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Explore the jungle around Manuel Antonio after dark on a guided 2-hour night walk. With flashlights and a spotting scope, your guide will help you spot the nocturnal wildlife that comes alive when the sun goes down.
Free Cancellation A 2-hour guided night walk in the forest with flashlights, a spotting scope, and smartphone digiscoping photos.
Free Cancellation 2-hour guided night walk in a private reserve next to Manuel Antonio NP, with round-trip transport from Quepos.
Read what travelers share about their experience visiting Manuel Antonio National Park — from practical tips to personal highlights.
Two hours after dark, a guide with a flashlight turns the forest into a different park. Frogs call from leaves inches off the trail, snakes hunt, and birds that hide all day sit roosting in the open. Tours run in English or Spanish with a certified guide, flashlights for everyone, and a spotting scope or HD telescope that lets you take photos through the lens with your phone.
The guide's beam picks out frogs sitting motionless on leaves a few steps from the trail. When something sits still, the scope swings over and holds it in the light long enough for everyone to get a look. Bring a phone — the digiscoping setup gets you photos you'd never manage handheld.
Night is when snakes move, and guides here know which logs and stream banks to check. You'll keep a safe distance, but the scope closes it visually. Anyone genuinely scared of snakes should think twice — sightings are common, not rare.
Daytime birds that vanish into the canopy roost in plain sight once the sun drops. A flashlight held at the right angle reveals them motionless on a branch, sometimes close enough to see individual feathers. This is the one time these species hold still for you.
The private reserve tour caps groups at 8 people. With no daytime crowds, you hear insects, frogs, and the occasional distant howler monkey. Move quietly and the guide will catch things most walkers walk past.
Leafcutter trails keep running, katydids call, and the guide points out camouflaged insects you'd step over unawares. Kids tend to love this part of the walk. The flashlight makes each find a small reveal.
The private reserve tour includes round-trip transport from Quepos and Manuel Antonio in an air-conditioned vehicle. Outside those areas costs extra — ask when booking. After two hours in the humid dark, the ride back is welcome.
Night tours around Manuel Antonio run on two different models, and the price tags don't tell the whole story. Read the fine print before you book.
Most night walks do not enter the national park itself, which closes at 3 p.m. The Manuel Antonio Night Tour ($57) runs through a private reserve directly beside the park. The park's own concession night tours do exist — 5:30 p.m. Wednesday to Friday, November to April only.
The Jungle Night Tour lists at $33, but there's an $11 per-person entrance fee due on arrival — cash only, no card. The $57 private reserve tour includes everything: entrance, water, transport, and telescope. Compare the $44 total against $57 before deciding on price alone.
The private reserve tour operates with a minimum of two people. If you book as a solo traveler, you go on a waitlist until a second person signs up. Groups max out at 8, which keeps the walk quiet.
Dry season (December–April) is peak everything in Manuel Antonio, so book night tours at least a week or two ahead. Park concession night tours only run November to April, Wed–Fri. Private reserve walks go year-round.
Closed shoes — tennis shoes or similar — are required, no exceptions. You must carry a reusable water bottle; single-use plastic gets confiscated. Bring the $11 cash if you're on the Jungle Night Tour, plus insect repellent.
The Jungle Night Tour isn't recommended for travelers with spinal injuries, pregnant travelers, or anyone with poor cardiovascular health. The private reserve tour suits all fitness levels. Both involve roughly two hours of walking on uneven, sometimes muddy ground.
Both tours offer a full refund if you cancel at least 24 hours before departure. Inside 24 hours, you lose the payment. Simple policy, but set a reminder.
English and Spanish guides run on both tours. Guides on the private reserve tour are certified and bilingual, and they carry an HD telescope you can shoot photos through with your phone.
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| Jungle Night Tour (group) | Private Reserve Night Tour (max 8) | Park Concession Night Tour | Rainmaker Conservation Park Night Walk | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | Forest walk with guide; $11 per-person entrance fee paid in cash on arrival | Private reserve beside the park, with round-trip transport from Quepos and Manuel Antonio | Inside the national park itself, run by the certified-guide concession (tel. 8671-1813) | Private rainforest reserve in the Fila Chonta foothills, 25 km away, with hanging bridges |
| Duration | 2 hours | 2 hours | 2–3 hours | 2–2.5 hours |
| Price from | $33 + $11 cash entrance | $57 all-inclusive | Ask at the concession desk; price set separately from day entry | Booked separately through the reserve |
| Best for | Budget travelers who want the scope and digiscoping without the transport | Families and anyone who wants entrance, water, A/C transport, and telescope included | Travelers visiting November–April, Wednesday to Friday, who want the official in-park experience | Repeat visitors who've done Manuel Antonio's forest already and want canopy bridges after dark |
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The national park itself is open Wednesday to Monday, 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and closed every Tuesday for trail maintenance. It closes well before dark — you cannot wander in on your own at night.
