The Easiest Place to Spot Wildlife in Costa Rica

If you’re seeking the easiest place to spot wildlife in Costa Rica, look no further than Manuel Antonio National Park. It’s located in a town of the same name, near Quepos. Although you’ll find enticing nature preserves throughout Costa Rica, Manuel Antonio is justifiably the country’s most visited park. In this post, I’ll show you how to spot Costa Rica’s wildlife by day and night, in its natural habitat.

So Many Choices 

Fully one-fourth of Costa Rica is protected conservation area. With 30 national parks and wildlife refuges, there is a lot to choose from. First-time and repeat visitors find it tough to choose. So I’ll make it easy for you. In terms of transportation connections, biodiversity, proximity to wildlife, and accessibility for people with limited mobility, Manual Antonio National Park ticks every box. 

The larger Corcovado National Park, on the Osa Peninsula, is sometimes suggested as a worthy alternative. But it’s costlier, more remote, and harder to reach than Manuel Antonio. 

Flora and Fauna

Manuel Antonio, on Costa Rica’s central Pacific coast, is the nation’s smallest national park. But its mountains, rainforest, mangroves, and coastline house hundreds of species of plants and animals. Among the most popular inhabitants are coatis, sloths, monkeys (four kinds!), anteaters and ocelots. You’ll also find poison dart frogs, all manner of lizards and snakes, and colorful crabs. Not to mention 350 species of birds. Their collective cries and calls fill the air. (See the photos at the end of this article.)

My personal favorite? The nocturnal, red-eyed tree frog, which nearly eluded me. It’s just two inches long and, at rest, blends nicely with the foliage it rests on. (I confess— I woke one up to get a photo.)

Trails and Beaches

Manuel Antonio National Park has four, white-sand beaches and 11 trails totaling five miles. Most of the paths are easy, flat walking trails consisting of dirt, gravel, pavement, or boardwalks. Many of them are accessible for strollers and persons with limited mobility. The most difficult one is Mirador Trail— its 300 wooden steps lead to an overlook with panoramic views of the ocean. Skip the Catarata Trail in the dry season, when the waterfall dries up. 

Some people never leave the main service trail, which more easily accommodates tour groups that stop to take photos. If you need more solitude, venture onto a smaller path. 

Get a Guide

You can explore the park on your own and surely spot wildlife. But you’ll see more wildlife, learn a lot, and get better photos with a guide. Licensed guides know the animals, their habitats, and their behavior— and where to look for them. You can be standing right above or below one and your untrained eye will never see it. 

And nearly every guide brings along a powerful telescope mounted on a tripod to zoom in on creatures hiding in the canopy. If your telephoto lens isn’t up to the challenge, just press your smart phone to the telescope’s viewer and snap the perfect pic. 

Manuel Antonio National Park with a Naturalist

I had a great experience with certified naturalist Michael Araya, manager of Mike’s Nature Tours. He offers 4-hour tours with a maximum of 12 people. The cost is $65 per adult and $55 per child under 9. Hotel pick-up and the park entrance fee are included. Mike even shares his photos from each tour with clients.

Morning and afternoon tours are offered, but I recommend the morning tour. That’s when it’s cooler and the animals are more active. Plus, when the tour is over, you can remain in the park to enjoy the beaches and more time on the trails. There’s an on-site cafe for lunch. 

Note that return transportation to your hotel is not included, but a bus ride or taxi is inexpensive within the greater Manuel Antonio area.

When to Go

The park is open year-round from 07:00 to 16:00 except on Tuesdays. Note the beaches may be cleared at 15:00 to allow people to exit the park on time. Weekends are busier than weekdays. 

Manuel Antonio’s dry season runs from December to April, and the park is likely to be most crowded from December to February. September and October are the region’s wettest months. 

Cheeky Monkeys

All of the park’s beaches have facilities. I personally liked the tranquil Playa Manuel Antonio. But don’t leave your belongings unattended on the sand, as I did. The monkeys will rifle them for food— whether you have any or not. And they like to play keep-away with your stuff. In teams. While cackling at you.  

