Manuel Antonio National Park.

Manuel Antonio packs a high concentration of biodiversity into one of Costa Rica’s smallest protected areas. Located just south of Quepos, the park is defined by the meeting of dense tropical rainforest and the Pacific coastline, where white-sand beaches like Espadilla Sur and Manuel Antonio offer calm turquoise waters for snorkeling. The park is famously home to all four of the country's monkey species, along with sloths, toucans, and iguanas that are often visible from the well-maintained trail system. For the best views, the Cathedral Point loop circles a rocky outcropping that was once an island, providing panoramic vistas of the surrounding islets. Recent infrastructure upgrades, including raised boardwalks and universal access paths, make the park’s rugged primary forest and mangrove ecosystems more accessible than most remote reserves.