Best Time to Visit Costa Rica: Dry, Green and Shoulder Season

Last updated October 23, 2026 · By Atlas Travel Guides Editorial Team

For most Costa Rica trips the answer is February. Guanacaste is at its driest — Liberia averages no measured rainfall at all in January and February — the Central Valley is clear, and the Pacific coast is in the middle of its dry season.

But if your trip is the Caribbean side, February is only the second-best answer and the right one is September, which is the single driest month of the year in Limón. The two coasts run on different calendars, and almost every round-up of this question quietly ignores that.

The third answer, if price matters more than sunshine, is May or November — inside the green season, outside the worst of the rain.

Monthly figures below are climate normals from Climates to Travel, and the season definitions are the Costa Rica Tourism Board’s own, both read in October 2026.

The quick version

Two coasts, two calendars

The national rule, as the climate record states it, is that the Pacific coast and the Central Valley are dry from December to April and wet from May to November, while the Caribbean plains and coast are equatorial and rain all year.

That national rule is useful for the western two-thirds of the country and actively misleading for the eastern third.

San José and the Central Valley (annual 1,805 mm) show the Pacific pattern cleanly: 15 mm in January, 5 mm in February, 20 mm in March, 45 mm in April — then 230 mm in May and a wet season that peaks at 310 mm in September and 305 mm in October before falling to 145 mm in November and 40 mm in December.

Guanacaste and the north Pacific are more extreme still. Liberia (1,605 mm a year) records zero rain days in January, February and March and one in April. The compensation is heat: its April average maximum is 36 °C, which is why the end of the dry season there is uncomfortable rather than idyllic. September (345 mm) and October (310 mm) are its wettest months.

The central Pacific is wetter than the north even in its dry months. Quepos, the gateway to Manuel Antonio, averages 3,745 mm a year, with 60 mm in January, 30 mm in February and 40 mm in March, then 155 mm in April and 385–625 mm a month through the wet season, peaking in October.

The south Pacific and the Osa Peninsula have no real dry season at all. Golfito averages about 4,100 mm a year, and even in January to March the rainfall only drops to roughly 100 mm a month. Corcovado restricts access to some sectors during the rainiest period, July to November — plan an Osa trip around that rather than around the calendar. Our Osa and Corcovado guide covers the permit and guide requirements.

Why the Caribbean is backwards

This is the detail worth planning around. The north-east trade winds hit the Caribbean coast directly from November to April, which is precisely when the Pacific side is dry.

Limón’s monthly rainfall normals (3,575 mm a year) make the point:

The Caribbean has two peaks — July and December — and two minima, February–March and September–October. September at 140 mm is the driest month of the Limón year, by a wide margin, and it lands in the month that is wettest almost everywhere else in Costa Rica.

Two practical consequences. If you are heading to Puerto Viejo, Cahuita or the Talamanca coast — or north to Tortuguero — September and October are the best-weather months and also the cheapest, which is a rare combination. And if you are trying to combine both coasts in one trip, there is no month that is optimal for both — pick the coast that matters more and accept a compromise on the other.

Month by month

What the green season is really like

The Costa Rica Tourism Board calls May to November the “green or low season” and says on its own FAQ that hotels then “often offer better rates and fewer crowds”. It puts the high season at December to March for hotel pricing, and December to April for activities.

So the discounts are real and officially acknowledged. We could not verify a reliable figure for how large they are — the percentages you see quoted come from hotel and rental-car marketing rather than an independent source — so treat “cheaper” as a direction, not a number.

What the rain actually looks like on the Pacific side is a clear morning and an afternoon downpour, more often than an all-day grey. That shapes the day rather than ruining it: boat trips, hikes and volcano viewpoints get done before lunch. September and October are the exception, when the rain is heavier and more persistent, and when some lodges on the southern Pacific close entirely.

You will also hear about the veranillo, a short drier spell on the Pacific side in the middle of the wet season. It is widely described in travel writing, but we could not confirm its dates against an official Costa Rican meteorological source, so do not build a trip around it. The verified figures give you the shape anyway: on the Pacific, July (210 mm in San José) is slightly drier than June and August (240 mm each).

A note on the cloud forest: Monteverde is not a sunshine destination in any month. Mist and wind are the defining conditions and the reason the forest exists. Going in February gets you a drier approach road, not a clear forest.

Hurricanes, honestly

Costa Rica is not a hurricane destination in the way the islands to the north are. Caribbean hurricanes usually pass north of the country, and it is rarely hit directly. The northern region is the most exposed. Hurricane Otto in November 2016 was the first hurricane to strike Costa Rica directly; Nate, in October 2017, caused more serious damage, mainly through rain and flooding.

The Atlantic season runs 1 June to 30 November, per NOAA’s National Hurricane Center, with a statistical peak on 10 September. For Costa Rica specifically, the risk you should plan for is heavy rain, landslides and road closures rather than a direct strike — which matters most if you are driving. Pacific tropical systems are usually weak, but can still bring flooding.

Dates that move the price

Semana Santa (Holy Week) is when Costa Ricans travel. Beaches fill, prices rise, and many businesses — including some government offices and, traditionally, alcohol sales in some places — close for part of the week. Either plan around it or book well ahead.

Christmas and New Year are the year’s price peak and coincide with the start of the dry season, so you pay for both good weather and the holiday at once.

Putting it together

If this is a first trip and it is mostly Pacific — Arenal, Monteverde, Manuel Antonio and a Guanacaste beach — go in February. It is the driest month across all of those, and it is worth the high-season prices.

If price leads, take May or November: green-season rates, afternoon-pattern rain, and the Pacific still largely workable. November is the better of the two for the Pacific (145 mm in San José) and much the worse for the Caribbean (400 mm in Limón).

If the Caribbean is the point, go in September, when it is both driest and cheapest, and accept that the Pacific half of the country is at its wettest.

Whichever month you pick, the rental car and the roads matter more than the forecast — see our Costa Rica driving guide for the mandatory insurance and when a 4x4 is genuinely required, and the 10-day itinerary for how far you can realistically drive in a day.

Climate normals and season definitions here were checked in October 2026. Confirm current conditions with your lodge and the Costa Rica Tourism Board before you book around a specific month.