Costa Rica Area Maps
Costa Rica Travel: Manuel Antonio Maps and Info
By Explore Costa Rica Staff
Feb 29, 2008, 13:43

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Tiny it may be, but this 682-hectare national park epitomizes everything tourists flock to Costa Rica to see: stunning beaches, a magnificent setting with islands offshore (bird sanctuaries for marine species), lush rainforest laced with a network of welcoming trails, wildlife galore, and all within walking distance of your hotel. You are guaranteed close-up encounters with monkeys, sloths, coatimundis, and scarlet macaws. What a gem!

Despite its small size, Manuel Antonio is one of the country's most popular Costa Rica national parks, with as many as 150,000 visitors annually in peak years. A few years ago the deluge of visitors threatened to spoil the very things they had come to see.

Park Director Jose Antonio Salazar believes the park can withstand no more than 300 visitors a day. In 1994, the Park Service began limiting the numbers of visitors to 600 per day (800 on Saturday and Sunday), and the national park is now closed on Monday.

If you wish to do your bit to help preserve Manuel Antonio, consider visiting in the "green" or wet season. Litter and pollution are additional problems. Pack out what you pack in.

Quepos Central Pacific Costa Rica

Manuel Antonio Central Pacific Costa Rica