Planning a trip to Manuel Antonio National Park

Getting There

By Plane: Both Nature Air ((tel) 800/235-9272 in the U.S. and Canada, or 2299-6000; www.natureair.com) and Sansa ((tel) 877/767-2672 in the U.S. and Canada, or 2290-4100 in Costa Rica; www.flysansa.com) offer several daily direct flights to the Quepos airport (airport code: XQP). The flight is 30 minutes; the fare is $57 to $134 one way.

Both Sansa ((tel) 2777-1912 in Quepos) and Nature Air ((tel) 2777-2548 in Quepos) provide minivan airport-transfer service coordinated with their arriving and departing flights. The service costs around $8 per person each way. Taxis meet incoming flights and may be more economical. Expect to be charged between $10 and $20 per car for up to four people, depending on the distance to your hotel.

When you’re ready to depart, Sansa ((tel) 2777-1912 in Quepos) flights begin departing at 8:45am, with the final flight leaving at 4:00pm. Nature Air ((tel) 2777-2548 in Quepos) flights leave for San José daily at 7:35am and 3:20pm.

By Car: Head west out of San José on the San José–Caldera Highway (CR27). Just past the fourth toll booth at Pavón, follow the signs to Jacó and you’ll turn onto the Costanera Sur (CR34), the Southern Coastal Highway. From here it’s a straight shot down the coast to Quepos and Manuel Antonio. The trip should take a little over an hour.

If you’re coming from Guanacaste or any point north, take the Inter-American Highway to the Puntarenas turnoff and follow signs to the San José–Caldera Highway (CR27). Take this east toward Orotina, where it connects with the Costanera Sur (CR34). It’s about a 4[bf]1/2-hour drive from Liberia to Quepos and Manuel Antonio.

By Bus: Tracopa buses ((tel) 2221-4214; www.tracopacr.com) to Manuel Antonio leave San José regularly throughout the day between 6am and 7:30pm from Calle 5 between avenidas 18 and 20. Trip duration is around 3 hours; the fare is C4,750. These buses go to the park entrance and will drop you off at any of the hotels along the way.

For your return trip, the Quepos bus station ((tel) 2777-0263) is next to the market, 3 blocks east of the water and 2 blocks north of the road to Manuel Antonio. Buses depart for San José daily between 4am and 5pm.

Gray Line ((tel) 800/719-3105 in the U.S. and Canada, or 2220-2222 in Costa Rica; www.graylinecostarica.com) and Interbus ((tel) 4031-0888; www.interbusonline.com) both have two buses daily leaving San José for Quepos and Manuel Antonio, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The fare is around $54. Both companies will pick up at most San José–area hotels. Both also offer connections to most major tourist destinations in the country.

Many of the buses for Quepos stop to unload and pick up passengers in Jacó. If you’re in Jacó heading toward Manuel Antonio, you can try your luck at one of the covered bus stops on the Inter-American Highway.

In the busy winter months, tickets sell out well in advance, especially on weekends; if you can, buy your ticket several days in advance. However, you must buy your Quepos-bound tickets in San José and your San José return tickets in Quepos. If you’re staying in Manuel Antonio, you can buy your return ticket for a direct bus in advance in Quepos, and then wait along the road to be picked up. There is no particular bus stop; just make sure you flag down the bus and give it time to stop—you don’t want to be standing in a blind spot when the bus comes flying around a tight corner.

Buses leave Puntarenas for Quepos daily at 5, 8, and 11am and 12:30, 2:30, and 4:30pm. The ride takes 2 hours; the fare is C1,200. Buses for Puntarenas leave daily at 4:30, 7:30, and 10:30am and 12:30, 3, and 5:30pm. Any bus headed for San José or Puntarenas will let you off in Jacó.

Getting Around

A taxi between Quepos and Manuel Antonio (or any hotel along the road toward the park) costs between C4,000 and C5,000, depending upon the distance. At night or if the taxi must leave the main road (for hotels such as La Mariposa, Parador, Makanda, and Arenas del Mar), the charge is a little higher. If you need to call a taxi, dial (tel) 2777-0425 or 2777-1207. Taxis are supposed to use meters, although they don’t always. If your taxi doesn’t have a meter, or the driver won’t use it, try to negotiate in advance. Ask your hotel what a taxi ride should cost.

The bus between Quepos and Manuel Antonio ((tel) 2777-0318) takes 15 minutes each way and runs roughly every half-hour from 5:30am to 9:30pm daily. The buses, which leave from the main bus terminal in Quepos, near the market, go all the way to the national park entrance before turning around and returning. You can flag down these buses from any point on the side of the road. The fare is C250.

You can also rent a car from National/Alamo ((tel) 2777-3344), Economy ((tel) 2777-5260), or Hertz ((tel) 2777-3365) for between $45 and $150 a day. All have offices in downtown Quepos or Manuel Antonio, but with advance notice, someone will meet you at the airport with your car for no extra charge.

If you rent a car, never leave anything of value in it. Car break-ins are common here. A couple of parking lots just outside the park entrance cost around $3 for the entire day. You should definitely keep your car in one of these while exploring the park or soaking up sun on the beach. And although these lots do offer a modicum of protection, you still should not leave anything of value exposed in the car.

Fast Facts

The telephone number of the Quepos Hospital is (tel) 2777-0922. In case of emergency, you can also call the Cruz Roja ((tel) 2777-0116; Red Cross). For the local police, call (tel) 2777-3608. The post office ((tel) 2777-1471) is in downtown Quepos. Several pharmacies are in Quepos, as well as a pharmacy at the hospital, and another close to the park entrance. A half-dozen or so laundromats and laundry services are in town.

Several major Costa Rican banks have branches and ATMs in downtown Quepos, and a couple of ATMs have sprung up along the road to the national park.

Profitable Palms

On any drive to or from Quepos and Manuel Antonio, you’ll pass through miles and miles of African palm plantations. Native to West Africa, Elaeis guineensis was planted along this stretch in the 1940s by the United Fruit Co., in response to a blight that was attacking its banana crops. The palms took hold and soon proved quite profitable, being blessed with copious bunches of plum-size nuts that are rich in oil. This oil is extracted and processed in plantations that dot the road between Jacó and Quepos. The smoke and distinct smell of this processing is easily noticed. The processed oil is eventually shipped overseas and used in a wide range of products, including soaps, cosmetics, lubricants, and food products.

These plantations are a major source of employment in the area—note the small, orderly “company towns” built for workers—but their presence is controversial. The palm trees aren’t native and the farming practices are notorious for threatening biodiversity in Costa Rica and around the world.