Manuel Antonio Night Tour: A Private Reserve After Dark
The national park closes in the afternoon, so night walks run in private reserves. Xplore's two-hour walk in Sukia: frogs, snakes and insects, from 5:30 pm.
The night walk sold here doesn’t go into Manuel Antonio National Park, which keeps daytime hours. Xplore Manuel Antonio’s two-hour walk meets at the entrance to Sukia, a private forest reserve near the park, and after dark that forest belongs to frogs, snakes and insects.
You walk with a naturalist guide and flashlights, and the reserve’s entrance fee is included. The walk is from about $55 on the booking platform when we checked, rated 4.9 over 334 reviews.
Where and when
The listing describes the setting as “a tropical humid forest reserve near Manuel Antonio National Park”, and the meeting point is the “SUKIA Park entrance”. By the listing’s map pin, that’s a little under 2 km in a straight line from the parking area by the park gate. You’ll also see the name spelled Zukia. If you choose the option with transport, hotel pickup and drop-off are included.
The start moves with the sunset, somewhere between 5:30 pm and 5:55 pm, and the operator gets in touch a few hours before to confirm the time. The listing calls it an easy walk, and it’s two hours long.
Why not the national park?
Because it closes in the afternoon. The park opens at 7 am, its beaches are cleared from 3 pm, and everyone has to be out by 4 pm, so you can’t walk its trails on your own after dark. Guided night walks around Manuel Antonio usually take place in private reserves instead, and Sukia is one of them. If a night tour’s description puts you inside the national park, ask the operator before you book.
What comes out at night
On night walks around Manuel Antonio, guides find red-eyed tree frogs and other frogs, snakes including the fer-de-lance, tarantulas and other spiders, stick insects, bats, and birds asleep on branches. With luck there’s a kinkajou, an opossum or a two-toed sloth. You may also find animals that are active by day, asleep in trees and burrows.
Recent guests on this walk wrote about “frogs insects arachnids birds as well as a snake”, about “the rare fer de lance vipera and the green frog with red eyes”, and about “bats and a sloth that was just a couple meters above us in a tree”. None of it is guaranteed. The guide carries an HD telescope for a closer look and sends photos afterwards by email or AirDrop.
Seven of the eight recent reviews in our data check gave five stars. The eighth took off a star because a second guide who joined the group spent a lot of time talking about things unrelated to the tour.
If frogs and snakes are what you came to see, this is the walk.
Pick a date for the night walk
How it differs from the park walk
| Night walk | Day walk in the park | |
|---|---|---|
| Where | Sukia, a private reserve | Manuel Antonio National Park |
| When | from about 5:30 pm, for 2 hours | from 7 am; beaches cleared from 3 pm |
| What you look for | frogs, snakes, spiders, insects, sleeping birds | monkeys, sloths, iguanas, birds, then a swim |
| Entry | the reserve’s fee, included | a SINAC ticket carrying your passport number |
The park walk is about monkeys, sloths and the beach. The night walk is about the small, hidden animals you rarely see by day. You can do both on the same day: the park in the morning, the reserve after sunset.
Which walk is yours
Night walk in Sukia
Frogs, snakes and insects with a naturalist guide and flashlights. The reserve fee is included.
Check dates →Guided walk in the national park
Monkeys, sloths and a swim with Steve Tours. The park ticket comes with every option but the budget one.
See the day walk →Prices, ratings and review counts from our October 2026 data check; operators use seasonal pricing, so treat them as the shape of the market, not a quote.
Before you go
Wear closed shoes: sandals, flip-flops and bare feet aren’t allowed. Bring water and insect repellent. The walk is in English and Spanish, and the listing says it isn’t suitable for children under 10. Baby strollers, smoking, alcohol and touching the animals are not allowed either.
For the daytime park, the trails guide covers the routes and the rules, and the best time to visit covers the seasons and the closed Tuesdays. Is Manuel Antonio National Park worth it compares the day walks, and the homepage has everything sold here.
Night walk details and reviews from the listing; park hours from SINAC; what night walks find from operators around Manuel Antonio. Checked October 2026.
Book the Night Walk in the Sukia Reserve
Two hours after dark in Sukia, a private forest reserve near the national park, with a naturalist guide, flashlights and an HD scope. It starts between 5:30 and 5:55 pm, depending on sunset. Closed shoes only, and not for children under 10.
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