Manuel Antonio National Park; Beach & Sightseeing Day Trip from San Jose
Overview
Available languages
12 hours
Mobile ticket
As one of the most popular parks in Costa Rica, Manuel Antonio National Park is a must for visitors. This guided tour from San Jose makes visiting on a time crunch a cinch—your guide takes the guesswork out of deciding which trails are worth the effort, plus helps you spot wildlife along the way. This tour is specifically timed to avoid the crowds, too, helping you have the best possible experience exploring.
Additional Info
Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Minimum age to participate is 5 years
Children must be accompanied by an adult
May be operated by a multi-lingual guide
Vegetarian option is available, please advise at time of booking if required
Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
The total tour duration includes the travel time, breakfast and lunch
Drop off at Manuel Antonio-Quepos centrally located hotels are available
The National Park authorities do not allow plastic water bottles; please bring reusable bottles
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
What To Expect
Orotina
Discover Manuel Antonio National Park, one of the main touristic destinations of Costa Rica. You will be picked up from your San Jose Hotel in the morning in an air-conditioned vehicle, and then you will enjoy a scenic drive towards the Central Pacific Region of the country. On the way to Manuel Antonio, you will savor a delicious Costa Rican breakfast; and you will also have the chance to stop at the largest fruit stand of the country, where you can learn about the huge variety of tropical fruits of Costa Rica.
Following you will make a stop at the famous crocodile bridge, where you will be able to observe crocodiles in the wild from a safe viewing point, some of the animals observed here are as big as 6 meters long (18 feet).
What‘s Included
Visits to Crocodile Bridge, scarlet macaw observation place, fruit stand & Jaco Beach look-out point
Transport by air conditioned vehicle
Breakfast & Lunch
National Park entrance fee
Hotel pickup and drop-off (most San Jose area hotels)
Professional bilingual guide
Gratuities
Services not specified
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
Options
Manuel Antonio National Park; Beach & Sightseeing Day Trip from San Jose
Pickup included
Reviews
36 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
A challenge for seniors
nick b,,Dec 5, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00More walking in preserve and less time for the beach than expected. Meals were good but portions a bit too large for seniors. As senior citizens ourselves it was a challenge but worth the effort. Guide and driver served well.
Beautiful tour
Samaria O,,Nov 19, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00Lovely excursion and a formidable deal from Alex; the park is worth everything, and the beach is beautiful. The transfer is long and tired from traffic but gives time to sleep. Breakfast was spectacular
Adorable sloths
Brittnie Y,,Sep 22, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Kenny or Kenneth was our driver and guide for the day. Very friendly and informative. I will say the animals are wild so they’re not everywhere all at once. Your guide will help you find all the adorable sloths monkeys and more. We saw a couple sloths, a coatimundis, a couple species of monkey, a tiny frog, lizards and a crab. The beach was meh… we have cleaner Beaches in Hawaii but I’m sure Costa Rica has way more to offer than that beach. The water was warm. The bathrooms are a little small but I recommend using the one closest to the souvenir shop since they have showers too. Breakfast and lunch was great! I had the fish and it comes with a beautiful view of the ocean ! The park is a tiny bit over rated but I did enjoy myself for sure. We also saw some macaws! So beautiful… sadly the crocodile bridge was getting worked on and there were no crocs in site when we drove over… we had some mean traffic coming back so prepare for that . Started the day at about 5:20am and ended at about 8:20pm. I will say this drive was comfortable because it was just 4 of us. We had more room than we needed. Thank you so much to Kenny can for picking us up and dropping us off even though it wasn’t in the area they normally do that in. Lots of driving but worth it if you don’t want to drive on your own.
Beaches, flora and fauna of Costa Rica stunning
marin v2024,,Feb 13, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Undoubtedly the most beautiful places in Costa Rica, we visited impressive places, saw many animals, the journey was very pleasant, pleasant and explained everything we were seeing, Alex our guide made this day a very pleasant experience. Local food was delicious and the places we consumed it, always very clean and nice
Fraud! Fraud!
Aamir A,,Jan 30, 2025
- Review from Viator
1.00We were not given a clear time for pick up and missed the time. The tour operator did not let us join at the next meeting point or the park itself (at our cost). They did not even give us the park entrance tickets that were included in our package. Completely uncooperative and looking for opportunities to steal your money.
Excellent service
lilianatW1847VZ,,Oct 21, 2024
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Fernando, a Guide with a lot of knowledge. Friendly and attentive person at all times. Great experience. I recommend it. The food was delicious.
Fantastic experience sightseeing and relaxing
Marcela G,,Jul 28, 2024
- Review from Viator
5.00We really loved the experience visiting Manuel Antonio National Park, seeing a diversity of animals, birds, insects and butterflies. Harlem our guide was very knowledgeable and passionate about the flora and fauna that you can find in Costa Rica. We had a close look through the telescope at macaws, monkeys, sloths, butterflies and bats. We stopped at the beautiful white sandy beaches of the national park and had the opportunity to have a swim in the warm waters of the Pacific. The lunch we had at San Bada restaurant was delicious and we had amazing views over the national park and Manuel Antonio beach. On the way back we stopped at Tarcoles river, on the crocodile bridge and managed to spot 5 crocodiles, resting on the river bank. All in all, a beautiful day which ourselves and our daughter have enjoyed a lot. Our guide Harlem and the driver Don Carlos were very courteous and friendly and made our experience memorable. Thank you for a great day!
Great and informative
Judy B,,Feb 27, 2024
- Review from Viator
5.00Very courteous, very informative and helpful with all our questions. A very enjoyable adventure with him. The beach was my favorite. I would recommend our driver/guide.
Fernando
Mary N,,Feb 27, 2024
- Review from Viator
5.00Our driver/guide was very courteous and knowledgeable about things of the country and the sites that we visited. Would recommend Fernando for any tour.
Macaws Look Happier in the Wild
Ken L,,Oct 24, 2023
- Review from Viator
5.00This is an excellent itinerary and so is Harlem, our guide. We saw a good number of animals at Manuel Antonio thanks to him. Good eyes! The beaches were beautiful especially with the Capuchin monkeys running around. Our favorite is seeing the macaws in their natural habitat. Big thanks to this one family in Jaco who shared with us, strangers, freshly cooked chicharones when we were just passing by. It can be a long drive home depending on traffic getting into San Jose.
From US$169.00
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Operated by Go Tours Costa Rica