Costa Rica weather nov 14-22.
 

Is the rain et al as bad as many people say in mid November? Will it inhibit activities at Arenal, Monteverde and Manual Antonio.
Any suggestions or alternatives?

November is tough to call. In a typical year, it's the transition between rainy and dry seasons. You'll still get some rain here, but after making it through October (which is really wet), you can see the light at the end of the tunnel by mid-November. Last year, November was mostly bright and sunny, yet I can remember some pretty horrendously wet Novembers too.

Nature activities usually go on rain or shine. It's very rare that they get cancelled. If you have your heart set on a sunny day at the beach in Manuel Antonio, well, rain can cut into that.

Hi there!

While there's no guarantees when it comes to weather of course, the short answer is 'yes.' The rain in October through November, sometimes into December, is often very heavy and persistent, and you can expect it to be very wet indeed in all these places. While travellers should always be prepared for a downpour in Costa Rica, October and November are the only two months in which we advise our clients not to travel.

Dave

I like this map to give a general idea of weather patterns by month. Just mouse over the areas you're interested in. Like everyone else mentioned, I would probably try to avoid October. I'd still go for it in November, but expect some rain. We've gone in April, July, September, and December, and December was surprisingly the worst rain we've had. We've never had any activities cancelled other than one ziplining trip, and that was due to lightning.

http://costa-rica-guide.com/Weather/WeatherMap.html

That's a very nice map @volcanogirl! Thanks for sharing it.

Dave

I'd go for it. I've gone to the Osa three times over Thanksgiving week, barely any rain. It can be very localized and varied - where I was, Cabo Matapalo, barely got any while down the road, in Carate, they've had cars not able to get there due to high rivers.

You're welcome, Dave - there's some other good info on that handy site too.