Every date from December 1, 2026 to January 31, 2027 is listed below, marked OPEN or CLOSED against Manuel Antonio National Park’s real schedule: Wednesday to Monday, 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., closed every Tuesday. That is 62 calendar days, 53 of them open and 9 closed. Find your date in the table, check the start time, and send the date on WhatsApp. Nothing on this page is an availability promise — it is the park calendar, the published start time and the four published prices.
Wakoo Tours is rated 4.99 out of 5 from 4,850+ reviews across Viator, GetYourGuide, TripAdvisor and Airbnb. Your guide on these dates is Jason, Wakoo Tours’ founder and lead naturalist guide in Manuel Antonio.
The park is open on 26 of the 31 days in December 2026: every day except Tuesday December 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29. Hours are 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on every open day, with no shortened holiday schedule — Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve all keep the normal hours. The source is SINAC’s official park schedule, checked on 25 September 2026.
| Date | Day | National park | Tour start | Book that date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 1, 2026 | Tuesday | CLOSED | — | No park tour — ask what runs |
| December 2, 2026 | Wednesday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Dec 2 |
| December 3, 2026 | Thursday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Dec 3 |
| December 4, 2026 | Friday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Dec 4 |
| December 5, 2026 | Saturday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Dec 5 |
| December 6, 2026 | Sunday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Dec 6 |
| December 7, 2026 | Monday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Dec 7 |
| December 8, 2026 | Tuesday | CLOSED | — | No park tour — ask what runs |
| December 9, 2026 | Wednesday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Dec 9 |
| December 10, 2026 | Thursday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Dec 10 |
| December 11, 2026 | Friday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Dec 11 |
| December 12, 2026 | Saturday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Dec 12 |
| December 13, 2026 | Sunday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Dec 13 |
| December 14, 2026 | Monday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Dec 14 |
| December 15, 2026 | Tuesday | CLOSED | — | No park tour — ask what runs |
| December 16, 2026 | Wednesday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Dec 16 |
| December 17, 2026 | Thursday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Dec 17 |
| December 18, 2026 | Friday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Dec 18 |
| December 19, 2026 | Saturday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Dec 19 |
| December 20, 2026 | Sunday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Dec 20 |
| December 21, 2026 | Monday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Dec 21 |
| December 22, 2026 | Tuesday | CLOSED | — | No park tour — ask what runs |
| December 23, 2026 | Wednesday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Dec 23 |
| December 24, 2026 | Thursday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Dec 24 |
| December 25, 2026 | Friday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Dec 25 |
| December 26, 2026 | Saturday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Dec 26 |
| December 27, 2026 | Sunday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Dec 27 |
| December 28, 2026 | Monday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Dec 28 |
| December 29, 2026 | Tuesday | CLOSED | — | No park tour — ask what runs |
| December 30, 2026 | Wednesday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Dec 30 |
| December 31, 2026 | Thursday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Dec 31 |
Every OPEN row above is a date we can guide. Whether a specific date still has room is something we confirm on WhatsApp against that day’s bookings — this table tells you the park calendar, not our calendar. For the month in full — weather, crowds, what the ticket window means in practice — read Manuel Antonio National Park in December 2026.
January 2027 has 27 open days out of 31: everything except Tuesday January 5, 12, 19 and 26. January runs on the identical schedule to December, 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and the dry season is at its most reliable — the same trails, usually with fewer people than Christmas week.
