Weather locations in Costa Rica

Costa Rica's climate depends less on latitude than on elevation and the direction of the wind, which gives the country an extraordinary variety packed into a small area. Tropical lowland rainforest gives way to cool highland cloud forest, and in the dry north-west corner to something much closer to savanna.

Main climate types

The Caribbean side receives the south-eastern trades all year and is the wetter, more humid half of the country, reaching around 4,000 millimetres a year on the slopes above Limon. The Pacific side lies in the rain shadow and has a genuine dry season of at least three months, from December to April. Altitude then overrides both: the central valley cities sit near 1,200 metres and have spring-like temperatures in every month of the year.

Temperatures

San Jose, the capital, averages about 19 degrees in January and 20 degrees in July, with cool nights near 13 degrees and days rarely above 25, so a jumper is useful at any time of year. On the Caribbean lowlands temperatures average 26 to 27 degrees year round. High above the valley, the Chirripo massif has mean temperatures near freezing on its summits and can hold snow.

Rainfall

Roughly half the country's rain falls between May and November on the Pacific side, the green season, when afternoon downpours are routine but mornings are often clear. On the Caribbean side the wettest months run from June to November. The driest places, around Liberia and the Nicoya Peninsula, receive under 1,000 millimetres, and some years have almost no rain at all in February.

When to go

For most visitors the dry season from mid-November to April is best, especially on the Pacific side, though it is also the busiest and prices rise. February and March tend to have the clearest skies and the calmest seas. On the Caribbean coast remember that even outside the dry season a day can still turn wet; the wettest months there are usually October and November.