Jaco to Manuel Antonio National Park by Bus

A lot of White Face Capuchins there

Manuel Antonio National Park is internationally recognized as being one of the most biodiverse parks on the planet. In addition, this park has one of the top beautiful white sand beaches in Costa Rica, which is nice if you’re only visiting this part of the country and don’t have time to explore Guanacaste region that is famous for its beautiful beaches.

Park entrance fee was $10. There are plenty of tours you can book within the park, but we decided to explore on our own. We took long walks along the shore line and encountered different animals and birds. We found a nice private spot and spent the entire day just enjoying the beach. We took the same local bus to get back into Jaco.

Getting to Manuel Antonio National Park:

Manuel Antonio is about 1hr 20min drive from Jaco. However, if you’re taking public transportation it will take you about 2 hours one way. For this trip you will have to take 2 busses. One from Jaco to town of Quepos, which is a small town situated right before Manuel Antonio. Second bus is from Quepos to entrance gates of Manuel Antonio. Our AirBnB host was nice enough to give us a bus schedule and tell us which bus to take to Quepos. If you don’t have such a resource, you can always just make a trip to the bus station to confirm the schedule. For both of the buses you do not have to buy tickets ahead of time, and you pay in colones as you board the bus. Jaco to Quepos bus will drop you off right at a bus station from which you will catch your next bust to Manuel Antonio. Just remember to find out when the last bus leaves from Manuel Antonio to Quepos and form Quepos to Jaco so that you can make your way back to Jaco and not have to be stuck for an overnight stay.