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Easily one of the top five national parks in Costa Rica, if not the most popular, Manuel Antonio National Park should be on your agenda when visiting Costa Rica.
Visiting with kids is totally doable and fun! There are a few things to know before you go.
We drove our rental car down from Jaco, which is about 1.5 hours north of Manuel Antionio National Park. The roads are two-lane and easy to navigate.
Read here for tips on driving in Costa Rica.
As you get close to the park, prepare yourself for tourist traps galore. You’ll probably be flagged off the road and told to park. We did exactly this. The men flashed their ID cards and told us they worked for the park and we must park there.
Ignore them.
We found lots of parking closer to the park as we walked up. Additionally, we had to pay for this parking (about $4 USD), which is silly. The closer parking is free!
It is not uncommon to have to pay for parking in Costa Rica. In fact, I found it a bit comforting. I’d happily pay a small fee to keep my car safe and sound. However, these tourist traps are not needed and you can park closer to the park.
You’ll be offered guides from the moment you stop the car. The first offer we got was $50 USD per person. As we continued to say “no,” this offer got as low as $60 for our entire group.
We did not get a guide, which I regret. I would recommend getting one. The park is full of wildlife including over 100 species of birds, sloths, monkeys, etc. You probably won’t see much, if any, without a guide.
However, negotiate for your guide! Just keep declining or acting uninterested and the price will continue to drop.
Once you find the entrance, you’ll be directed to automated ticket machines. An attendant will guide you through the process. It runs around $10 USD per person. Our family of seven was just over $70 USD. Credit cards are accepted.
The tickets will print out and you’ll show them at one more window.
Currently, masks are required to enter the park. You’ll need to wash you hands, record your temperature, and wear masks when entering. We forgot our masks in the car and had to buy a few from the vendors right outside the park.
Once you start walking in the park, you can remove your mask.
Outside food is not allowed inside the park. All bags will be checked. I think this is both so you don’t feed the wildlife, as well as to force you to buy food inside the park. You can, however, bring in your own water.
I have a thing for international bathrooms. When you have lots of young kids, you want to know what to expect from bathrooms while traveling.
Several bathrooms exist throughout the park. Many of them have showers and multiple stalls for men and women. The ones near the beaches have foot-washing stations as well.
Several beaches are accessible only by walking through the park itself. We walked about 40 minutes with the kids before we reached the first beach.
Prepare yourself for some incredible beauty. This beach tops our list for most beautiful in the world!
You can set down your bags and shoes under the trees, but beware. Monkeys are known to steal phones, cameras, and more! We didn’t see any monkeys on the beach when we went, but heard many stories.
Remember, no outside food and drinks are allowed inside.
There is a small cafe inside the park. It serves pizza, sandwiches, salads, pastries, and drinks. There is also gelato which tastes extra good when you are hot and sweaty from walking around.
You’ll need your mask here again and will be asked to wash your hands first.
We spent about $50 on lunch here. It’s overpriced and not amazing food, but I’m glad they have it for hungry kids.
If you get a guide, you are nearly guaranteed to see a sloth and some monkeys. The guides bring telescopes to see through the lofty green canopy.
Without a guide we didn’t see much. There are signs along the raised pathway.
We did happen to cross paths with a troop of monkeys on our way back to the car. They were curious, but not aggressive. They barely paid attention to us at all.
Our travel friends Hartandcol found out the hard way Manuel Antionio is closed on Mondays. This is hard info to find on the website.
Quepos is the closest town to the park and has some touristy activites avaiable. Zip-lines are huge in Costa Rica and even young children can do them.
The public beach near Manuel Antionio entrance is gorgeous. You can rent beach chairs, do water sports, and have drinks brought to you.
Lots of little vendors line the entrance to the park and will try to sell you their wares. Be sure to negotiate. We enjoyed some fresh coconuts to drink and bought a few souveniers.
We opted for a meal at a darling restaurant, Donde Alex, near the entrance/exit to Manuel Antonio. I’d recommend the whole Red Snapper with Jumbo Prawns. Such a yummy meal! Their fresh smoothies are also a wonderful treat at the end of your walk.
Enjoy your visit to the park! Costa Rica holds many treasures for families traveling.
Love,
Leslie
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