Change Forum
Looking hard at an elderhostel trip to CR in mid November. Arenal, Cano Negro, Manuel Antonio, San Gerardo de Dota. Is this a good time to go to these places, or would Feb/Mar/Apr be a better bet? We want wildlife, birds, flowers. Please, any advice would be most welcome!
Weather mid November
Recent Activity
View all Mexico & Central America activity »
- 1 Cell phone in Guatemala (Panajachel)
- 2
Culture
- 3 Belize or Costa Rica?? Traveling with children...
- 4 Disability, HIKE?
- 5 Cabo San Lucas for the day
- 6 water taxi from Belize City to Ambergris
- 7 hotels in Puerto Viejo
- 8
Guatemala has many Mayan Ruins and archaeological sites to visit.
- 9 Driving from San Jose del Cabo to Loreto
- 10 Hiring a Naturalist as a tour guide in Guanacaste
- 11 Guatemalan road trip by a rental car
- 12 Winter Break Getaway - Travelling Solo
- 13 Costa Rica - Chachagua Rainforest Hotel & Hacienda
- 14 Life gets in the way .......
- 15 drive times and conditions
- 16 Belize in June
- 17 From Florida to...where? Help us decide!!
- 18 Oaxaca in March with my 17-year-old? Opinions/ideas sought.
- 19 Costa Rica's rainy season
- 20 Water Taxi to Ambergris Caye
- 21
Back from lovely Costa Rica
- 22 Travel time Antigua to G.C. airport
- 23 Avis Rental in Costa Rica
- 24 Belize trip - Help a newbie!!
- 25 **HELP!** BEST ALL INCLUSIV Playa del Carmen or Riviera Maya for Wedding
Mid-November could be a little more iffy with weather, but is probably not a bad choice. We've gone to Arenal and MA during the first week of December and had a wonderful time (with a few rain showers but nothing that stopped us from doing all the things we wanted to do). You'll get the added bonus of some cheaper hotel prices in November vs. Feb/Mar/Apr.
Wildlife, birds and flowers are available year round, with the exception of certain migratory species that may or may not be there depending on when you travel. November may be better for some of those migratory birds...
If you want more of a guarantee of good weather, go with a Feb., Mar., or Apr. trip. I'd look at the calendar and see when Holy Week falls and avoid that because of crowds.
November is a transition month between rainy and dry seasons, but there can still be a fair amount of rain then. It's iffy, just like cmerrell says. Most tours go rain or shine. I've done some wildlife-watching excursions in the pouring rain and had a great time. The advantage to going in November is that everything will be lush and green in a way that it isn't by February or March.
I'm going in November this year, first time that I haven't gone in Feb. or March. I'm expecting rain since it is towards the end of the rainy season, so will be prepared and hope for the best. We are planning for morning activities since rain often comes in the afternoon. San Gerardo de Dota is quite high (7000'), so be prepared for chilly weather. It was definitely sweater and jacket time in February.
But even in dry season, you can expect rain at any time. We woke up at Arenal Paraiso and would never have known that a volcano was right in our face, could barely see the next cabin through torrential downpours. Last year in March we went to the cloud forest at Monteverde, never saw a cloud in four days - pure blue sky, no rain, very dry, so you just never know what you will get.