I tend to have bad luck with monkeys. A macaque mugged me in Gibraltar— a story I’ll save for another time. Then my backpack was ransacked on the beach. But my encounter with a Costa Rican capuchin, in the sanctity of my own condo, was the most egregious.   

Capacity Controls

Perhaps to avoid agitating the monkeys, the park limits visitors to about 1,100 per day. Entrance tickets must be purchased in advance at the government’s official website for timed entry on a specific date. The current cost is about $18 per adult and approximately $6 for children ages 2-12. The earliest daily time slot is 07:00-07:40, followed by 08:00-08:40, 09:00-09:40, and so on until the final slot of the day, starting at 13:00.
 

Note: Admission to the park is often included with guided tours, so double check before buying entrance tickets on your own. 

Buying Tickets Online

Have your passport and credit card handy when you’re ready to buy your entrance tickets.

You first have to create an account at the government’s official website. You can choose English or Spanish as your preferred language. Once logged in, select Manuel Antonio as your desired park and then choose the date and time you prefer. Try to get the 07:00 or 8:00 time slot for the best experience.
 

You will be prompted to enter a name and passport number for each ticket. The transaction will time out after several minutes, so enter your passport and credit card numbers promptly when requested. You will receive an email confirmation of your purchase to bring with you to the park. (Also bring your passport, or at least a photocopy of it, to confirm your identity.)

Prohibited Items

You must agree to a list of conditions before purchasing your entrance tickets. Read it carefully. For example, you cannot bring food or single-use drink containers into the park. Drones and pets are banned, as well. Consult the “Recommendations” tab at Manuel Antonio’s official website for a full list of current restrictions.
 

Do bring sunscreen and bug repellant!

Beware the Toxic Trees

Costa Rica, like other coastal communities from Florida to South America, is home to manchineel trees. (Manzanilla trees in Spanish.) Stay far away from them. The fruit resembles small green apples, and every part of the tree— including rain that drips from it— is toxic. The trees grow along some beaches and are typically marked by warning signs. Do not sit under, lean against, or otherwise touch manchineel trees. They cause blistering rashes, and if the fruit or tree resin is ingested, it can be deadly. Click here to learn more.
 

Getting There by Car

The drive from the capital, San Jose, to Manuel Antonio is about 3 hours by car and 4.5 hours by bus. 

If you arrive in a rental car, note that parking can be tight and sometimes chaotic. There is no official lot for the park, so you’re left to fend for yourself amongst the competing, private lots nearby. 

Personally, I’d leave my car where I’m staying and take the bus. It runs every 30 minutes, from 05:30 to 21:30, in each direction along the main road to the park. The route runs the entire distance from Quepos to Manuel Antonio. 

Getting There by Plane

During my first trip to Costa Rica, I flew Southwest Airlines to San Jose and then caught a 30-minute commuter flight to Quepos on Sansa Airlines. From Quepos it took just 15 minutes to reach my VRBO in Manuel Antonio by taxi. Thereafter, I took the bus.  

Manuel Antonio By Night

I was thrilled by the variety of wildlife visible at Manuel Antonio National Park by day. It really is the easiest place to spot wildlife in Costa Rica. But I couldn’t help but wonder… what happens after dark?! 

To find out, I signed up for a night jungle tour with naturalist Manuel Cabalceta of Manuel’s Tours. He leads groups of 4-6 people through a private preserve. You’ll be introduced, sometimes with the aid of black light, to nocturnal creatures that are every bit as fascinating as their diurnal counterparts. And you never quite know what you’ll find, which is part of the fun. 

The 2-hour tour is $59 per person, with hotel pick-up and drop-off included. If there’s a specific animal you want to see, Manuel goes out of his way to find it. In my case, it was the red-eyed tree frog. Although we didn’t spot one during the tour, Manuel called a friend at a local animal refuge who helped me find one the next day. 

But Wait, There’s More

In my opinion, Manuel Antonio National Park is surely the easiest place to spot wildlife in Costa Rica. But that’s not all there is to do there. Whitewater rafting, zip lining, surfing, and other adventures abound along the Pacific coast. One of my favorite unplanned activities was a side trip to watch sea turtles come ashore and lay their eggs. Pura vida, as they say in Costa Rica. Pure life.