| Date | Day | National park | Tour start | Book that date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 1, 2027 | Friday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Jan 1 |
| January 2, 2027 | Saturday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Jan 2 |
| January 3, 2027 | Sunday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Jan 3 |
| January 4, 2027 | Monday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Jan 4 |
| January 5, 2027 | Tuesday | CLOSED | — | No park tour — ask what runs |
| January 6, 2027 | Wednesday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Jan 6 |
| January 7, 2027 | Thursday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Jan 7 |
| January 8, 2027 | Friday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Jan 8 |
| January 9, 2027 | Saturday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Jan 9 |
| January 10, 2027 | Sunday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Jan 10 |
| January 11, 2027 | Monday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Jan 11 |
| January 12, 2027 | Tuesday | CLOSED | — | No park tour — ask what runs |
| January 13, 2027 | Wednesday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Jan 13 |
| January 14, 2027 | Thursday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Jan 14 |
| January 15, 2027 | Friday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Jan 15 |
| January 16, 2027 | Saturday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Jan 16 |
| January 17, 2027 | Sunday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Jan 17 |
| January 18, 2027 | Monday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Jan 18 |
| January 19, 2027 | Tuesday | CLOSED | — | No park tour — ask what runs |
| January 20, 2027 | Wednesday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Jan 20 |
| January 21, 2027 | Thursday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Jan 21 |
| January 22, 2027 | Friday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Jan 22 |
| January 23, 2027 | Saturday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Jan 23 |
| January 24, 2027 | Sunday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Jan 24 |
| January 25, 2027 | Monday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Jan 25 |
| January 26, 2027 | Tuesday | CLOSED | — | No park tour — ask what runs |
| January 27, 2027 | Wednesday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Jan 27 |
| January 28, 2027 | Thursday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Jan 28 |
| January 29, 2027 | Friday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Jan 29 |
| January 30, 2027 | Saturday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Jan 30 |
| January 31, 2027 | Sunday | OPEN 7:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. first entry | Ask for Jan 31 |
Manuel Antonio National Park in January 2027 covers that month’s weather and ticket timing. What you are likely to see on those dates is in our page on wildlife in December and January.
Yes to both. December 25, 2026 falls on a Friday and January 1, 2027 falls on a Friday, and neither is a Tuesday, so the park keeps its normal 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. hours on both dates. There is no Christmas or New Year closure at Manuel Antonio and no reduced holiday timetable. What changes on those two dates is not the schedule, it is the crowd: they sit inside the highest-demand window of the year, and the 2,500-visitor daily cap is reached earliest then. If Christmas week is your window, Manuel Antonio Christmas & New Year tour is written for exactly those dates.
Nine days, and all nine are Tuesdays: December 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29, 2026, and January 5, 12, 19 and 26, 2027. The national park closes every Tuesday for maintenance, so those are the only dates in the two months when no park tour runs at all. If a Tuesday is your only free day, the park itself is off the table, but our night tour and the Damas Island mangrove tour both run outside the park and both run on Tuesdays. Live status for any single day is on Is Manuel Antonio National Park open today.
Every open date starts at 7:00 a.m., the park’s first entry of the day — that is the same on December 3 as on January 28. The reason is not a preference: the park opens at 7:00 a.m., the daily cap starts filling from that moment, and sloths, monkeys and birds are more active between 7:00 and 10:00 than at noon. Nothing in a national park is guaranteed, but the odds are simply better early. Below is every week of the two months with its open dates, the start time and the four prices.
Open days: Dec 2, Dec 3, Dec 4, Dec 5, Dec 6. Closed: Dec 1. Tour start every open day: 7:00 a.m. Tours start on the 7:00 a.m. first entry of the day, when the trails are quiet and the wildlife is most active. Prices that week are the four published options — Classic group $30, Premium shared $65, Classic Private $69, V.I.P. Private $100 per person. Ask about Dec 1–Dec 6 on WhatsApp.
Open days: Dec 7, Dec 9, Dec 10, Dec 11, Dec 12, Dec 13. Closed: Dec 8. Tour start every open day: 7:00 a.m. Tours start on the 7:00 a.m. first entry of the day, when the trails are quiet and the wildlife is most active. Prices that week are the four published options — Classic group $30, Premium shared $65, Classic Private $69, V.I.P. Private $100 per person. Ask about Dec 7–Dec 13 on WhatsApp.
