Costa Rica - Best time to go?
 

Just starting to plan our first trip to Costa Rica. When is the best time to go, as far as weather, etc? Interested in all the outdoor activities, and we're avid bird-watchers. It will probably be a two-week trip.

What areas are you planning to visit?

Costa Rica has a rainy season that affects some of its areas. For most of the places, September and October are the rainiest, but it depends upon the areas you're interested in.

You can check out this website for more info. costa-rica-guide.com. It lets you mouse over areas on the map to see the rainfall by month.

This year there was a TON of rain in May - 3 years ago the same, I would avoid April, May, Sept & Oct (April because it is too hot to move). My favorites are November, December & January. December everything is still green from the 'green season or wet season', but cooler. Feb starts getting hot and becomes less green because of lack of rain. I think my favorite month is December, but as far as Christmas week - it's WAY too crowded.

I would say it would depend on where you're going. I also wouldn't discount May, my favourite time to go to CR. At least in the places I went to the weather was lovely - 2 afternoon rain showers, about 3-4pm lasting for an hour or so, and several big thunderstorms - all at night.

Tuly...

I just thought of something! Did you book transportation online from San Jose to Lost Iguana?? I bumped into something called www.arenal.net but didn't know if it was a reputable site.

Also, if you were going for 13 days would you still just carry the size luggage that you can take on the plane with you from Atlanta plus a tote bag or take the one BIG suitcase on rollers and a carry-on bag???

Leigh

Leigh, leigh, leigh.....do NOT take a roller suitcase, you will be turned away at customs....

okay just kidding ;) but (at least imho) it's not extremely practical in CR, there is a definite lack of smooth rolling surfaces and often many stairs. Especially if you plan to fly on Sansa or Nature Air then it's a definite no-no. Trust me, I am as high-maint as they come and I can make do with a duffle for 2 weeks and keep it under 30 pounds (yes, I miss colour coordinating my shoes & purses but I make it thru the hardship).

As far as Lost Iguana, I would book thru interbus.com directly instead of arenal.net if you plan to use a shuttle. I haven't stayed at LI but stayed at Arenal Paraiso (on the same road); they will drop you off/pick you up from there no problem.

Well Darn Tully...everytime I try to go to interbus.com it takes me to a Phoenix contact website! Any ideas??

Seriously, you know the small bags on rollers that stewardesses use and folks use to take on the big plane...reckon I can get by with that and a tote bag???

I'm not gonna be on any commuter plane inside CR. 8-)

And, I still need you to help me figure out what to do I am in such a quandary! The good news is my 3 days have been booked at the Lost Iguana...yeehawwwww!

Leigh

Leigh, you can book a driver through the Lost Iguana if that interests you; we had ours pick us up at SJO and take us there - he was great.

leigh not sure what you're getting, the website is https://www.interbusonline.com/ Select Rio Segundo as your departure place and Fortuna as your destination. Then select your pick-up (Garden Court/Hampton Inn are side by side and both about 4-5 minutes from the airport) & then select Lost Iguana.

Hmmmm I guess you could get by with a small roller and a small bag.

Sorry I forget why you are in a quandry....are you still deciding on Manuel Antonio or just where to stay there?

April = too hot? My book showed the temperatures pretty uniform throughout the year in Costa Rica. We've finally gotten around to our serious planning at this late date,(interrupted by travel to India and holidays, work, etc) and decided to go in early April. We want to go to Corcovado, Tortuguero, Monteverde, and Arenal. Any tips, comments? Lodging recommendations? I know our choices may be a bit limited since we're booking late and its the high season.

You are right in that the beaches are always pretty darned hot and the central highlands usually quite temperate and even cool in the evenings--every day of the year. Mountain weather in the highlands. The Caribbean beaches are about 10 degrees cooler than the Pacific beaches at any given time. Rainfall naturally affects the temps as well.

If its SO HOT in Costa Rica, how come none (or very few) of the lodgings have air conditioning?? I havne't been able to find a single place in the Osa Peninsula/Corcovado which has a/c. And only so far Lost Iguana in Arenal. Any suggestions/recommendations? Is a/c needed for Arenal area, or is it high enough to be cooler?

I think the reason you're not finding A/C in Osa is because those units suck a ton of electricity, and it's a rather remote and unspoiled area. I doubt they have power lines running out, since you can't use hairdryers, etc at Bosque Del Cabo. Plus, though hot, if you're up on a bluff you'll get breeze.

As far as Arenal, most places have a/c. Arenal Springs, Los Lagos, Arenal Paraiso, Silencio Del Campo, Arenal Manoa... need I go on? Go to arenal.net and click on any of the hotels that cost over $70 a night. They pretty much all have A/C.

We found the Arenal area to be pretty humid, but not terribly hot. We stayed at the Lost Iguana and ran the ac just to wick the moisture out of the air. Things can get really damp and start to smell musty if you don't use it. It actually got pretty cool in the evenings; we wore long pants and long-sleeved shirts after dark. We also had ac in Manual Antonio, and we definitely needed it. It was beastly hot and sweaty while we were there, and I'm from Houston, so that's saying something.

To give you an idea of temps in the Osa, our cabin at BdC was in the low 80s at night. Friends of ours had one of those little portable temperature gauges. It was hotter than that during the day, but the ocean breeze was usually blowing and that helped. alw is right; they just don't have the power to run air conditioning out there in the middle of nowhere.

We stayed at Arenal Springs at Thanksgiving time and found we could not sleep at night without the AC on. It wasn't all that warm in the evening, but it felt very stuffy inside our room with the air off. Even in San Jose, we used our AC to take away that slightly sticky sauna feel.

The most popular time to go is between about Mid December to Easter. It is the dry season. So you can expect little rain. It will be hot and sunny.
But you ask "best" and that is a matter of choice.
After Easter the Green season (AKA the rainy season) begins. But that doesn't mean it will rain all day every day.
The green season has its own advantages. It is less crowded. Prices are lower. The vegetation is more lush and beautiful. I personally prefer visiting Costa Rica during the green season.
The amount of rain you actually get will vary from month to month and region to region. But in most places even in the rainy part of the year, much of the time it will be nice in the early part of the day - till after noon.
As for the AC issue: We own a condo in the MA area. We do not have air conditioning in our place. Our unit is located on a bit of a hill compared to some of the other units in the complex. (some of which do have AC,) We have a ceiling fans on both the upper and lower level. We also have screens as opposed to glass windows front and back. All this makes for a nice cross breeze and keeps the place bearable. We have been told by others who have stayed in some of the units that are a bit lower down and perhaps more in the dense trees that they did not get the same cross breeze and their places did become more stifling and hot and at times unbearable.
So you have to take a few things into consideration -the location specific location and the way the place you are staying in is built as well as what you personally comfortable with in general. We prefer the naturalness of not having AC.
If we were even to consider it, it would be more to combat humidity issues in the green season. However, we always make sure to warn out potential guests that if it is important to them, they should look elsewhere.
Pura vida,
raquel