Many happy Costa Rica trips are centered on the Central Pacific Coast, where Manuel Antonio is a national park and beach resort community of the same name. The Manual Antonio area boasts gorgeous creamy-white sandy beaches, trails that wind through lush evergreen forests, abundant wildlife that is easy to see, warm gentle waters, hills with spectacular ocean vistas, elegant hotels, a variety of excellent restaurants and gift shops, and a host of options for additional activities in the area. The nearby town of Quepos provides some urban amenities, as well.
In Manuel Antonio, summer never ends! The weather is always warm, with a minimum temperature of 68 °F (20°C), and an average of 81°F (27°C), and in the hottest months of March and April, noon temperatures may reach the mid 90s°F (35°C). Rains can be heavy in late August, September and October, although most rains don't start until the afternoon. The temperature of the tropical Pacific Ocean is comfortably warm, being in the upper 70's to mid 80's °F all year long. The driest and sunniest weather generally begins in November or early December and continues into April.
If you are uncertain about how to design your Costa Rica tour or want to avoid lots of travel within Costa Rica, Manuel Antonio might be the right destination for you. With its beautiful natural attractions, easy hiking and kayaking, close up wildlife, and other area amenities, Manuel Antonio is one of our guests' favorite destinations. It truly seems to have it all.
Manuel Antonio National Park and the Beaches
The main attractions of the area are the beaches both outside and inside the national park.
The first beach, Playa Espadilla Norte, lies just outside the park. This is a long open beach that is a very popular with residents and visitors alike. Here the surf is sometimes rough, although surfers on a Costa Rica surf vacation are attracted to this beach when the waves are up. Numerous vendors sell crafts behind this beach including T-shirts, colorful wrap-a-rounds, and other items. Rentals of "water accessories" are generally available here, including snorkels and fins, sea kayaks, and perhaps boogie boards and surfboards. You can usually purchase a fresh green coconut from a mobile vendor. He can slice it open with a few deft chops from a machete enabling one to drink the thirst-quenching "agua de pipa" (coconut water) through a straw. Small cafes with breakfast and/or lunch menus and items to go (sandwiches, pastries, bottled water and soft drinks) are located across the street behind the beach. This is a convenient place to pick up an extra bottle of water or snack when continuing on into the park just beyond the parking area nearby.
To get into the national park, you walk through a shallow stream from an estuary that rises to waist level at high tide. Plan to walk to the park in your bathing suit and sandals. After paying the entrance fees, you may walk along the second beach, Espadilla Sur, or on a forest trail behind the entry booth. The Espadilla Sur beach is another long open sandy beach, but with fewer people on it. At the far end is a rocky section where you can go snorkeling.
The most beautiful beach is the third beach, also named Manuel Antonio. In a sheltered cove, this light cream-colored sandy beach is protected from the larger waves that roll onto the preceding two beaches. The sides of the cove have rocky areas that are fun for snorkeling. Here lush forest vegetation overhangs the uppermost edge of the beach giving welcome shade during the mid-day heat.
Beyond the Beach
In the trees behind Manuel Antonio beach look for three-toed and two-toed sloths. These slow- moving creatures often just hang upside down or wrap themselves around an upright branch high up in the trees and are well-camouflaged. Generally it is easier to find them by asking other beachgoers or the park guards where the sloths are-they usually stay in the same locations for hours!
Much more active are the white-throated monkeys. Agile, inquisitive, intelligent and bold, these monkeys often steal unattended food off the picnic tables or out of bags. (PLEASE DO NOT FEED THEM! Snack foods are not a normal or healthy part of their diets, and feeding them any food creates a dependence on handouts.) Other wildlife in and around the park (many hotels outside the park also have trees with wildlife) include green iguanas, ctenosaurs (smaller lizards related to the iguanas), raccoons and the related coatis, agoutis, anteaters (seen infrequently), colorful scarlet-legged land crabs, hermit crabs, armadillos, howling monkeys and the rare central American squirrel monkey. Many of these creatures are accustomed to people and fairly easy to photograph.
Several trails wind through the park. You cross over the "tómbolo"-a sandy strip connected to a former island-to reach Cathedral Point. This former island rises to a ridge top with a lookout and breathtaking cliff-edge views of the ocean and small off-shore islands. Other trails lead through the forest where monkeys and sloths can be seen going about their business, and offering other stunning views of the ocean and forest. These are fairly easy trails with some steeper sections paved with cement.
Outside the Park
Outside the park, the road rises up a hill where many elegant resort hotels and restaurants are owned by international proprietors from France, the US, Italy, and other nations. Many have designed their restaurants and guests' rooms with magnificent ocean vistas. Within this area, and in the nearby community of Quepos, are several restaurants, bars, cafes and gift shops. Some restaurants or bars offer live or "disco" music on weekends or weeknights during the December - April peak season.
Other activities usually available in the region include salt water fishing, jet skiing, sea kayaking tours, boat tours of estuaries, whale/dolphin watching, white-water river rafting, the "Rainmaker" forest canopy tour and more.
