Manuel Antonio
Gazing down on the blue Pacific from high on the hillsides of Manuel Antonio, it’s almost impossible to hold back a gasp of delight. Offshore, rocky islands dot the vast expanse of blue, and in the foreground, the rich, deep green of the rain forest sweeps down to the water. Located on the Central Pacific Coast of Costa Rica, Manuel Antonio has been a long time destination for travelers to Costa Rica. Its relative proximity to San Jose by road, its stunning beauty and certainly because of the country’s most visited national park, have made Manuel Antonio an amazing destination for travelers from rag tag backpackers to uber-high end socialites.
The Manuel Antonio area more or less includes anything between Quepos and the Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio, located at the very end of the coastal road. The park was established in 1972, resulting in the entire area being called Manuel Antonio. Inside the actual national park, travelers can find four beaches: Manuel Antonio, Espadilla Sur, Escondido, and Playita. The beaches are amazing and are home to famously brave monkeys that have a habit of stealing items left alone on the beach.
Winding along te road between Quepos and Manuel Antonio, travelers will see small hotels and restaurants dotting the way. There is even a restaurant at the Costa Verde hotel called El Avion, and is home to an old C-123 cargo plane that had been abandoned in San Jose by the CIA after the Nicaraguan civil war in the 80′s. Coffee conosuiers can visit Cafe Milagro for a hot cup of jo and some great food. If you want to catch a movie, head to the Si Como No hotel, and you’ll get free admission with dinner. There are also plenty of bars, and even a couple of small casinos to try your luck, all dotted along the lush green road that winds along the coast.
For the longest time, there were really only two hostels in the area: Wide Mouth Frog in Quepos, and Vista Serena in Manuel Antonio. Recently however, there has been an addition to the backpacking scene, and not a bad one. Backpackers Manuel Antonio opened a pretty cool hostel right in the middle of Manuel Antonio, almost dead center between Quepos and the National Park. Backpackers Manuel Antonio boasts the same low rates as the other hostels in the area, as well as a new swimming pool with an ocean view.
To get to Quepos and Manuel Antonio from San Jose, you can catch a direct bus from the Coca Cola Terminal downtown (3 1/2 hrs+), there are several a day. Sansa and Nature Air also offer several flights a day (25 minutes), and sometimes Nature Air has some amazing deals. From Quepos, it’s not hard to head south to Dominical, or north to Puntarenas to catch the ferry to the Nicoy Peninsula.
Manuel Antonio Costa Rica in a larger map
