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Manuel Antonio village - first timer

Leeds, United...
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2,122 posts
423 reviews
178 helpful votes
Manuel Antonio village - first timer
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Visiting CR for the first time next April/May and heading to the Arenas Del Mar hotel for 8 nights. We booked this resort as it looks to be in a great location and gets rave reviews and it fits the bill when we are after a mostly relaxing holiday without any pressure to cram things into the day. Saying that we do intend to do a bit of exploration rather than sit by a pool the whole time (coming all the way from the UK for a pool holiday would be a total waste!).

I haven't been able to find out too much about MA village, is anyone familiar with the location of the Arenas hotel and is it possible to walk into the village or the national park entrance from there? Is it safe to do so?

What are peoples opinions on the village itself, is it worth visiting early evening for a meal - I heard that most places shut about 10pm but not sure if this is dependant on the demand for nightlife in the area. We are not after very late nights but a good meal and a few drinks without clockwatching would be nice.

Any help would be appreciated and in the meantime I'll continue to google!

Quepos, Costa Rica
Level Contributor
95 posts
9 reviews
1. Re: Manuel Antonio village - first timer
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Hi Whitlam

To start I would not call Manuel Antonio a village, it’s rather an area or a neighborhood, despite all the comment and critics that will follow this statement…. Quepos is the closer thing to a village, but it’s actually a town, located 7 km from the beach. The hotel you decided for is right on the beach, about 12-15 minutes driving distance (approx. 5 km) to the National Park, or about 15 – 20 minutes walking distance (approx.2.3 km). Arenas del Mar does not have a vehicle access from the beach, and you have to get to it by following the road that goes to the Hotel Parador; definitely you need a vehicle to get to Arenas del Mar. You can visit Quepos, but not much to see or do. Besides the Marina and some shops downtown…. boring, boring, and boring. Nightlife is just a little better, with the casino (right downtown) and a disco bar named Republic. Not all bars and restaurants close at 10:00 PM. For instance, Blue restaurant close at 1:00 AM, Republic goes on and on…., as well as the Casino.

Also, there are lots of things to do around the area. Here are the main (again I’m waiting for some critics…): whitewater rafting, horseback riding, Damas Island mangrove tour (boat or kayak), bird watching, Manuel Antonio National park guided tour, ocean kayaking, zip-line canopy, sailing tours and of course fishing (boat, kayak, ocean, inshore, offshore or mangrove’s).

If you have a car, you can even drive up north to Jacó, or down south to Dominical –Uvita, and pay a visit to the Marino Ballena National Park.

My bottom line is, if you plan well your 8 days in Manuel Antonio, you will certainly not get bored.

Houston, Texas
Destination Expert
for Arenal Volcano National Park, La Fortuna de San Carlos
Level Contributor
12,178 posts
544 reviews
329 helpful votes
2. Re: Manuel Antonio village - first timer
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We enjoy the guided tour of the park and the Damas mangrove tour - have used Manuel Antonio Expeditions for both of those, and they're excellent. Have also gone sailing and snorkeling; snorkeling wasn't great due to all the sediment in the water. The beach inside the national park is gorgeous and full of fairly tame wildlife - lots of monkeys, sloths. Quepos is the more industrial area where a lot of locals live; most of the hotels are scattered along the road that leads to M.A. national park. Lots of good open air restaurants there, casual, with nice sunset views. We like Barba Roja and Cafe Agua Azul. Ronny's Place is good but a little further away. Kapi Kapi has good food but was pretty expensive. We also enjoyed the Villa Vanilla spice tour - you tour the grounds/gardens where they grow cacao, cinnamon, vanilla, etc. and then at the end they serve little desserts and drinks made from the things they grow. Jose's Crocodile tour is fun as a day trip - a tour on the Rio Tarcoles to see the huge crocs.

Leeds, United...
Level Contributor
2,122 posts
423 reviews
178 helpful votes
3. Re: Manuel Antonio village - first timer
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Thanks very much for the feedback, looks like I have lots of options for activities to stop us getting too relaxed!

4. Re: Manuel Antonio village - first timer

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