Who isn’t excited about a great trip to the beautiful country of Central America, Costa Rica- a Country of happiness, but the question that arises is what’s the best time for it, rainy season, dry season, or green season?
What’s the peak season? What’s the high season? What’s the best time to visit Costa Rica?
So here’s an answer to all those questions about visiting Costa Rica, let’s have a look!
Costa Rica
Costa Rica, also called the Republic Of Costa Rica, is a country of the continent Central America best known for its hip, glamorous side and neighboring oceans like “The Pacific Ocean” to the east and “The Caribbean Coast” to the west. It is the best place to visit cause it has something for everyone.
Costa Rica is everyone’s dream destination with its extremely famous adventure travel, lush forest, amazing surfing, and wildlife and sea turtles that will sway your toes in the blink of an eye.
Mid-December to April (The Dry Season)
The peak tourist season in Costa Rica’s dry season, the best time to visit is mid-December to April, the driest and hottest month with gorgeous weather.
Costa Rica’s dry month ushers beautiful warm sunshine and daylight to its visitors during this time to explore lush green forests and take a good view of places and make your spring break worth it with this best weather.
It is the high season and peak tourist months for a Costa Rica vacation. It makes you dive in spectacular sandy shorelines, spot-soaring Quetzals wandering green sea turtles, hawksbill sea turtles, and more in the whole country, including the rich Pacific coast.
Between these months, you have to get reservations no later than three months; which brings expense with itself. However, it’s the best month throughout the year it has its reasonable share of costs.
Hence makes it amazingly costly and maybe a bit out of the usual budget with mega hotel prices, but as said before, sunny skies and hot sunny days will make this peak travel season the best.
May-November (The Rainy Season)
The “rainy season” or the “green season” of Costa Rica May to November welcomes a comparatively significantly smaller number of visitors and tourists all around the world as compared to the “dry season” due to the unwelcome rains and mud, so if you are planning to have Costa Rica experiences in summer vacation better keep the unpaved roads and muddy ways in mind.
But things do change, and the low season turns a little bright with peeking sunshine in September and October, making Costa Rica’s rainy season the best time to visit.
For applauding Costa Rica’s natural wildlife, mainly on the northern Pacific coast, July and August are the golden times for you.
For outdoor activities ( High season)
December-April
This is the dry season and peak season. Still, suppose you’ve booked everything right on time. In that case, there is a variety of outdoor activities. Early December and sunny mornings put something magical for everyone there and have their best time visiting Costa Rica.
With the Caribbean coast and Pacific coast out there, it offers a wide variety of sea turtles, including olive ridley sea turtles, and snowbirds, and the wild Caribbean side is full of rare flora and fauna.
Best time to visit for budget travelers (Shoulder season)
May-July
This is Costa Rica’s rainy season when the rain starts picking off, and things get muddy for tourists.
Fortunately for budget travelers, many accommodations offer lower prices to save money.
However, it’s a good time for watching wildlife with cloud forests and little summer and rain.
The best time to visit for surfers (Low Season)
August-November
This is the time for Costa Rica’s best rainfalls, and adventure for surfers as the crowd is thin, and temperatures begin to fall. Rainy months are so much more, with a swell of the Pacific coast bringing the best surfing conditions.
Accommodation and stay-ins are cheaper.
9 Beautiful Places to Visit in Costa Rica
Costa Rica is a fantasy home with beaches, cloud forests, volcanoes, unique wildlife, and several remarkable natural attractions. It’s a country for all, backpackers, surfers, tourists, and luxury travelers.
Costa Rica’s great states and cities are a hub for museums and the life of heaven. There are a million things worth watching in the country and Central Valley, but we have shortlisted the top 9 best places to visit.
1. Arenal Volcano
Cordillera de Tilaran has its volcano national park viewing called “Arenal Volcano” or “Volcan Arenal,” and it provides the best view of the great grand volcano. It has been an active volcano for the past 43 years in total.
Since 2010, the volcano has shown a decrease in its lava flow, and according to scientists, it is in a sleep mode but significantly active.
2. Tamarindo, Playa Langosta & Playa Grande
This Pacific north coast destination of Tamarindo and its spectacular surrounding beaches are worth a visit; crystal clear pristine water and the warm and cool effect of the beach give a fantastic experience to your Costa Rica visit. Sunny mornings are incredibly best for beach views to enjoy a fascinating view.
