Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio

Manuel Antonio: Costa Rica’s Smallest Park With 352 Bird Species

Manuel Antonio National Park covers 1,625 hectares – the smallest national park in Costa Rica. Within that area, SINAC has recorded 352 bird species, 109 mammal species, and 346 plant species. Those numbers put it among the most biodiverse protected areas per square kilometre in Central America, which is a fact that the park’s small-scale reputation consistently undersells. Most visitors come for beaches and monkeys. The birders who come with a good guide and binoculars often describe it as one of the more productive mornings they have had in the region.

The park receives around 150,000 visitors per year in a space with a daily capacity of 800 visitors on weekends and 600 on weekdays. That capacity is real and tickets sell out; booking online at sinac.go.cr at least a few days ahead is not optional during peak season. The park is closed every Tuesday.

The Park

Three main beaches connect by coastal trails through lowland rainforest. Playa Espadilla Sur is the first beach inside the entrance: long, open-surf, with the forest immediately behind. Playa Manuel Antonio, 20 minutes further in, is calmer with better swimming and snorkelling in the rocky sections to the south. A tombolo – a sandbar connecting to a small peninsula – creates a second small bay with different light and usually fewer people. Playa Gemelas is quietest and worth the extra 10 minutes of walking if the main beaches are at capacity.

Wildlife is the primary reason to come. Squirrel monkeys, white-faced capuchins, three-toed sloths, coatis, and iguanas are reliably present and largely unafraid of humans. This is partly wonderful and partly a management problem: the capuchins have been fed by visitors for decades and actively steal food from unguarded bags. Keep zippers closed and do not leave food visible. The sloths camouflage perfectly in the canopy – nearly invisible without a guide pointing them out.

A naturalist guide is worth having. They find sloths, snakes, and understory birds you will walk past without realising it. Guides are available at the entrance for around $25 to 35 per person for a 3-hour tour, or can be booked in advance through hotels. The combination of good binoculars and a guide with a spotting scope converts the walk from a pleasant beach excursion to something genuinely exceptional.

Entry costs $18 USD for non-Costa Rican adults, $5.65 for children 5 to 11. The park opens at 7am and closes at 3pm (arrive early: the best wildlife activity is in the first two hours after opening).

Quepos and the Local Scene

Quepos, 7 kilometres north of the park entrance, is the nearest town: a marina, supermarkets, pharmacies, and restaurants that serve a more local crowd than the hotel strip. El Avion on the road into the park occupies a former C-123 military aircraft fuselage as its bar, serves genuinely good seafood, and is too strange to skip. Soda El Rancho in Quepos does the standard Costa Rican casado (rice, beans, salad, protein) for around 4,000 CRC – substantially better value than the tourist strip and the way locals eat lunch.

Fishing tours, dolphin-watching boats, and sunset cruises all depart from Marina Pez Vela in Quepos. Humpback whale season runs August through November, when whales breach close to shore.

Staying

Tulemar Bungalows is the luxury choice: hillside bungalows with ocean views and private beach access (from $350/night in season). Costa Verde Hotel is mid-range with pool views; it also has two Boeing 727 fuselages converted into suites, which is either a selling point or a concern depending on your relationship to aircraft. Budget travellers have good hostel options in Quepos; La Cantina in central Quepos is reliable.

The wet season (May through November) brings afternoon rain, fewer tourists, and significantly lower prices. The dry season (December through April) has better beach conditions but higher costs and earlier-selling-out tickets.