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The Costa Rican Tropical Climate
Author : Ivy Doreen
Submitted : 2011-11-06 Word Count : 870 Popularity: Not Rated
Tags: costa rica climate, climate of costa rica, costa rica
Costa Rica weather is tropical throughout the year. Temperatures do not fluctuate much, and the two "seasons" are marked by the amount of rainfall.
Both temperature and rainfall vary by elevation, however. The mountainous regions receive cooler temperatures and more precipitation, while the coastal areas are warmer and can be more humid, but with less rainfall.
The weather in Costa Rica has two distinct seasons -- dry and rainy. The dry season is also called the "high season" and "green season" is also referred to the rainy season. High season means higher prices -- just remember that. Because of the more favorable weather during this time, this is the peak of the travel season and it's the busiest time of year. Generally speaking, most everything is more expensive during this time.
Generally speaking, the dry season is from December to May and is thought of as the Costa Rica summer. You'll find the weather to be very pleasant -- dry, sunny, and warm. It's a bit cooler during January and February, however.
The "winter" season, or rainy season, runs from June to November. (You'll find no snow during a Costa Rica winter!) We traveled to Costa Rica during August, which is smack dab in the middle of the rainy season. However, we didn't encounter much rainfall until we got up into the cloud forest and mountains. Even then, the rain came in bursts in the afternoon and then was done for the day.
Seeing Costa Rica during the rainy season is still really enjoyable. First, stuff like lodging and tours are cheaper. You can find rooms 30% cheaper than the dry season. Everywhere is far less crowded, and we had no problems booking the tours we wanted. None of the locations felt overrun with other tourists. Sure, it gets wet sometimes, but it's also cooler in most places in the country.
We flew by the seat of our pants -- the tour package we went with gave us a rental 4x4 and hotel brochures and vouchers. We made up our itinerary on the fly and booked our hotel rooms as we hopped around the country. If that sounds like fun, I would definitely recommend traveling during the low season when it's less busy and you will have less of a problem booking rooms on short notice.
You'll find San Jose and the Central Valley to be the most comfortable throughout the year. The mean temperature annually is 72 degrees F (22 degrees C).
It will be a good ten degrees warmer down by the coasts, and significantly more humid.
Since Costa Rica is so close to the equator, you'll get 12 solid of hours of daytime 365 days a year. The day starts around 5:30am and ends around 6pm. If you can, get up early and make the most of the day.
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Do keep in mind, theres a lot of Costa Rica vacation spots to discover. Before you decide to go, be sure to have an idea of what the climate of Costa Rica is like all year long.