Manuel Antonio is located 100 miles south or 3 hours from the Costa Rican capital San José in the Puntarenas province on the Pacific Coast. It is the most popular beach and National Park in Costa Rica.

This area has a charming combination of rain forest, beaches and coral reefs. The beaches inside and outside of the park are the most beautiful in the country, lined with lush forest, with sparkling white sand, blue water and excellent snorkeling. There are many exclusive hotels in Manuel Antonio, but there are also budget hotels available. Also, there is a variety of restaurants, shops, and a hot nightlife.

The Manuel Antonio National Park was established in 1972. With its 1,700 acres of land mass and 135,906 acres of marine reserve, it is the smallest of the 20 national parks Costa Rica has put aside for total protection. Despite Manuel Antonio’s size, it is one of the country’s most popular parks, with as many as 150,000 visitors annually in recent years. The park has now put a limit on the number of visitors to the park (600 per day Tues-Fri, 800 on the weekends, and it is closed on Mondays), to prevent this small natural area from becoming too damaged.

Inside the park, the hilly evergreen forest provides natural shade from the tropical sun which lines two gorgeous white sand beaches sloping to the gentle surf. Several trails lead through dense jungle growth to hidden sandy coves and magnificent lookouts over the ocean and beaches.

The rain forest and mountains literally meet the sea here and the ecosystem is full of land, sea and air species. On your hike through the park, you should be able to find various colorful and majestic birds, white-faced monkeys, two and three-toed sloth, coatis, pacas, brilliantly colored land crabs, a variety of multihued butterflies, and interesting insects. The endangered squirrel monkey and a subspecies of the squirrel monkey endemic to Costa Rica are also frequently seen. In all, over 100 species of animals and nearly 200 species of birds have been identified in this park.

Our park habitat consist of primary and secondary forest, the most characteristic species of flora in the primary forest are guácimo colorado (luehea seemannii), pilón (hieromyna alchomeoides), cedro maría (calophyllum longifolium), guapinol blanco (hymeneae courbaril), surá (terminalia oblonga), guapinol negro or stinkingtoe (cynometra hemitomophyla), lechoso (cow tree/brosimum utile), cenízaro (pithecelobium saman)and ceiba (silk cotton tree).

You can also enjoy the beauty of beaches like Espadilla Sur, Puerto Escondido and Manuel Antonio that are located inside the park.

The park receives approximately 151 inches (3,900 mm) of precipitation a year. January and February are the driest months; August through October are the rainiest. High temperatures average 81 °F (27 °C) to 86 °F (30 °C) year round.

Near Manuel Antonio is Jardín Gaia which was named three years ago as Costa Rica's first official Wildlife Rescue Center. It receives injured and confiscated animals and attempts to rehabilitate them for return to the wild.

Manuel Antonio is a fantastic National Park filled with interesting forest life and beautiful beaches.