Manuel Antonio National Park is the most visited National Park in Costa Rica. Located right on the ocean, it is home to beautiful beaches, different kinds of wildlife, and a very unique ecosystem. We had so much fun exploring the park and this blog post will break down all there is to do here! If you want to get a feel for what it’s like inside the National Park, be sure to check out our vlog which you can find here! You can also learn more about the rest of our Costa Rica trip by checking out our complete itinerary found here.

HOURS: Manuel Antonio is open Tuesday-Sunday from 7am-4pm. This means they are closed on Monday’s so make sure you plan ahead! We heard that lines to enter can get long, but both times we visited we were able to walk right in!

TICKETS: The location to buy entrance tickets into Manuel Antonio National Park is located right by the entrance of the park and is called Coopealianza. There is also a Coopealianza office in downtown Quepos. While the national park is closed on Monday’s, the ticket office is open every day from 7am-3pm. The entrance ticket is $16, and there is supposed to be a limited number sold, so we were told to make sure we buy them in advance. Additionally, during busy seasons, the lines can get very long, so if you go to the ticket office the afternoon before, you should be able to save a lot of time!

FOOD: For a day of hiking, or even lounging on the beach, you’re going to want to make sure that you are fueled up with snacks! However, there are many restrictions on food that can be taken into the park. The White-Faced Monkeys are extremely talented scavengers, so the rules are in place to protect them. The only items you can bring are sandwiches and fruit. No chips, granola, or anything like that. Right outside of the park there are several shops where you can buy fresh sandwiches so that’s what we did! There is food for sale inside the park (pizza, sandwiches, burritos) but it is really expensive so we recommend buying it beforehand.

BEACHES: There are a few different beach options to lounge at inside of the park. Playa Manuel Antonio and Playa Espadilla Sur are the two largest and most popular. They are right near each other so you can check them both out and decide! They both have beautiful water and perfect sand! We opted to spend more time at Playa Espadilla Sur because we were able to find a shady spot to sit! There is also Playa Gemelas which is much smaller than the other two, more secluded, and takes a little bit longer to hike to. But it definitely won’t be as crowded as the others if you are looking for some seclusion!

GUIDED TOUR: We highly highly highly recommend doing a guided tour. We would not have seen any of the wildlife that we saw if it wasn’t for our guide. During the 2 hour tour we saw bats, tons of white face monkeys, a Jesus Christ lizard (can walk on water), a helmet lizard, a three toed sloth, a tropical land crab, a giant grasshopper, some baby golden tail hummingbirds, whipped tail lizards, a three toed sloth with its baby, banana spider, several two toed sloths, a rainbow grasshopper, and raccoons! You can book a tour guide in advance through most hostels, but we opted to just grab one at the entrance for only $20 per person (compared to $40ish if you book in advance). We made sure to check that he had an Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT) card, meaning he was trained and certified.

HIKING: Of course we love to hike, so we were determined to hike every single trail in the park! Over the course of two days we did just that! You could probably do it in one day, but each day we would hike for a few hours and then cool down at the beach for a few hours. Outlined below is each trail and everything you need to know to plan your hike!

1. VEHICULAR ACCESS aka EVACUATION ROUTE (0.7 miles, 1.1km): This is the main trail in the national park. It is basically a wide, flat, gravel road. If you go on a guided tour, which we highly recommend, this is the main trail you will travel to see tons of wildlife! This trail starts at the main entrance and ends near the cafeteria where you can then access the beach trails.

2. MANGROVE TRAIL (0.6 miles, 1km): This trail also starts at the main entrance of the park and runs parallel to the access road. It is completely made up of elevated bridges making it easy to walk on, and so that it does not damage the ecosystem below! You can take this trail as a shortcut to the beaches by turning right after the first junction. Or, if you continue, you will eventually merge with the sloth trail. Along this trail there are a number of signs with information about your surroundings.

