Manuel Antonio National Park from San José

Highlights

Inclusions

Itinerary

1. We will pick up the clients in San José and travel along Route 27 observing beautiful mountains on the way. This road will take us to the Costanera Sur, on the way you will see plantations of African Palm and other crops.

   Passes by

2. We will make a stop of approximately 45 minutes for you to have breakfast or have a coffee or even buy snacks for the road. It is also a good opportunity to use the bathroom. It will take approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes to get to Manuel Antonio from this point.

   45 min

3. We will take a walk in the rain forest along a natural path of the national park until we reach the beach, where you can take a bath, or take a tour of the trails, which will allow us to observe the abundant flora and fauna, in particular several species. of monkeys, raccoons, iguanas, birds, and sloths. If you decide to hike to Punta Catedral, don't forget your camera, the view from there is spectacular. After having enjoyed the national park we will walk back to the restaurant where a delicious lunch awaits us before taking the road back to the city.

   5 hAdmission included

4. Once the tour and lunch are finished, we will go to the city of Manuel Antonio where it will take approximately 3 hours to reach your destination. Travel hours are approximate. Check with your driver or guide what is the estimated time.

   Passes by

Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.

Reviews

Ratings come from 140 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Showing reviews written in English.

• 1don't bother.

  long bus trip very cramped seats with not much to see at the park for 7 hours in bus did not turn up at pick up for correct time had to recarrange a pick up

  Haring_WAugust 2026via Viator

• 5Mary Tabor

  The God was awesome you would have never thought we were on a day trip it was like we were all friends and family thank you for a great day trip

  FarAway46690851954June 2026via Tripadvisor

• 4The tour was disappointing but the location was beautiful.

  Our tour guide was not feeling well and was sleeping on the way to our destination. While in the rainforest he did not have the energy to really spot out the animals and make the effort to help us find them or give us facts about the location. Furthermore, we had to take an Uber to and from our meeting point, which was an additional cost. We also had to purchase ponchos because of the heavy rains. However, the rainforest all in all was absolutely beautiful.

  Q7657CNsophiagJune 2026via Tripadvisor

• 5A great day out

  This is a superb national park which combines nature trails with some very nice beaches. We spent the morning walking the various trails and were lucky enough to spot a sloth way up in the trees. It does make sense to hire a guide as it is very difficult to spot these elusive creatures. In the afternoon, we spent some time on one of the beaches accessible from within the park (Playa Manuel Antonio has a protected area which is great for swimming too). We recommend that you get to the park at opening time for the nature trails as it does get very busy later in the day. That said, there are quieter areas where people do not venture to, such as the Punta Catedral trail.

  ZigettMarch 2026via Tripadvisor

• 4The beach, national park...

  The beach, national park and the ride, the road all was so great! I enjoyed it the entire time. I didn’t give 1 star because of the tour guide, she was a joke, she probably said 3 sentences in english and mostly ignored english speakers!

  Rashin_BJanuary 2026via Viator

• 3The tour got off to a...

  The tour got off to a slow start with a late guide. It’s a long drive from San José, and you only get about 3 hours in the park, which isn’t much. The place is stunning, though, I’d recommend staying overnight to explore more. Breakfast was great, lunch was just okay. I was hoping for a bird’s-eye view of the park, but you'd need more time to find the right spots for that.

  Georsadd_GJuly 2025via Viator

Know before you go

How it compares in San José

• Its from-price is 31% below the median of the 201 day trips we list in San José.
• Its length is typical for the group.
• By number of reviews it ranks 14 of 201.
• The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About San José

San José is Costa Rica's capital in the high Central Valley, a working city of theatres, markets and museums, close to volcanoes and coffee farms.

San José sits in a mountain-ringed valley at about 1,100 metres, where the climate is mild year-round. The neoclassical National Theatre, opened in 1897, is the city's finest building, and the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum and the Jade Museum show the artistry of ancient peoples. The Central Market, a maze of food stalls, coffee sellers and craft shops, keeps its old rhythm, and Barrio Amón and Barrio Escalante have grand houses and newer cafés.

Top-ranked sights in San José: Arenal Volcano National Park, San Jose Central Market (Mercado Central), National Theater (Teatro Nacional).

See all 805 experiences in San José