About two months ago I started my marketing internship with Tropical Adventures and during this time I have already had many chances to go and visit many of our volunteer projects and also explore a bit better the beautiful country of Costa Rica. This weekend I took advantage of a free Monday, so called Guanacaste day celebrating the annexation of this region to Costa Rica. I had heard many positive things about a jaw-dropping beauty of a Costa Rican place called Manuel Antonio which is a national park and a beach resort at the same time and I decided to spend these three days there.
The trip took about 3 hours from San José and I was very kindly welcomed in a hostel named Backpackers Manuel Antonio right on a half way from Quepos to Manuel Antonio. This position offers a very good chance to get fast to both places, during the day by very frequently going buses and at night by quite cheap taxis. And trust me – you don’t want to be too far from Quepos since it offers you many more chances to enjoy a night life as well as you enjoy the day at Manuel Antonio.
As I said, I was welcomed very friendly and met many other backpackers really fast. We together visited a national park which is open from the early morning until 4 pm. A very interesting thing about this park is a fact that you are crossing a rain-forest, observing wild animals and after a few other steps you end up at a beautiful beach with limpid water. This combination is truly extraordinary and you will have no problem to spend a whole day there without even realizing it. The entrance is also quite affordable – a foreigner enters for 10 dollars, locals pay much less as usual here in Costa Rica.
Manuel Antonio became a very favorite resort among foreigners as well as locals. Nevertheless, it is not losing any of its beauty and it definitely one of the most magical places I have visited in Costa Rica. You can find beaches with a lot of privacy as well as beaches with a lot of life, bars and restaurants where you can spend more than a few moments sharing a few glasses of Piña Colada and still feel the sensation of being at a beach, not at a crowded mall. You neither have to worry about ruining your wallet. If you are a backpacker traveling on a budget you can find a lodge for as low as 12 dollars, for example the one I stayed in – Backpackers Manuel Antonio. The ticket from San José costs 7 dollars and as I said – the entrance to the Manuel Antonio National Park about 10 dollars. Of course, the most important thing there – the beach is for free 
It doesn’t matter if you go on your own, with a group of friends or with your family – Manuel Antonio is still a place you shouldn’t miss once you are in this marvelous country.
(By David Kolesa – Marketing Intern)
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