3. SLOTH TRAIL (0.4 miles, 0.65km): This trail continues on from the Mangrove Trail but becomes a concrete path. We enjoyed this trail because while all of the tour groups were parallel on the access road, we basically had this trail to ourselves. The trail was very easy to walk on and takes you through a diverse forest and ends near the cafeteria and beach trails. If you’re lucky like us, you’ll see some sloths!

4. WATERFALL TRAIL (0.4 miles, 0.65km): You can reach this trail either via the evacuation route or from a short bypass on the Mangrove Trail. Though still a fairly moderate trail, there are a lot of stairs making for a total of 80 feet (24 meters) of elevation gain which can be tiring in the humid weather. At the end of this trail you will come to a seasonal waterfall. During the rainy season, we image it flows very well, but since we visited during the dry season it was a pretty small trickle.

5. MANUEL ANTONIO BEACH TRAIL (0.3 miles, 0.5km): This easy trail runs from the cafeteria area down to Playa Manuel Antonio and connects to Playa Espadilla Sur and Cathedral Point. The first part of this trail is downhill on a gravel road and paved sidewalk. It passes bathrooms where you can change and rinse off after the beach! The second half off the trail goes through sand as it goes alongside the beach. This portion of the trail was our favorite in the whole park because you can spot tons of White Faced monkeys playing in the trees and trying to steal people’s food! They are really fun to watch as they fly through the trees! They are not afraid of humans at all so they will get up nice and close; be sure to watch your belongings, they are quick! At the end of the trail there is a tower that you can climb with limited views.

6. CATHEDRAL POINT TRAIL (0.75 miles, 1.2 km): This loop trail starts at the junction between Playa Manuel Antonio and Playland Espadilla Sur. Be prepared for a moderate hike with lots of stairs and ups and downs as there is a total of 350 feet (107 meters) of elevation gain. There are three different viewpoints where you can soak in beautiful views of the surrounding oceans. Going in a counterclockwise direction, the first viewpoint is Isla Olocuita, where you can see two small islands that birds use to nest and take refuge. The second viewpoint is Isla Verde, which is a great spot to potentially see whales if you are there the right time of year! (September-November). The final viewpoint is Playa Gemelas / Punta Serrucho. Here you can look across the bay to the other side of Manuel Antonio National Park and see the beautiful Playa Gemelas. Lastly, you can make a stop at La Trampa, which is another small beach.

7. PLAYA ESPADILLA SUR TRAIL (0.5 miles, 0.8km): This sandy trail is very straightforward and easy, as it runs parallel to the beach. Along this trail, there are many access points to the beach so you can choose which section looks best for you! Near the end of it, there are restrooms where you can change and rinse off. Also near the end is the junction with the Mangrove Trail that will take you back to the entrance.

8. MIRADOR TRAIL (0.6 miles, 1km): This trail is known as the most difficult in the whole park! It climbs to a viewpoint high up where you can see Punta Serrucho, which is known for its interesting volcanic rock formations. The path up is quite strenuous, climbing up 295 feet (90 meters) mainly via wooden stairs. While this doesn’t sound too bad, we were sweating like crazy due to the humid weather, but the view at the top was totally worth it!

9. PLAYA GEMELAS TRAIL (0.25 miles, 0.4km): This easy trail runs from the Mirador Trail to Playa Gemelas. Heading up the Mirador Trail, it is the first junction that you will reach. If you are coming down the Mirador Trail, you can take the Los Congos Trail as a shortcut to the beach. Playa Gemelas is the smallest and most secluded beach that you can swim at within the park!

10. LOS CONGOS TRAIL (0.2 miles, 0.3km): This trail connects the Mirador Trail to the Playa Gemelas Trail. Coming from the Mirador Trail, you will ascend slightly before descending down stone stairs. We heard some Howler Monkeys that sounded very close by, but we couldn’t see them.

11. PUERTO ESCONDIDO TRAIL (0.25 miles, 0.4km): This moderate trail ascends over concrete paths before making a steep descent down several stairs to a fantastic viewpoint of Puerto Escondido. It appears that you used to be able to descend down to the rocks and ocean below, but the ladder has been closed for safety reasons. The view is still fantastic and not a lot of people ventured this far, so it was pretty secluded!