand up for the first time, but rip currents are real here, so swim near others and stay out when the flags say so. Locals gather for sunset.
-
Marina Pez Vela - sailfish off Quepos
adventure 👍 PopularQuepos is one of Costa Rica's main sportfishing ports, and charter boats leave the marina for sailfish, marlin, tuna and mahi-mahi offshore. Billfish are released. Inshore trips stay closer to the coast for snapper and roosterfish.
-
Night walk - frogs, snakes and insects after dark
nature wildlifeGuided night walks in the forest around Manuel Antonio turn up red-eyed tree frogs, sleeping birds, tarantulas, stick insects and the odd viper. It shows a completely different side of the forest from the daytime park.
-
Playa Biesanz - snorkel a quiet cove
nature wildlifeA small cove reached by a steep path down from the hillside road, sheltered enough for snorkelling on calm days and far quieter than the main beaches. Bring water and shoes for the walk back up.
-
Catamaran sail - snorkel and sunset along the coast
scenic nature wildlifeSailing trips leave from Quepos and cruise the coastline off the park, stopping to snorkel and often meeting dolphins. The late-afternoon sailing times the run home for sunset.
-
El Avion - drinks in a Cold War cargo plane
food historyA bar and restaurant on the hillside road built around a Fairchild C-123 cargo plane tied to the 1980s Iran-Contra affair. The plane never flew its mission and was later hauled here. Come for the story and the sunset view over the coast.
Best areas to stay in Manuel Antonio (Quepos)
$ Budget $$ Mid-range $$$ Premium
The Manuel Antonio hillside
Couples and views $$$Jungle ridge hotels with ocean views
Explore hotels in The Manuel Antonio hillside →
Playa Espadilla and the park gate
Families and beach $$Beachfront village by the park
Explore hotels in Playa Espadilla and the park gate →
Quepos
Budget and fishing $Working port town with marina
Explore hotels in Quepos →
Live nightly prices from Booking.com, Agoda and others, centred on Manuel Antonio (Quepos)
Getting to & around Manuel Antonio (Quepos)
Getting there
Fly into San Jose (SJO) and drive or take a shuttle down the Pacific coast in about 3 hours, or hop a small plane to Quepos
Flight
Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO)
From Juan Santamaria, shared shuttle vans, private transfers and hire cars take the highway to the coast and south past Jaco, about 3 hours in all. Small domestic planes also fly from San Jose to the Quepos airstrip, a short taxi ride from the hotels.
Coach
Quepos bus terminal
Direct buses run from San Jose several times a day, with connections along the coast from Jaco and Dominical
Drive
The coastal highway links Quepos north to Jaco and the Guanacaste beaches, and south to Dominical and Uvita
Getting around
Local bus
Frequent buses run from the Quepos terminal up the hillside road to the park entrance; pay the driver in cash
TBC
Taxi
Red taxis cover Quepos, the hillside and the beach; useful at night when the road is dark
TBC
Hire car
Handy for day trips, but the hillside road is steep and narrow and parking near the park gate is tight
TBC
Walking
Fine around the beach village and Quepos; the hillside road is steep with little pavement in places
Free
Day trips from Manuel Antonio (Quepos)
Isla Damas mangroves
Half dayMangrove estuary
Boat or kayak tours wind through the mangrove channels of the estuary north of Quepos, looking for monkeys, crocodiles, herons and kingfishers in the tangled roots.
Getting there
car | tour
About 30 minutes north by car, then by boat or kayak
Nauyaca Waterfalls
Full dayJungle waterfall
A two-tier waterfall in the hills behind Dominical, reached by a walk or a ride through farmland, with a broad pool at the base for swimming.
Getting there
car | tour
About 1-1.5 hours south by car or tour, then a hike or ride in
Dominical and Marino Ballena
Full daySurf town and marine park
Head down the coast to watch the surf at Dominical, then on to Uvita, where the sandbar known as the Whale's Tail appears at low tide in Marino Ballena National Park and humpbacks pass offshore in season.
