Hotel Vela

Top choice in Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio & Around


This attractive little adults-only hotel offers light, bright, spacious and contemporary rooms and suites, set around an oval pool and overlooking lush gardens. It's one of the most polished places to stay right next to the park, two minutes away. Room amenities are plentiful, including Egyptian-cotton sheets, a coffee machine, safe, hairdryer, minibar, air-con and TV.

The breakfast buffet is very satisfying.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio & Around attractions

1. Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio

0.34 MILES

Featuring lush jungle, picture-perfect beaches and craggy headlands, this tiny park (1680 acres/680 hectares) absolutely brims with wildlife (and often…

2. Playa Espadilla

0.46 MILES

This wide stretch of white sand is found just outside the park entrance, in front of Manuel Antonio village. It's a popular place for families and beach…

3. Playa Espadilla Sur

0.5 MILES

A half-hour hike from the park entrance, the exposed Playa Espadilla Sur is to the north of Punta Catedral and gorgeous with pinch-me scenes of white sand…

4. Playa Manuel Antonio

0.76 MILES

With its turquoise waters, this lovely forest-backed beach fronts a deep bay, sheltered by the Punta Catedral on the west side and a promontory on the…

5. Punta Catedral

0.81 MILES

Geography fun fact: this isthmus, which is the centerpiece of the park, is called a tombolo and was formed by the accumulation of sand between the…

6. Turtle Trap

0.85 MILES

At the western end of Playa Manuel Antonio you can see a semicircle of rocks at low tide. Archaeologists believe that these were arranged by pre-Columbian…

7. Greentique Wildlife Refuge

0.96 MILES

Biologist Jimmy Mata leads magical one- and two-hour sojourns through the Butterfly Atrium, Reptile & Amphibian Water Gardens and Crocodile Lagoon, as…

8. Playa Gemelas

1 MILES

Clasped by volcanic rock and jungle, Playa Gemelas is smaller than the other beaches, but no less spectacular: this place could be a desert island beach…