Guided night walks happen outside those hours. Tour-operator walks in the private reserve beside the park run year-round, usually starting around 5:30–6:00 p.m. and lasting about 2 hours. The park's own concession night tours run 5:30 p.m., Wednesday to Friday, November to April only.
Inside the park by day: the concession cafeteria and artisan shop run 7:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m., locker rental 7:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m., and certified guide service 7:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.
Tuesday arrival is the single most common planning mistake here. Night tours dodge the closure since they operate outside the park, but double-check your date anyway.
The park sits 7 km southeast of Quepos, which is 157 km from San José. From San José: the direct Tracopa bus from Plaza Víquez takes about 3.5 hours and costs roughly $9; a Sansa flight to Quepos takes 20–25 minutes ($75–100 one way); shared shuttles run about $65 per person door-to-door; private transfers cost around $200 per vehicle.
From Quepos, the local bus along Route 618 runs every 15–30 minutes (about 7 a.m.–7 p.m.) for ₡315, cash only.
For night tours: the Manuel Antonio Night Tour includes round-trip transport from the Quepos and Manuel Antonio area in an air-conditioned vehicle. Other pickup locations cost extra — arrange it when booking. The Jungle Night Tour includes parking fees but not pickup.
There is no official park parking. Private lots near the entrance charge ₡3,000–5,000 per day.
December to April is dry season — warm, minimal rain, and the busiest period. Book night tours one to two weeks ahead then, and months ahead for Christmas–New Year and Easter week.
If you specifically want the park's official in-park night tour, you must visit between November and April, on a Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday. Private reserve tours have no such limit.
September and October are the wettest months. Trails get muddy and the walk after dark gets wetter still — SINAC itself recommends early starts and proper rain gear. On the upside, that's when the seasonal waterfall flows, and humpback whales pass offshore August–November.
November and May are the quiet shoulder months: greener forest, thinner crowds. A night walk in the shoulder season often means a smaller group.
Night tours suit most fitness levels — both listed tours state "suitable for all physical fitness levels". But the ground is uneven, rooty, and sometimes muddy, walked in the dark by flashlight.
The Jungle Night Tour allows service animals and is not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries, pregnant travelers, or those with poor cardiovascular health.
The private reserve tour carries one unusual warning: it's not recommended for people scared of snakes. Honest, at least.
For daytime park visits: trails are wheelchair-adapted, and the flat, paved Sendero El Perezoso works for wheelchairs and strollers. Sand areas and the Punta Catedral loop are not accessible. Night tours follow natural-surface trails — contact the operator first if you use a wheelchair.
Public transportation options are available near both tour starting points.
On the tours: flashlights are provided on both. The Jungle Night Tour includes a spotting scope with digiscoping, so you can shoot photos through it with your phone. The private reserve tour includes an HD telescope, bottled water, and air-conditioned transport.
Inside the park by day: a concession cafeteria and artisan shop (7:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m.), locker rental (7:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.), restrooms and changing rooms by the beaches, and potable-water refill fountains on Sendero El Perezoso and near Playas Manuel Antonio and Espadilla Sur.
Lifeguards operate on the beaches during the day.
Certified guides can be hired at the park entrance between 7:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. through the Association of Certified Tour Guides of Quepos (tel. 8671-1813).
There's no food service on night walks — eat beforehand.
For night tours specifically: tennis shoes or similar closed shoes are required, and you must bring a reusable water bottle — single-use plastic bottles get confiscated.
On the park generally: no food or packaged snacks (bags are checked at entry), no pets, no alcohol or smoking, no drones without a special SINAC permit, no Bluetooth speakers, and no collecting shells, plants, rocks, or sand. Soap and shampoo are banned in the park showers.
Feeding wildlife carries fines, and it's the reason capuchins and raccoons have become aggressive bag-raiders. Keep your distance from all animals and never touch them — that includes the sleeping birds your guide lights up on a night walk.
