Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica

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Manuel Antonio. You may have heard of it, famous for its rainforest national park. Lonely Planet warned against it due to its massive popularity and the affect tourism has had, but maybe because it was low season, I didn´t agree with Lonely Planets descriptions. Manuel Antonio had very, very beautiful beaches. I´d even go as far to say the best beaches I´ve ever seen. There is a main stretch of beach and then smaller coves of beaches that are backdropped by rocky cliffs of rainforest. There are also large rocks at sea, and the whole effect is very calming and picturesque.

We spent one day doing the trails through the rainforest, which too sits on these gorgeous beaches. So you´re walking through lush rainforest, hearing the sea, and glimpsing it through the green.. magic. We saw some wildlife but not a great deal this time. We didn´t have a guide, perhaps that is why. Later that day, we spent the afternoon walking the beach and absorbing the tranquility. The final day here, we did not do alot but did visit El Avion - a restaurant positioned in the side of a cliff with a Nicaraguan war plane the centre piece! It was a sight.

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I really enjoyed Manuel Antonio, although as we had been warned, it was alot more expensive than everywhere we'd been in Central America. Accomm wasn't to steep though - perhaps because it is wet season.. that was the only thing I'd change about our time in Costa Rica!