Should You Go to Costa Rica in the Rainy Season?

When I decided to go to Costa Rica this summer, it wasn’t my first attempt at a Costa Rica trip. In fact, I’d planned the entire vacation three years ago, going so far as to reserve my lodging, before I scrapped the trip and chose to go to California instead. What was my hesitation? I was worried about the weather. This year, for several reasons, I put that hesitation aside, and we made the trip in early June. Now that I’m back, I have some thoughts to share about whether you should go to Costa Rica in the rainy season.

The Truth about Costa Rica in the Rainy Season

By all accounts, the best time to visit Costa Rica is between December and April, when most of the country is at its driest. But you’ll also hear you can have a great vacation in Costa Rica during the “green” season, the Costa Rican winter, which runs from May to November. Most travel guides tell you that green-season mornings will be sunny with rain showers starting about 2 or 3 o’clock in the afternoon and lasting for only an hour or two.

Even with these assurances, I wondered if the green season was all just marketing to keep tourists coming year-round, and I kept picturing dreary gray skies, canceled excursions, and long afternoons cooped up in a hotel room while thunderstorms boomed overhead. So, what’s the truth about the Costa Rican rainy season?

For our trip, it turned out the travel guides were right, although we couldn’t know it on our first day. When we arrived in San Jose, the skies were cloudy and gray, and it rained on and off during our drive to the coast. It remained gray and misty the rest of the day, and around 6:00 that evening, the skies opened up and caught us in a downpour as we walked from a nearby marina to our hotel.

That was probably a good way to start the trip though—with our expectations managed—because it made each subsequent day sweeter when we awoke to blue skies with puffy clouds, and the sun shone through almost every excursion. In the end, most of our 11-day trip was rain-free, and the rain we had didn’t keep us from anything we wanted to do.

Deciding Whether a Rainy Season Visit is Right for You

If you’re trying to decide if you too should go to Costa Rica during the rainy season, here are a few things to consider.

Schedule

Think about what time of year works best for you. December to April is generally considered the high season in Costa Rica, with January and February being the sweet spot for travel. For us, visiting during high season was not an option. We have kids in school, the Christmas holidays are a big deal in our house, and we don’t like to plan more than about a five-day trip for spring break. After putting off Costa Rica three years ago, I knew it was rainy season or bust.

Budget and Flexibility

Consider how much you want to spend on the trip and how you like to travel. Because the rainy season is not as desirable a time to visit, the prices for flights and lodging are slightly cheaper. Overall, we didn’t find the green season to be a huge savings, but we were able to get a fifth night free at one resort and a 20% discount at another. We were also able to travel with a flexible schedule because most excursions were not fully booked, and we could eat at any restaurant without a reservation. If you’re a person who likes a deal or enjoys having more freedom during your trips, then the rainy season may be right for you.

State of Mind

And finally, think about your own state of mind when it comes to trip planning. Taking a vacation is not just about the time spent on the trip. Anticipating a trip has been scientifically proven to boost happiness, with the increase in happiness occurring for as much as eight weeks before a trip. Even though the trip went well for us, I did miss out on some pre-travel bliss because I was obsessively checking weather apps, watching live-feed videos of the beach on Surfline.com, and searching TripAdvisor reviews to see if anyone had ever complained “June in Costa Rica sucks.” If you’re a person who’s going to worry too much before the trip, or if you think your trip will be ruined if you do get some rain, then a green season visit might not be the best choice for you.

Tips for a Costa Rica Rainy Season Visit

Once you’ve decided to make a rainy season visit to Costa Rica, consider these additional tips.

Think About Guanacaste

It was important to me to go to Manuel Antonio National Park on the Central Pacific coast of Costa Rica, but the Central Pacific coast gets more rain than some other coastal areas of the country. Guanacaste is a province with white sand beaches similar to those of Manuel Antonio but is characteristically drier all year long, even during the rainy season. If you want to give yourself a better chance of sunny skies and less rain, you can schedule some beach days in Guanacaste.

Go Between Mid-July and Mid-August

I didn’t figure out this tip until long after I’d booked my flights, or I might have gone later in the summer. On its Pacific coast, Costa Rica experiences what’s known as El Veranillo, or Little Summer, sometime between mid-July and mid-August. You don’t know exactly when it will be, but during that period, you may see a break from the afternoon rains.

Give Yourself Unscheduled Time

If you’re planning a visit during the rainy season in Costa Rica, the standard advice is to get up early and do your excursions in the morning before the rain hits. I also recommend leaving some days of your trip unscheduled. Then, if you have weather that affects your plans, you’ll easily be able to make necessary adjustments to your itinerary. Because of the ease of making reservations in the rainy season, I had an outline of what we would be doing each day, with only one excursion booked in advance. I booked everything else in person or on the internet the day before the activity.

Pack Properly

Lastly, one of the most important tips for a rainy season visit is to pack properly. You don’t want to get caught in the rain with all of your camera equipment exposed or have only one pair of sopping wet shoes at your disposal. For a detailed list with recommendations on specific products we used on our trip, click here.

Need some itinerary tips for your Costa Rica vacation? Check out my review of our lodging and activities from our five days on the Central Pacific coast or my recommendations on fun things to do near Arenal Volcano.