Traveling during Rainyseason
 

Hello Adventurers!

I'm here with a question about our travels during the rainy season. The plan is to travel from half september till about half january though CA. We'll land at Panama first, and the plan was to go up to Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala and end in Belize.

Roughly initerary would be about 3 weeks each, maybe some days extra here and there, and the rest in Belize
Panama:19th - half oct
Costa Rica - Half Oct - beginning nov
Nicaragua - Beginning Nov - end of nov
Guatemala - December -
Belize - January

Now I read pretty much everywhere that especially Oct is a bad month to travel to CA, due to the high amount of rain. Now I'm just wondering if I should adapt my plans to this (maybe go to another country for a month/couple weeks?)
Yes there will be rain, and I don't mind a shower here and there, but continuous rain to drown our adventures would be sad ofcourse. So I'm just curious about experiences during that time!

Thanks in Advance!

Hello,

We live in Belize and January is high season here - great weather, but that means more tourists (but nothing like Mexico).

Regarding the rainy season - it's more about it being Hurricane Season which is June through November. If there is any kind of tropical storm/depression, it will rain day & night for as long as the storm/depression is in the area. Some Central American countries have more history with hurricanes than others, so maybe you can do some research on that to see when the best time would be (or not be) in each country. And assuming there are inland areas that are higher elevations, that's usually a better place to be (but flooding could be an issue with storms that have heavy rainfall amounts.)

The good news is, that if there aren't any tropical storms in the area, it usually doesn't rain non-stop (at least in Belize). Maybe search online for "Rainy Season Belize" (substitute the country), to see what info is available. I would recommend looking for blogs, rather than weather sites as well.

Hope that helps.

September and October can be quite rainy in Costa Rica especially in the southern portions. Here's a good map to predict general rainfall patterns. Just mouse over the areas you're interested in.

https://costa-rica-guide.com/travel/...-map-rainfall/

Sounds like a fantastic trip! I've visited Central America a couple dozen times (Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras) and in my experience the rain has fallen mainly at night in low-lying areas. In the highlands the mornings are generally gorgeous and it rains some days beginning in the afternoon or evening. No hurricane risk in Panamá and only modest risk in Costa Rica and Nicaragua; likely too late for Belize and Guatemala and it will be drying out most years by then.

Thank you all for your insights! I guess it's just to suck it up, and plan accordingly (daytrips early in the day, and just rest in the afternoon/evening). I will also take a look on that rainfall map and can try and plan places aswell!

I thought about vacating to another country for that time being (the 5ish weeks during rainingseason), but probably just gonna suck it up, wear a poncho and enjoy the nature!

La Fortuna in rainy season
 

I've been in La Fortuna for a month during rainy season. It doesn't rain all the time but the heavy rain can certainly catch you out! Clouds seem to quickly form and back up from Arenal volcano which soon turns into hours of rain when you can't do anything. Especially if it's lighting. Something else I noticed it that any weather forecast is inaccurate so you have to judge yourself what the weather will be like that day. Unfortunately this makes it hard for booking tours in advance. That night tour at 6pm tomorrow could be clear or under a huge downpour!