I have been trying to find specific information for the places we are considering to visit in Feb 09 regarding the weather (max/min temperatures, humidity, etc.) and I could not find specifics. The otherwise very useful site with historical weather info, wunderground.com, doesn't list any of the places where we might go: MA, Arenal, Monteverde, Drake. Does any of you know of a website where I can find this info or do you know what we should expect in these places? Thanks for the help.

You might check www.costa-rica-guide.com. It has some weather information on it.

Generally speaking, the beach during the dry season is always hotter than heck: MA and Drake.

Monteverde is in the cloud forest, which as a rule is high and generally cool year round.

Arenal tends to have a pleasant climate year round as well.

Shillmac, I appreciate it as I could not find any by month specifics for these locations.

Is hot also very humid in MA & Drake? Is the average hot in the upper 80s or upper 90s?

Monteverde is also very windy in February. Be prepared for that. You lie in bed at night and just listen to wind howl.

Even in July, we were surprised at how cool it was in Monteverde. I had to wear a fleece jacket zipped up on several occasions. Our hotel even kept a fire lit in the dining room fireplace. MA was the exact opposite - extremely hot and sweaty. Arenal was just about perfect, nice during the day and cooler at night but very pleasant.

All of our CR trips have been in Feb. We live in W TN which has very high humidity in our summer months, making the air seem to heavy to breathe. With that in mind, even though the coastal areas of CR are hot in Feb, I have always been amazed that they did not seem as hot as at home. Yes, you get sweaty while hiking, but the ocean breezes help. Plus the breezes in the evening always tended to cool things off. For me the CR coastal hot in Feb is not bad at all.

NOW the Monteverde cold in Feb was indeed cold to me. Always wore layers. Wished for a fire at night.

In Arenal I was fine with shorts and t-shirts daytime then into layers for evening.

As for the Osa - never been to Drake, but to PJ. Tanks, shorts, swimsuits daytime, shorts or capris and short sleeve shirts evening. Plus 3 showers per day at a minimum! But absolutely loved it!

Hope that helps. Looks like a very nice trip!

I can only spreak for MA, we went in Feb. and it was very hot and sticky. You might try www.weatherbase.com They may not have your specific city but you can probably compare something close by.

Thanks to all of you for sharing, now I can make much more educated decisions about how many days I want to stay in each place.