Manuel Antonio packs rainforest wildlife and beach time into one of Costa Rica's smallest but most biodiverse areas. Here are ten things worth your time. Manuel Antonio National Park is the clear centrepiece — rainforest trails opening onto beaches, with consistently good odds of spotting squirrel monkeys, sloths, and capuchins. A guided mangrove kayak tour through the nearby Damas Island estuary reveals birds, crabs, and occasionally crocodiles from the water rather than the park's land trails. Playa Manuel Antonio, inside the park itself, combines calm swimming water with a rainforest backdrop right at the treeline. Hiring a local guide inside the park, ideally with a spotting scope, significantly improves wildlife sightings compared to exploring the trails alone. A night walk through the rainforest reveals a different set of nocturnal wildlife entirely from daytime park visits — frogs, insects, and creatures rarely seen otherwise. Zip-lining through the rainforest canopy, available through several local operators, offers the area's signature adventure activity for those wanting more adrenaline. White-water rafting on nearby rivers gives a different way to experience the surrounding landscape beyond the park's trails and beaches. A sportfishing trip from Quepos, the nearby town, offers an alternative water activity in the Pacific waters just offshore. Playa Biesanz, a quieter cove near the park entrance, gives a less crowded beach alternative to the busier public beaches in town. Finally, simply timing your park visit for opening time consistently makes the difference between a memorable wildlife-spotting morning and a crowded, less rewarding one. Book park entry tickets ahead, since the daily visitor cap means tickets can genuinely sell out, and never feed the monkeys — it's prohibited and disrupts natural behaviour.