Best time to visit Costa Rica
Our pick for sun: January to February, December.
The best months
- SunJanuary to February, December
- BeachJanuary to March, December
…
The twelve months at a glance
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun | Ideal, 96/100 | Ideal, 91/100 | Good, 76/100 | Good, 64/100 | Fair, 54/100, Heavy rain | Good, 60/100, Heavy rain | Good, 60/100, Heavy rain | Good, 60/100, Heavy rain | Good, 60/100, Heavy rain | Good, 60/100, Heavy rain | Good, 70/100 | Ideal, 100/100 |
| Beach | Ideal, 100/100 | Ideal, 98/100 | Ideal, 90/100 | Good, 79/100 | Good, 65/100, Heavy rain | Good, 65/100, Heavy rain | Good, 65/100, Heavy rain | Good, 65/100, Heavy rain | Good, 65/100, Heavy rain | Good, 65/100, Heavy rain | Good, 75/100 | Ideal, 100/100 |
- Ideal
- Good
- Fair
- Best avoided
- Risk flagged
Temperatures and rain
See the month-by-month values
| Month | High | Low | Sea | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33°C | 22°C | 27°C | 8 mm |
| February | 34°C | 23°C | 27°C | 9 mm |
| March | 35°C | 23°C | 27°C | 8 mm |
| April | 36°C | 24°C | 29°C | 42 mm |
| May | 33°C | 24°C | 29°C | 257 mm |
| June | 31°C | 23°C | 29°C | 326 mm |
| July | 31°C | 23°C | 29°C | 233 mm |
| August | 31°C | 23°C | 29°C | 265 mm |
| September | 31°C | 23°C | 29°C | 355 mm |
| October | 30°C | 23°C | 28°C | 367 mm |
| November | 30°C | 22°C | 28°C | 150 mm |
| December | 31°C | 22°C | 28°C | 25 mm |
Estimated flight time
- From YUL : about 5 h 35 min
- From YYZ : about 5 h 15 min
- From YVR : about 7 h 25 min
Estimate of a nonstop flight computed from the distance: not a schedule. Connections lengthen the trip.
Getting to Costa Rica with points
Keep going
Where this data comes from
Temperatures, sunshine and rain: monthly normals we computed over 1991-2020. These are estimates from a climate reanalysis, not station readings.
- ERA5 reanalysis-era5-single-levels-timeseries (C3S, CC-BY)
- NOAA OISST v2.1
Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information (ERA5, 2026, CC BY 4.0 licence). Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains. Sea temperature: NOAA OISST v2.1 (Huang et al., 2021, J. Climate 34, doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-20-0166.1).