It is true that Costa Rica is bathed by beautiful beaches in both coasts, however no other destination in Costa Rica has received more international attention than Manuel Antonio. Many first-time visitors to Costa Rica plan their vacation around seeing it, and once you learn about this region, it is not hard to find the reason behind this.
The views from the hills overlooking Manuel Antonio are spectacular, the beaches (particularly those inside the national park) are idyllic, and its jungles are crawling with howler, white-faced, and squirrel monkeys, among other forms of exotic wildlife. This remains one of the most beautiful locations in the entire country.
One of the most popular national parks in the country, Manuel Antonio is also one of the smallest, covering fewer than 680 hectares (1,680 acres). Its several nearly perfect small beaches are connected by trails that meander through the rainforest. The mountains surrounding the beaches quickly rise as you head inland from the water; however, the park was created to preserve not its beautiful beaches but its forests, home to endangered squirrel monkeys, three-toed sloths, purple-and-orange crabs, and hundreds of other species of birds, mammals, and plants.
What adds even more interest to this beach region is that not only it is a gorgeous mixture of beaches and rainforest, Manuel Antonio is an interesting region because there you will access to beautiful beaches with the traditional water activities such as surfing, fishing, kayaking, boating and more, but also a wide variety of activities including zip lining, horseback to waterfalls, rafting, farm tours, daytime and night guided naturalist tours, boat and kayaking on the mangroves and many others.
Add the hotels located very close to the National Park and other natural surroundings that offers you not only a beautiful scenery to observe and explore, and you have the perfect beach destination.
Another advantage of this region is the location relatively close to San José, it takes 3 ½ hours by land and 20 minutes by air.
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