Where is Manuel Antonio National Park seems to be a question to answer with a map. However, there is much more to it like what is close and what is far out from it, And how to get to the places around.
Where is Manuel Antonio Nacional Park? Easy, it is in the Central South Pacific region of Costa Rica.
Yes, it is quite easy. However, there is a lot more to this.
Let’s see where is Manuel Antonio National Park in relation to the rest of the main tourist attractions of Costa Rica.
Distances from and to Manuel Antonio from the most popular destinations of our country:
| Destinations | Kilometers | Miles | Time |
| Dominical | 52 | 32,5 | 51 m |
| Drake Bay | 221 | 138,1 | 4 h |
| La Fortuna and Arenal Volcano | 243 | 151,9 | 5 h |
| Liberia | 255 | 159,4 | |
| Flamingo Beach | 309 | 193,1 | 5 h 30 m. |
| Jaco | 73 | 45,6 | 1h 24 m. |
| Santa Teresa | 226 | 141,3 | 6 h |
| Manuel Antonio | 186 | 116,3 | |
| Monteverde | 283 | 176,9 | 3h 45 m |
| Papagayo Gulf | 386 | 241,3 | 5 h 30 m. |
| Puerto Viejo de Talamanca | 385 | 240,6 | 7 h |
| Rincon de la Vieja | 283 | 176,9 | 5 h |
| Samara | 139 | 86,9 | 5 h |
| San Gerardo de Dota | 146 | 91,3 | 3 h |
| San Jose | 170 | 106,3 | 3 h |
| Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui | 255 | 159,4 | 4 h 30 m |
| Sierpe River | 133 | 83,1 | 2 h 40 m |
| Tortuguero | 291 | 181,9 | 5 h 40 m |
| Turrialba | 236 | 147,5 | 4 h 20 m |
| Juan Santamaría International Airport | 155 | 96,875 | 2 h 50 m |
| Guanacaste International Airport | 269 | 168,125 | 4 h 30 m |
Why include Manuel Antonio National Park in your vacation?
Manuel Antonio is a destination that reunites the best of Costa Rica. You can even stay here throughout your whole vacation and do a different adventure every day.
It has a set of breathtaking beaches, an amazing jungle full of wildlife, and some fantastic hotels and villas to stay at.
Something though that you are not going to find in Manuel Antonio are big resorts of brand hotels. Manuel Antonio is quite an exclusive destination and mostly all properties are owned by local residents.
Why not stay in Manuel Antonio throughout the whole vacation?
In Manuel Antonio, as we stated previously you can don mostly all adventures and enjoy a lot of the amazing wildlife of Costa Rica.
However, yes, there are some things that you cannot find in Manuel Antonio.
One of the things you cannot do in Manuel Antonio is look at the sunrise on the Caribbean. You cannot see a volcano, and certainly you will not see an Resplendent Quetzal flying through a cloud forest.
So, to do that, you’d have to have a plan to stay for a few days before you hit Manuel Antonio.
Some of the usual combinations for a great vacation are:
San José city – Poas or Irazu Volcano for a day tour – 1-2- nights at San Gerardo de Dota
Stay a few days in San José to go on one day tours to the nearby Poas or Irazu Volcanoes and stay in one of the cloud forest places nearby. You can even go to the Irazu Volcano, stay in San Gerardo de Dota to see the cloud forest and the Resplendent Quetzal and then come down to the coast to Tortuguero.
Arenal Monteverde
You could also do the most usual and popular by going to the Arenal Volcano and then moving towards Monteverde cloudforests before hitting Manuel Antonio.
San Jose San Gerardo Golfo Dulce or Drake Bay
You could also go for a longer time and into an off the beaten track by going first to San Gerardo de Dota, and driving South all the way to Golfito and Golfo Dulce. This is one of the most beautiful and less known routes of Costa Rica and the Golfo Dulce is truly breathtaking. From there you can drive to Manuel Antonio.
When you are staying in the area of Manuel Antonio you can visit many attractions as one day or half day excursions.
Some of these fantastic one or half day places are:
Dominical Beach
Where you can go watch the humpback whales from July to September.
Corcovado National Park
You find our one day tour here! Come with us and see the best of the most magnificent national park of Costa Rica.
