Last weekend we decided to go to Manuel Antonio national park so we booked our hotel, packed our bag and hit the road.
It was about 3 hours drive from San Jose during rush hour so you can easily take about 2:30 hours to get there. the road was simple and more of a straight road unlike the one you take to Arenal volcano for example. Our little angel was asleep most of the way which helped a lot :)
Arriving at Quepos city we just fell in love with the place. It was an alive city that stays awake at least till 10 pm, great change from San Jose.
We got at the hotel at about 8 pm, they all spoke English to our surprise, the hotel is located 5 minutes drive from the national park. It is more like apartments hotel instead of rooms, we had an apartment (huge one) with 3 bedrooms but they only opened one for us to keep the others well maintained if not to be used (good thinking actually).
They welcomed us with the most refreshing orange and mint juice (AMAZING). They had everything already arranged for us, we took the elevator that opened directly into our apartment, just as we went to the window we found a perfect view of the ocean which in the morning was breathtaking.
We loved the hotel pool, it was a big infinity pool overlooking the ocean and it had attached to it a shallow small pool for the little ones as well.
Going to the spa we walked through the greenery just to have some amazing views of the ocean.
In the morning and after breakfast we hit the road going to Manuel Antonio national park; what a place, for me and after staying in Costa Rica so far for 4 months this is my best and favorite place of them all.
After getting our tickets and entering the park, we started walking in the middle of a huge rain forest, we had monkeys jumping around us up on the trees, we saw different species of them too.
TIP: Hire a guide to explain all about the birds, animals and plants there, they come with a telescope as well to show you the hidden ones ;)
We walked for about 30 minutes before we arrived at the best beach in Costa Rica, the most beautiful one by all means. It is kind of hidden in the forest from the big waves of the ocean, the water is clear and the waves are minimum, be careful though as being in the middle of the wild life you will find monkeys and raccoons running around the beach trying to find something to eat in those tourists bags.
I would recommend going early though as it usually gets cloudy and rainy around noon so the perfect thing would be to go around 8 am, yes you will do a lot of early waking up in Costa Rica if you want to enjoy it. Also, being a national park the beach here has no services at all except the showers and toilets so be prepared with anything you might need (Towels, snacks, water...etc.).
We managed to go there twice, first day it actually rained on us on the middle of the trail to the beach and we decided to leave but as soon as reached the car it stopped raining and the sun came out so we went back again. The next day we were much better prepared, we went around 9 am and left around noon, it was really worth going.
In the evening and after a long day walking and swimming, we had dinner at the Marina Pez Vela and enjoy the sunset there. They have several dining options you can choose from, we tried the Runaway restaurant; the portions were really big and the food tasted really good. We tried the Crab dip for starters (amazing) and both of us had the coconut shrimp, everything in this place was so good that we regret having only one dinner there.
We are hoping to go again to Manuel Antonio may be next weekend or so :)
It was about 3 hours drive from San Jose during rush hour so you can easily take about 2:30 hours to get there. the road was simple and more of a straight road unlike the one you take to Arenal volcano for example. Our little angel was asleep most of the way which helped a lot :)
Arriving at Quepos city we just fell in love with the place. It was an alive city that stays awake at least till 10 pm, great change from San Jose.
We got at the hotel at about 8 pm, they all spoke English to our surprise, the hotel is located 5 minutes drive from the national park. It is more like apartments hotel instead of rooms, we had an apartment (huge one) with 3 bedrooms but they only opened one for us to keep the others well maintained if not to be used (good thinking actually).
They welcomed us with the most refreshing orange and mint juice (AMAZING). They had everything already arranged for us, we took the elevator that opened directly into our apartment, just as we went to the window we found a perfect view of the ocean which in the morning was breathtaking.
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| View from the main restaurant |
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| The pool area before sunset |
We loved the hotel pool, it was a big infinity pool overlooking the ocean and it had attached to it a shallow small pool for the little ones as well.
Going to the spa we walked through the greenery just to have some amazing views of the ocean.
 |
| View of the Pacific ocean |
In the morning and after breakfast we hit the road going to Manuel Antonio national park; what a place, for me and after staying in Costa Rica so far for 4 months this is my best and favorite place of them all.
After getting our tickets and entering the park, we started walking in the middle of a huge rain forest, we had monkeys jumping around us up on the trees, we saw different species of them too.
TIP: Hire a guide to explain all about the birds, animals and plants there, they come with a telescope as well to show you the hidden ones ;)
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| Manuel Antonio beach |
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| Someone is missing their crackers |
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| Sitting for a photo shoot with the crackers |
I would recommend going early though as it usually gets cloudy and rainy around noon so the perfect thing would be to go around 8 am, yes you will do a lot of early waking up in Costa Rica if you want to enjoy it. Also, being a national park the beach here has no services at all except the showers and toilets so be prepared with anything you might need (Towels, snacks, water...etc.).
We managed to go there twice, first day it actually rained on us on the middle of the trail to the beach and we decided to leave but as soon as reached the car it stopped raining and the sun came out so we went back again. The next day we were much better prepared, we went around 9 am and left around noon, it was really worth going.
In the evening and after a long day walking and swimming, we had dinner at the Marina Pez Vela and enjoy the sunset there. They have several dining options you can choose from, we tried the Runaway restaurant; the portions were really big and the food tasted really good. We tried the Crab dip for starters (amazing) and both of us had the coconut shrimp, everything in this place was so good that we regret having only one dinner there.
We are hoping to go again to Manuel Antonio may be next weekend or so :)
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