Our bus leaves Santa Elena at 06:00 so we are up bright and early. We have been told that the bus picks up just outside our hostel but as we leave with 10 minutes to spare, the receptionist tells us that we need to get a ticket at the bus station.

We hurry up the hill to bus station, quickly purchase two tickets to Punta Arenas and hop aboard with minutes to spare as the bus leaves two minutes early.

We have opted to use the local bus thereby saving $50 each compared with the tourist shuttle which runs a direct Santa Elena to Manuel Antonio "luxury" service.

The first hour of the route is on a steep and twisty, unsealed mountain road. The route is quiet of traffic and very scenic with small areas of dairy pasture dotted among the forest. The bus is comfortable and a fairly new Mercedes. Not the old and former USA school buses which we'd half expected.

Two very scenic 3 hour bus journeys plus a 20 minute one at the end and we arrive Manuel Antonio.
After a lunch in one of the many beach side restaurants, we have a short walk to our hotel situated in quiet leafy gardens just a stones throw from the National Park entrance.