Is it better to go in the beginning of December or end of January taking into consideration weather AND how busy and crowded it gets.

Thanks.

EARLY December could still be green season in some hotels , January definitely high season as well as right around x-mas holidays .

I just got back

Went from December 1st to 16th....the best time by far( between your two choices)

Stay away during Christmas time, unless you want to be there at Christmas.

Percy

Definitely don't want to be there for christmas...want to go when it is the LEAST busy but also when it is no longer the rainy season.

Faithie says that early December could still be green season for hotels...but in terms of weather, EARLY December should already be dry season, no?

Yes , it is the start of the dry season , but the odd hotel keeps green season rates until Dec. 15 . We were there early Nov. and it was perfect . It rained almost every night ( we were in bed anyway ) , and only 1 day did it rain on and off for the day , ( we did Quepos errands - shopping ) I guess it depends on the hotel for when high season rates start . Good Luck ! Faith

oops , re-read your post , I still think early Dec. would be the least busy of your choices .

is last week in november still rainy season? i read a post that said it rained everyday in Arenal at the end of novemer....that would make it difficult to see the volcano.

The Arenal Volcano is usually clouded over... you have to be lucky to see it if you are only there for a day.

Raining and dry is a bit relative.

What part of Costa Rica are you planning to visit. ?

I was on the Papagyo Coast and toured all over Guanacaste...November 30th to December 16th.

The temperature was over 90F everyday.
Never saw rain until I hit Monteverde.

Percy

In reply to Percy, we are planning to do the typical Arenal, Monteverde, Manuel Antonio and maybe Barra Honda Park (although not many people seem to visist this park for the caves.)

There are pros and cons to both so this is a toughie! Beginning of December the rates are lower, less crowds, no problems w/ making reservations but more rain than January. Our rainy season was mild this year and we came out of the season earlier than expected. December was a great month! End of January you'll be assured of wonderful weather but rates are higher and more crowds. faithie has a great attitude re: the weather (and you were here during the peak of our rainy season faithie!) If you don't mind a daily shower, sometimes a real downpour! visit in December. Rain is what keeps everything so beautiful!

Lisa in M.Antonio

We visited CR this past January--Monteverde and Arenal. We encountered nothing that I would call a crowd anywhere we went. We had no trouble making daytrip, restaurant, zip line, etc. reservations after we arrived at our hotels.

Everything was still very lush and green from the rainy season--and, of course, Monteverde is always wet.

We had two wonderful nights viewing Arenal putting on a great show--it's was worth taking the risk that it might be clouded over.

Note that, even though Arenal might be clouded over during the day, it often clears late a night or early in the morning. Leave instructions for your hotel to wake you up if it does clear and it's putting on a good show--assuming you're staying at a hotel with a good view of the current flow lines.