San José Travel Forum

what's the best time of year to travel to costa rica? looks like right now is the rainy season.

Anytime is a good time, but you are right that the rainy season can make transportation a little more difficult. But, don't worry too much. The public transportation continues anyway, and if you want to rent a vehicle, just make sure it's a 4x4. The migration time for most North Americans is during winter break, which is a great time to go. It's during the dry season, and provides a great break from the winter cold. At that time of year, the transportation is very regular and unencumbered by rain, and one can rent a 2 wheel vehicle for the dirt roads of the Nicoya Peninsula. See my tips...

Yeah, it's true the best time to go is from December to March when, expecially on the Pacific side, the weather is dry and sunny.

Have a wonderfull experience in CR!

Elisa

Yeah it is big time rainy season right now. There are several roads that have been closed due to landslides. People killed as well. We just talked to a good friend of ours who is a Tico and he said it has been pretty rough this year.

July is a beautiful time to go. There have been fall rains (May and June) and the the grasses and forests are so green and pretty. Flowers blooming. Possible rain shower late afternoons but by no means guaranteed or terribly long lasting. We were there for 5 weeks starting in mid June through mid July and except for a few showers our first week and on a couple of afternoons later on we had great weather. We have been down there for shorter periods during that time right into August and have always enjoyed ourselves. We mostly go for several weeks during the summer months (mid Jan-mid April) to get away from winter but we really prefer the July/August time frame because tourism is a little less and prices are a little less as well. Temps can be a little cooler during July as well because of the cloud cover.

I prefer the rainy season. It typically only rains in the afternoons for 30 to 90 minutes. It is not cold. It doesn't slow me down much and it is nice to be able to sleep at night without AC.

Any time of year is a good time in my opinion.