Climate in Costa Rica – Take Your Pick

Although Costa Rica is a small country, it has several climatic zones, each distinct and individual. Considered a tropical country, Costa Rica gets to skip winter, and today it’s about 75 Fahrenheit and sunny at the beach[...]

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For those shivering in the Midwest today or shoveling snow in New York, there’s more interesting news: it’s almost always like that here. You can predict sunshine here every day and be more accurate than your weatherman back home. Beyond the landscapes, the ocean vistas, eco adventures, friendly and charming people, the fact will always be that great weather attracts people to Costa Rica. Year round, it’s tropically warm at nearly all our beaches, between 70 and 80 degrees, and the sun shines except when it’s getting ready to rain. Costa Rica has about 12 hours of sunshine almost every day. Sunrise doesn’t move around like it does up north, because we’re close to the equator. It rises at about 5 am and sets at about 6 pm throughout the year. When Costa Rican weather varies, it’s usually because you changed your elevation. The northern province of Guanacaste is dry and arid because it primarily lowlands, while a highland city like Monteverde is often misty, foggy, and temperatures can plummet to 50 degrees at night. The so-called Central Valley where the capital San Jose sits, enjoys a wonderful climate with an average 72 degrees Fahrenheit, with frequent coastal breezes. Down at sea level, the temperature stays at around 26 degrees Celsius or 79 degrees Fahrenheit, with hot days and sultry evenings. In Costa Rica the coolest months of the year are November, December and January, but December and January are fabulous for vacationing because at Jaco Beach, the daytime sunshine keeps you at 80 to 85 degrees with ocean (and pool) water that feels like a body-temperature bath. Nobody can remember snow in Jaco for the last several thousand years. Without a real summer or winter, Costa Rica does have its rainy season which lasts from May to November. December through April have little to no rain. The wet season starts in May and gradually gets heavier, with September and October featuring rain almost every day. However, it’s a rain that you can work with, because it tends to come  in the late afternoon and evening. In October and November it runs later into the night. Outdoor activities including weddings are scheduled for mornings, and rarely are impacted by rain. It becomes almost an unconscious habit to schedule indoor activities like business appointments for the rainfall hours, while taking advantages of the brilliant mornings. Many who know both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of Costa Rica prefer the wider beaches and drier climes of the Pacific. The Central Pacific, around Jaco Beach, is very popular due to its lower rainfall, warm ocean temperature, and lighter-colored sands. It doesn’t take long here for the memories off chipping ice off the windshield and changing snow tires to seem like they happened to someone else!