peggionthego

If we're in the central valley region in mid-May for several days, what clothing would be appropriate? Assume rain gear is necessary...wondering how cool it gets at night.

volcanogirl

I would expect it to be in the 60s at night. I'd take a light sweater or jacket and a rain poncho. I would guess low 80s during the day.

Eressea

Along with vgirl's suggestion above, I either wore shorts (outside of SJ) or convertible pants and light hiking shoes or tennis shoes. I only really ever got cold at night and that was only when I went on night hikes in which case I wore long sleeved capilene shirts under a sweater or rainshell.

peggionthego

Thank you!

MarinaKVillatoro

Hi, where exactly in the Central Valley are you going. I live on a mountain and it gets really cold at night. However, if I'm in the valley closer to San Jose, it's warm all the time. You will need waterproof clothes and shoes.

Hope this helps,
Marina K. Villatoro
http://travelexperta.com

Linda137

Light weight materials that dry quick are handy. You can add two layers if necessary. Sometimes it's that muggy warm where you might be getting more moist from perspiration than rainfall, especially if you are wearing heavy rain gear. Some of the new quick dry athletic wear works nice plus it tends to be wrinkle free and easy to hand wash so you don't need to pack as many items. We've found that comfortable athletic sandals and shoes work well for hikes rather than boots. Depends on how serious you plan to get. If you bring water shoes, you might want to bring along a little brush for getting the mud out when you finish. We scrub our shoes and put them on the porch/deck to dry although this won't work as well in cool, damp areas. Heavy cotton or canvas items sometimes want to rot before they dry completely. Bring big ziplocks for changing locations. You won't want soggy/possibily smelly (mold) mixed with hasn't been worn yet.

volcanogirl

During the day we just wore cotton t-shirts and shorts or capri pants. Long pants at night. Have fun!

peggionthego

We will be in Alajuela, which is near the airport.

motmot

Personally, I don't think clothing is that much of an issue. Alajuela is lower and tends to be a bit warmer than some areas in this area. Small umbrellas might come in handy. We've spent many days in this area during the rainy season with nothing but regular clothing, tennis shoes, t-shirts, shorts, capris. . .light jacket. Nothing special as there is usually only a brief rain in the p.m. I was there a week ago and it was hotter than heck in the late morning the day we left. 3 hours later (around 2:30) there was a small thunderstorm which moved on rather quickly. That is typical.
Nights go down to upper 50's and low 60's.

peggionthego

as folks prepared us, we are finding it fairly hot and humid in the morning....cools off some when rain comes through in afternoon...evenings are very pleasant, with some need for a light jacket/sweater. Tee shirts, capris, light weight slacks, sandals with a rain jacket have been just fine. Do wish I had brought a washcloth as our hotel doesn't have them. I'm thinking perhaps I did bring one when we came to CR in 2003???