Manuel Antonio has become Latin America’s number one tourist destination with more than 800,000 visitors annually. Manuel Antonio is perfectly located in the heart of the Pacific Coast, and acts as a starting point for virtually every tourist visiting Costa Rica.
The very primary attraction for this area is the world famous Manuel Antonio National Park. The Park itself encompasses nearly 140,000 acres, most of which are maritime acres. It receives approximately 151 inches of rainfall annually and enjoys balmy year round temperatures averaging between 81 and 86 degrees.
The Park’s two white sandy beaches, Espadilla Sur and Manuel Antonio, stand out as its main attractions. Just off shore are twelve islands, most of them without vegetation, but excellent seabird sanctuaries nonetheless. Punta Catedral was an island at one time, an accumulation of the sediments joined it to the land with a sandy belt named Tombolo, a prized nesting site for the brown booby. You’ll see dolphins here, and once in a while a pod of migratory whales.
The Towns of Manuel Antonio and Quepos
The road between the port town of Quepos and Manuel Antonio is lined with hotels, and restaurants. The port is now being renovated to include a much larger retail and commercial harbor which is expected to make even more desirable both Quepos and Manuel Antonio.
The town of Manuel Antonio is growing at an exponential pace with high end hotels and restaurants springing up everywhere offering the tourist all of the comforts they would expect for their dollar. activites
Activities
There is also an abundance of activities that are operated out of Manuel Antonio.
World Class sport-fishing is one of the most popular activities in the area with more than 45 world class bill fishing boats running charters out of the Quepos port. In addition to the fishing, the list of activities and tours which tourists can enjoy in the immediate area is extensive.
Whitewater rafting on a selection of rivers offer class III, IV, and V rapids, horseback riding tours through the jungle or on the beach, sea kayaking tours, dolphin and whale watching, jet ski tours, mangrove tours, National Park hiking tours, a selection of jungle canopy tours, ATV adventures, in room massage and spa services, surf lessons and tours, paraplane rides, rainmaker suspension bridge and nature tour, secluded hot springs, and much more. services
Services
With the natural beauty and activities being the obvious draws to the area, perhaps the greatest reason for Manuel Antonio’s popularity and more importantly, its longevity, is the breadth of services available here.
Countless international restaurants, a full service hospital, 10+ daily commuter flights to San Jose, six car rental agencies, high speed internet connections, solid infrastructure both with the community and the roads leading to it, cellular phone service, spa facilities, a selection of banks, ATMs, shops, art galleries, and other stores make this place an exotic, yet comfortable place to visit or live.
