Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica is the smallest national park but also one of the more popular ones. With beautiful white beaches and rocky headlands, backed by tropical rainforest, mangroves and estuaries, it is easy to see why.

Among this varied landscape are typical Costa Rican animals like sloths, agoutis, monkeys and iguanas.

It has a well-developed trail system to facilitate independent exploration, but knowledgeable local guides are also available at the park entrance. Picnic areas are situated along the coastal trails, and from cliff top lookouts visitors can admire the stunning coastal views.

Quepos is the nearest town to the park, a pleasant and friendly place, and it is also the sport-fishing centre in the region.

Manuel Antonio has a number of different beaches that you can visit. Essentially, there are three different beaches in Manuel Antonio:

* Playa Espadilla: The main public beach in front of Main Street
* Playitas: About a 10 minute walk to the beach (in a northwestern direction back out of town), Playitas is a quieter and less-busy area of the public beach in Manuel Antonio
* National Park beach: While it costs tourists around $10 to enter the National Park beach, many consider the beach to be better due to the decreased crowds and nice water/sand

Manuel Antonio / Quepos Services

Bus service from San José to Quepos / Manuel Antonio

Bus service runs regularly between Quepos and San Jose, from the Coca Cola bus station in down town San Jose, buses leave and come from Quepos several times in a day.

Direct Buses leave at :
- 6:00 AM
- 12:00 PM
- 6:00 PM

The price is around $6, you can pay in dollars or in colones. It will take 3 and ½ hours to get to Quepos from San Jose. There are indirect buses that will take about an hour longer, cost a little less, and are more frequent in the day.

Buses in Costa Rica are run by small companies that bid for established routes with the government. There is no nationalized public transit system.

The only way to assure a seat, especially at busy times, is to buy your tickets in advance in person (or have someone do it for you) at the bus station. You cannot reserve a seat by phone or the internet.

Weather in Manuel Antonio National Park

The average annual temperatures range from 31.7°C (89°F) on the coast to 16.7°C (62°F) inland. The rainy, or ‘green season' lasts from approximately May to November with noticeably drier days during the rest of the year.

The National Meteorological Institute of Costa Rica
Weather Information for:
Quepos & Manuel Antonio

Geo-Location: 09º29 N; 84º12 O; 6m
Canton: Aguirre
Province: Puntarenas

Month    Min.    Max.  *(mm)  **(md)
Jan         21.6     31.3     45.9       7.2
Feb        21.9     32.0     25.8       4.2
Mar        22.7     32.4     40.0       5.4
Apr        23.5     32.2     156.9     12.4
May       23.4     31.2     389.0     22.9
Jun       23.2     30.8     413.3     23.6
Jul        22.8     30.5     444.9     25.7
Aug      22.8     30.4     468.7     26.4
Sep      22.7     30.3     544.3     26.5
Oct      22.6     30.0     533.5     26.7
Nov      22.6     29.8     349.0     23.2
Dec      22.3     30.6     159.7     15.2

* Total Preci-pitation
** Number of Preci-pitation Days