The town is spread along Tamarindo, which runs along 2 km, giving a good time to visit for visitors; the area consists of various eco-friendly and adventurous activities that include ziplining, horseback riding, turtle watching like olive ridley sea turtles, green turtles, and sea turtles.
3. Tortuguero National Park
Something different and something unique is what this national park offers; being the wettest area, and it provides a great turtle watching with incredible green turtles all around. Sharks are too common here and are not suitable for surfing and swimming due to high tides.
Taking a professional guide would be too good of an option being they know the tips and tricks for watching everything without any haze and maze and left nothing behind.
From the boat rides for river crossings, it’s easier to be involved in various activities like wildlife spottings like monkeys and kinkajous; amphibians in that area are more than expected due to the wet weather and rain called afternoon showers. If you desire to enjoy, all this go to Costa Rica.
4. The National Theater in San Jose
Funded by coffee exports in 1890, the Pride Building of San Jose is a remarkable example of architecture. “The National Theater” construction was completed in 1897.
There is so much to see, especially the statues symbolizing love, dance, energy, liveliness, music, and fame—various murals and sculpting show Costa Rican life.
This building was designed by European artists and architectures mainly exported.
5. Osa Peninsula and Corcovado National Park
The established park in 1975 protects the best remaining area of the Pacific coastal rainforest in Central America. Its fascinating trail system excites long-distance hikes with average temperature and fewer tourists due to excess physical adventure; its beauty targets a particular group.
Various popular yet fun activities are done, like our favorite surfing, fishing, snorkeling, and driving. Puerto Jiménez is the area’s largest town, and there are several excellent lodges found in the Drake Bay area.
It is also popular with the local Costa Ricans in the transition months like December, the Christmas vacation time. There is said to be less rain or rain ends, and there are locals in an extensive line to enjoy.
6. Jaco
If you are looking for adventure mixed with modern-day amenities, nice big houses, flats, and apartments with a sea view, surfing, boating, and animal views, it is the best place to go.
Playa Jaco is a consistently popular destination between tourists and visitors because it offers the best of the country, from gorgeous nightlife to wildlife, outdoor activities, and sizzling beaches. Playa Jaco is an adorable beach known for the party chill and excellent surfing waves.
While Playa Jaco attracts many tourists, it remains clean throughout the year, and it is a calm beach where people, including locals, can enjoy surfing, sunbathing, and sport fishing.
Various local surfing schools and classes are available for those who want to surf and swim; different professional training is provided.
7. Chirripo National Park
The Chirripo National Park protects various habitats and wildlife species, making it a trivia night fun game for ecotourists and nature lovers.
It is named after the country’s highest mountain, Cerro Chirripó; the park is a unique mixture of treeless mountain plateaus, marshlands, lush rainforest, and glacial lakes home to a good variety of flora and fauna abundantly present.
This national park is a pride of Costa Rica, mostly with average temperatures. It provides a variety of things to explore for its visitors. For a complete change in your mood and best utilization, start early planning and go to Costa Rica for everything you need to enjoy.
8. Manuel Antonio National Park
This is Costa Rica’s smallest national park but the most popular one in the rainiest month or heavy rains there is never a decrease in visitors number it is the closest one to the country’s capital and the central valley, and every time is worth visiting this place, and there is no actual best time to visit, it is a great place to relax yourself out in rainy season, or dry season visiting Costa Rica is always worth it especially this place stimulating and portraying local costa Rica life.
9. Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve
Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve is a great place to enjoy Costa Rica and learn, see, and experience lush green mountains and green tropical jungle, swing with nature’s concert of exotic birds, wildlife watching amphibians, animal, reptile, and insect cells.
This is the beautiful setup of the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. It is located along the Cordillera de Tilarán mountain range in the central valley of Costa Rica, which offers a variety of activities to do.
How many days do you need for the best time to visit?
Costa Rica is a whole lot of a fantastic experience. 10 Days to two weeks is an excellent time to visit the whole of Costa Rica.
This period will be enough to encounter all the prominent highlighted places and experiences we have counted, like wildlife watching to serene beaches and natural park fun with a touch of historical beauty.
I hope you have a good time visiting Costa Rica. Enjoy!
Last Updated on by Sathi Chakraborty, MSc Biology