Park entry tickets must be bought in advance at serviciosenlinea.sinac.go.cr (max 6 per transaction, physical passport required at the gate). Anyone in a ranger-style uniform selling tickets near the entrance is running a scam.
Entry is capped at 1,120 visitors per day, enforced since May 2023.
Most don't. The Manuel Antonio Night Tour ($57) runs through a private reserve directly beside the park, and the Jungle Night Tour runs a forest walk with a $11 per-person entrance fee paid on arrival in cash. The park's own concession night tours do enter the park, but only at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday to Friday, November through April.
Two options dominate: the Jungle Night Tour at $33 plus an $11 cash entrance fee on arrival (about $44 total), and the Manuel Antonio Night Tour at $57 all-inclusive. The $57 price covers the reserve entrance, bottled water, flashlights, an HD telescope, and round-trip transport from the Quepos and Manuel Antonio area.
Expect frogs, snakes, sleeping birds, and insects — that's what the guides with flashlights and spotting scopes consistently find. Animals appear as they please, so there's no guarantee list, but most walkers see several frog and insect species in two hours. Keep in mind the monkeys and sloths you see in daytime are asleep at night.
Yes, and the tours are set up for it. The Jungle Night Tour includes a spotting scope with digiscoping, and the Manuel Antonio Night Tour's guide carries an HD telescope you can photograph through with your cell phone. Phone-through-the-scope shots beat anything you'd get handheld in the dark.
Generally yes — both tours state they suit all physical fitness levels, and small nocturnal creatures hold kids' attention well. Groups max out at 8 people on the private reserve tour. Two caveats: the walk lasts two hours on dark, uneven ground, and the operators themselves warn it's not for anyone scared of snakes.
Closed shoes — tennis shoes or similar — are required to participate. You must bring a reusable water bottle (single-use plastic is confiscated). Add insect repellent and the $11 cash entrance fee if you're on the Jungle Night Tour, since only cash is accepted for it. A light rain layer helps in the green season.
No. The night tours on offer run outside the national park or in private reserves, and their entrances are handled by the operator — the $57 tour includes its reserve entrance, and the Jungle Night Tour collects its $11 fee on arrival. Only daytime park visits require advance tickets at serviciosenlinea.sinac.go.cr.
Private reserve and operator-led walks run year-round, typically starting around 5:30–6:00 p.m. and lasting about 2 hours. The official in-park concession night tours only run from November to April, Wednesday to Friday, at 5:30 p.m. In dry season (December–April), book any night tour one to two weeks ahead.
Both tours give a full refund if you cancel at least 24 hours before departure — inside 24 hours, you lose the payment. Tours generally run in rain anyway; this is a rainforest, and light rain doesn't stop a night walk. Heavy rain is the operator's call, so save their contact number.
Yes, with one booking quirk: the Manuel Antonio Night Tour operates on a minimum of two people, so a solo booking goes on a waitlist until a second traveler joins. Groups cap at 8. The Jungle Night Tour has no stated minimum. Both run with certified bilingual guides, in English or Spanish.
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This is a 2-hour night walk through the forest with a local guide, in English or Spanish. Most of the animals here are active after dark, so the guide carries flashlights and a spotting scope to find and light up whatever's moving — frogs, snakes, sleeping birds, insects. When something sits still, the guide attaches your smartphone to the scope and takes photos through it, so you leave with close-ups you couldn't get otherwise. Included are the guide, the digiscoping, the spotting scope, flashlights, and parking fees. The trail is described as an easy walk, roughly 120 minutes. The park entrance fee is NOT included and must be paid on arrival, cash only. The listing shows two figures — $11 and $13 per person — so bring at least $13 each to be safe. Cancel 24 hours or more before departure for a full refund.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
English, Spanish
Two hours of night walking, but not inside the national park — the route runs through a private reserve directly beside it, where guides know how to enter safely and where to point a flashlight. A certified bilingual guide (English or Spanish) leads the walk, and animals appear as they please; this is wild forest, so sightings are random and nothing is guaranteed. Closed shoes are mandatory, and long pants are strongly recommended — you'll be on a dark forest path the whole time. Flashlights and bottled water are provided, along with your reserve entrance fee. Round-trip transport with air-conditioned vehicle covers Quepos and the Manuel Antonio area; pickups elsewhere cost extra, so ask first with your location. Cancel at least 24 hours ahead for a full refund.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
English, Spanish