juliegirl

How bad is the the rainy season in early July in Costa Rica? My fiance and I are thinking of going for our HM, and we would like to do a lot of nature and volcano tours/hikes? Any advice from folks who have traveled here would be appreciated!!! Thanks.
Julie

costaricafinca

Dear Julie,
Hi, my name is Neta and I live in Costa Rica, so I have lived and traveled here during all seasons.
In general, it is not bad at all, and some would say, the rainy season is probably the best time to come to Costa Rica (everything is more beautiful and lush, less expensive, and less crowded). It usually rains only a couple of hours a day, in the afternoon. This means, that as long as you start your days early, and get most of your outdoor activity done by early afternoon, you shouldn't have any problems.
There are areas where the roads may be in very bad condition during the rainy season (some parts of the Caribbean, and some parts in the peninsula de Nicoya, for example), so you have to plan your trip with that in mind.
Please, feel free to write directly to my email for any more information or advice.
Pura vida,
Neta Talmor

Lovincostarica

Hello,
I will try to answer help you on that. First let me say that Costa Rica has many different climate zones, some rainer than others, so I can only speak for the area we live in which is Manuel Antonio.
The rainy season usually means we will get a hard downpour of about an hour eihter in the morning, or around sunset. That being said, we do occasinally get all day or 2 day torrents. But usually we don't. I personally like the rainy season better, as it is much greener than in high season. Manuel Antonio is fortunate in that we do not turn brown like a lot of other areas farther north, but there are just less leaves on the trees, and some trees do drop thier leaves in the dry season almost completely.
But that being said, it does make it harder sometimes to do the things that you want to do. As well, there are a lot of tours (less each year), that decide not to operate in the low season. Another perk to that time of year though is if you go to the park, you will proably see more wildlife as there are less people going through and disturbing the wildlife, and the beaches are much less crowded in July than they are right now.
Seeing the volcano in rainy season is more challenging. Arenal is tough to see in high season (but so worth it when it does come out of the clouds at night). I think if you come and realize that the rains are what make this area so beautiful, and that you will get teh chance to see many more flowers, hummingbirds, butterflies in that season, you will have agreat time. Plus to me the rains are interesting. You can have clear skies, see clouds rolling in, it'll pour harder than you have proably ever seen before, and then it just stops and the sun comes out. Hope that helps, Walt

dncee11

I have been to CR 3 times, twice during what is called "green season" and the rains were never really a problem, actually most welcome since they could cool things off a bit. It would usually rain the the late afternoons or evenings, not every day and were often of the misty, showery variety rather than the tropical downpour type. Dont let the weather influence your choice of CR for a trip; there is no real bad time to go! It is true that the Juanacaste/Nicoya Pen. area is a bit drier than the east and south regions. You will find it hot and humid near the coast, milder inland at higher altitudes. Congratulations, good luck and have fun!

shillmac

Ditto all of the above! You can't go wrong here! July, four times now, has been a wonderful time in Costa Rica for us. We have never had one moment's problem or inconvenience due to rain. Guanacaste is absolutely the BEST in the rainy season--and very little rain! And, you must remember, experiencing Guanacaste is in itself a great reason to visit Costa Rica. You will want to plan many more trips to see the other parts! Although Neta is right, and some parts of the Nicoya Peninsula are difficult to navigate during this season, those parts are more remote and less visited anyway. As a rule, they are not particularly easy to get to in the DRY season! But yes, there are a few of these remote areas that are not paved yet (further down south along the Nicoya coast). There is a whole world of great places up and down the coast north of there linked by very decent paved roads. There are many fun and interesting areas of the Nicoya that you will be able to travel with the greatest of ease. Not to worry. . Just Go For IT!

Klgallo

What about Tortuguero? Should that be avoided in July?

katolb90

Just thought I would ditto the other folks. I just got back from Costa Rica on Jan 29th. I think next time I go I will pick a rainy month. There are several sights that would have been much nicer if it was rainy season. Like the Rainmaker Refuge in Manuel Antonio, the beautiful rivers you see along the roads, the waterfalls while driving through Braulio Carrillo, cloud forest will be cloudier etc. The only downer I would speculate to say is maybe your chances of seeing the volcanoes is less. But who knows, because the first time I went to see Poas on Jan 11th (the dry season) it was cloudy. Went back on the 13th it was clear. Arenal was clear when I got there on the 19th (and stayed clear the entire time), but I heard it had been quite cloudy there in the previous weeks! Just bring a poncho and have fun!