Open days: Dec 14, Dec 16, Dec 17, Dec 18, Dec 19, Dec 20. Closed: Dec 15. Tour start every open day: 7:00 a.m. Holiday window: be at the gate between 7:00 and 7:30 a.m. The park opens at 7:00 a.m. and the 2,500-visitor daily cap fills from the moment it does. Prices that week are the four published options — Classic group $30, Premium shared $65, Classic Private $69, V.I.P. Private $100 per person. Ask about Dec 14–Dec 20 on WhatsApp.
Open days: Dec 21, Dec 23, Dec 24, Dec 25, Dec 26, Dec 27. Closed: Dec 22. Tour start every open day: 7:00 a.m. Holiday window: be at the gate between 7:00 and 7:30 a.m. The park opens at 7:00 a.m. and the 2,500-visitor daily cap fills from the moment it does. Prices that week are the four published options — Classic group $30, Premium shared $65, Classic Private $69, V.I.P. Private $100 per person. Ask about Dec 21–Dec 27 on WhatsApp.
Open days: Dec 28, Dec 30, Dec 31, Jan 1, Jan 2, Jan 3. Closed: Dec 29. Tour start every open day: 7:00 a.m. Holiday window: be at the gate between 7:00 and 7:30 a.m. The park opens at 7:00 a.m. and the 2,500-visitor daily cap fills from the moment it does. Prices that week are the four published options — Classic group $30, Premium shared $65, Classic Private $69, V.I.P. Private $100 per person. Ask about Dec 28–Jan 3 on WhatsApp.
Open days: Jan 4, Jan 6, Jan 7, Jan 8, Jan 9, Jan 10. Closed: Jan 5. Tour start every open day: 7:00 a.m. Holiday window: be at the gate between 7:00 and 7:30 a.m. The park opens at 7:00 a.m. and the 2,500-visitor daily cap fills from the moment it does. Prices that week are the four published options — Classic group $30, Premium shared $65, Classic Private $69, V.I.P. Private $100 per person. Ask about Jan 4–Jan 10 on WhatsApp.
Open days: Jan 11, Jan 13, Jan 14, Jan 15, Jan 16, Jan 17. Closed: Jan 12. Tour start every open day: 7:00 a.m. Tours start on the 7:00 a.m. first entry of the day, when the trails are quiet and the wildlife is most active. Prices that week are the four published options — Classic group $30, Premium shared $65, Classic Private $69, V.I.P. Private $100 per person. Ask about Jan 11–Jan 17 on WhatsApp.
Open days: Jan 18, Jan 20, Jan 21, Jan 22, Jan 23, Jan 24. Closed: Jan 19. Tour start every open day: 7:00 a.m. Tours start on the 7:00 a.m. first entry of the day, when the trails are quiet and the wildlife is most active. Prices that week are the four published options — Classic group $30, Premium shared $65, Classic Private $69, V.I.P. Private $100 per person. Ask about Jan 18–Jan 24 on WhatsApp.
Open days: Jan 25, Jan 27, Jan 28, Jan 29, Jan 30, Jan 31. Closed: Jan 26. Tour start every open day: 7:00 a.m. Tours start on the 7:00 a.m. first entry of the day, when the trails are quiet and the wildlife is most active. Prices that week are the four published options — Classic group $30, Premium shared $65, Classic Private $69, V.I.P. Private $100 per person. Ask about Jan 25–Jan 31 on WhatsApp.
