Playa Manuel Antonio, Province of Puntarenas, Costa Rica

5Lisa F 5:00 PM Feb 27, 2023

I'd pay the entry fee to enjoy the beautiful calm beach
Beautiful beach that my family loved. We didn't bring tents as the beach naturally has shaded areas. However, I do recommend bringing something to put down over the sand in those shady areas to cover the sticks, pebbles etc. I suggest going early as it was unbelievably hot by 11am, if you weren't in the shade. Luckily the water was calm and refreshing (not cold at all!). There were a few people near the shore line, but not so much that you need water shoes here. There are washrooms nearby, but we didn't use them. We saw so many hermit crabs near the tree line and small minnows at the waters edge. It was great for small children, who enjoyed unspoiled sand and calm waves with little rip tide. It takes 30 min to walk back to the exit (not all of it shaded) and we saw monkeys and a family of aguti along the way! One monkey got people to open the water fountain so he could have a drink!

4collette 5:00 PM Mar 10, 2023

Lovely beach but busy
Whilst this is a lovely beach because it is so popular it has pushed prices up in restaurants etc compared to other resorts. The beach person wanted to charge 10,000 for 2 beds and an umbrella but we got him down to 5.000 by saying we were only staying a few hours. We ate at Bora and the food was nice with large portions We did get fed up by constantly being hassled by traders on the beach and in the restaurant