Climate & Weather in Costa Rica

Costa Rica's climate is generally described as tropical and due to country's proximity to the equator, there are 12 hours of sunshine per day, consistently throughout the year (sunrise at around 5 am, sunset at around 6 pm).

Mostly due to the differences in the elevation, there are several distinct climate zones in Costa Rica which make the country's weather much more diverse. Usually the lowlands are more dry and the highlands are wet, misty and foggy. The best weather is in the Central Valley (San Jose) with average temperatures about 21°C (70°F) and a worm, mild climate year round. Temperatures and humidity are much higher in the coastal areas. The northwest part of the country is hot and dry.

There are two seasons in Costa Rica: High (or Dry) Season and Green (or Rainy) Season. The dry season usually starts in December and ends in April, with rainy season lasting from May to November, but the temperature differences between seasons are slight. Due to the different climatic zones, in some areas the dry and rainy seasons differ from the rest of the country: Northern Lowlands have their rainy season from December to March, Arenal Volcano from February to April, Monteverde area enjoys dry season from January to May, Caribbean coast has two rainy seasons: November to January and April to August.

Weather Averages in Costa Rica

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