The same four published prices apply on every open date in both months — $30, $65, $69 and $100 per person — with no holiday surcharge and no date-based pricing. Children aged 3 to 12 pay $10 less on every option. What separates the four is not the date, it is who walks with you, whether the park ticket is included and whether transport is included.
| Option | Price per person | Child 3–12 | SINAC park ticket | Hotel transport | Food |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classic — small group | $30 | $20 | Not included — you buy it on SINAC | No, meeting point | No |
| Premium — small group, shared | $65 | $55 | Included — we reserve it for your date | Yes, Quepos & Manuel Antonio only | Fresh fruit snack |
| Classic Private — only your party | $69 | $59 | Not included — you buy it on SINAC | No, meeting point | No |
| V.I.P. Private — only your party | $100 | $90 | Included — we reserve it for your date | Private round trip | Fruit snack + Costa Rican lunch (casado) |
On the Classic and Classic Private options you buy your own SINAC entrance: $18.08 for a non-resident adult and $5.65 for a child aged 2 to 12, as published by SINAC and checked on 25 September 2026. On Premium and V.I.P. Private we reserve that ticket for your date as soon as the window opens. The four options are described in full on our Manuel Antonio National Park guided tour page, and the booking sequence is on the December 2026 tour booking page.
Nothing changes about the schedule between December 20 and January 4 — the park is open every day except Tuesday December 22 and Tuesday December 29 — but two things change about the day itself. First, arrival: in that window be at the gate between 7:00 and 7:30 a.m., because the 2,500-visitor daily cap fills earliest then, and by 10:00 a.m. the main loop is busy and the road-side parking is full. Second, the ticket: the SINAC window for those dates opens in the last ten days of October, and New Year’s week is the date range where people most often discover too late that entry is gone. December 31 to January 3 should be treated as the tightest four dates of the two months.
The only closed dates inside that window are the two Tuesdays. December 24, 25, 26, 31 and January 1, 2 and 3 are all open on normal hours. Manuel Antonio Christmas & New Year tour goes date by date through that week specifically.
Exactly two months before your park date, and not a day earlier. SINAC does not sell Manuel Antonio entry tickets more than two months ahead, which is why travellers who try in August for a December date get nothing and conclude the park is full. Tickets are sold online through the official SINAC system only — never at the gate, never through a reseller.
| Your park date | SINAC tickets open (exactly two months before) |
|---|---|
| December 1, 2026 | October 1, 2026 |
| December 20, 2026 | October 20, 2026 |
| December 25, 2026 (Christmas Day) | October 25, 2026 |
| December 31, 2026 | October 31, 2026 |
| January 1, 2027 | November 1, 2026 |
| January 15, 2027 | November 15, 2026 |
| January 31, 2027 | December 1, 2026 |
If you book Premium or V.I.P. Private we watch that window for your date and reserve the ticket for you. If you book Classic or Classic Private, the date in the right-hand column is the day to set a reminder for.
Yes. December 25, 2026 is a Friday and the park keeps normal hours, 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. There is no Christmas closure at Manuel Antonio; the only closed days in December 2026 are the five Tuesdays.
Yes. January 1, 2027 is a Friday, the park is open 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and we guide on that date. Send the date on WhatsApp and we confirm what is still open for it; the SINAC ticket window for January 1 opened on November 1, 2026.
Five days: Tuesday December 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29. The park closes every Tuesday for maintenance and no park tour runs on those dates.
Four days: Tuesday January 5, 12, 19 and 26. Every other date in January 2027 is open 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Yes, on normal hours, 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. December 31, 2026 is a Thursday. It sits in the highest-demand window of the year, so the early 7:00 a.m. entry matters more on that date than on almost any other.
7:00 a.m. on every open date, at the park gate, on the first entry of the day. Between December 20 and January 4 be there between 7:00 and 7:30 a.m., because the daily visitor cap fills fastest in that window.
Before the SINAC window opens two months out, because the ticket is the part that runs out, not the guide. For Christmas week and New Year’s week that means booking the tour in October, so the ticket can be reserved the day the window opens.
Not the national park: it is closed every Tuesday, all nine of them across these two months. The night tour and the Damas Island mangrove tour run outside the park and both operate on Tuesdays, so a Tuesday is not a lost day, it is a different tour.
Pick the date from the tables above and send it on WhatsApp — we answer 24/7 and we tell you honestly what is open for it, including when the answer is that a date is already full. Ask about your date on WhatsApp. Group tour from $30 per person, park closed Tuesdays.