Getting there
car
About 1-1.5 hours south by car
Carara National Park and the Tarcoles bridge
Full dayMacaws and crocodiles
Carara's forest is one of the best places in the country to see scarlet macaws, and the bridge over the Tarcoles River nearby looks down on huge crocodiles on the banks. Easy to fold into the drive to or from San Jose.
Getting there
car | tour
About 1.5 hours north by car or tour
Savegre and Naranjo rivers
Full dayWhitewater rafting
Rafting trips run the rivers that come down from the mountains behind Quepos, with gentler, scenic water on the Savegre and livelier rapids on the Naranjo when the rains raise it.
Getting there
tour
Tour pick-up from hotels, about 1 hour to the put-in
A little history of Manuel Antonio (Quepos)
Quepos takes its name from the Quepoa, the indigenous people who lived along this coast when Spanish expeditions arrived in the 1500s. Conquest and disease devastated them, and the area stayed thinly settled for centuries.
In the 1930s a subsidiary of the United Fruit Company built Quepos into a banana port, with a pier and a railway into the plantations. When disease ruined the bananas, the company planted African oil palm, which still covers much of the flat land around town. The forested headland south of Quepos survived, and after its beaches were fenced off by a landowner, local protest led the government to protect it as Manuel Antonio National Park in 1972. Tourism grew around the park from then on, and Quepos added sportfishing to its old role as a port.
The Quepoa people live along the coast, giving Quepos its name
Spanish expeditions reach the Pacific coast; conquest and disease devastate the Quepoa
A United Fruit Company subsidiary builds Quepos into a banana port with a pier and railway
Banana disease leads the company to switch to African oil palm plantations
Manuel Antonio National Park is created after local protest over closed beach access
Know before you go
Payment
Cards & cash mixed
English
Widely spoken
Wifi
Workable
Power
Type A / B
120 V, 60 Hz
Dialing
+506
Monsoon flooding risk in this window; check current conditions before you go.
Cyclones & hurricanes risk in this window; check current conditions before you go.
The months our climate read flags to avoid: the wettest, lowest-rated weather of the year.
FAQs about Manuel Antonio (Quepos)
▸ When is the best time to visit Manuel Antonio?
Jan-Mar is the dry season and the most reliable weather. Dec and Apr sit either side of it. May-Nov is the wet season, with rain usually arriving in the afternoon and heaviest in Sep-Oct. The wildlife does not leave in the rains, and the park is far quieter then.
▸ Is Manuel Antonio National Park open every day?
No. The park closes one day each week, so check the current closing day before you plan around it. Daily visitor numbers are capped, so book your entry ahead in the dry season and over holidays, and arrive at opening for the best wildlife and the fewest people.
▸ Do I need a guide in Manuel Antonio National Park?
It is not required, and the main trails are easy to follow. But a naturalist guide with a spotting scope will find sloths, frogs and snakes you would walk straight past, and most first-time visitors say it was worth it.
▸ Is it safe to swim at Manuel Antonio?
The coves inside the park are usually the calmest water. Playa Espadilla, the public beach outside the gate, can have strong rip currents, so swim where others are, watch for warning flags and stay out if you are unsure.
▸ Should I stay in Quepos or Manuel Antonio?
Stay on the hillside or by the beach for views and easy park access, and in Quepos if you want a cheaper, more local base with the marina and bus terminal. The two are linked by a short bus or taxi ride along the hillside road.
More in Costa Rica
Jaco
Costa Rica's closest surf town to the capital, with a learner's beach in front and a heavy, contest-grade break just south.
✓ best Dec-AprLa Fortuna
A volcano that stopped performing in 2010 and got more popular anyway, because the hot water it left behind never switched off.
✓ best Dec-AprMonteverde
A forest that lives inside a cloud, saved by Quaker dairy farmers who came here because the country had no army.
✓ best Dec-Apr