Many people come to a Costa Rica Vacation thinking that there will only be one type of weather according to the season. But reality is a lot more complex than that.

In the era of climate change it becomes somewhat confusing to predict weather, and describe it appropriately. Nevertheless, Costa Rica has always been described as an eternal spring paradise. As anyone in the tourism industry would tell you, there is a large range of options for a Costa Rica Vacation in a very small territory, because the mountain, beach and city weather differs, not only because of geography but also because of the time of the year. Costa Rica is considered a country with micro climate zones.

For tourists that are planning a Costa Rica Vacation, there are two categories: high season and green season.

For everyday life terms, ticos use two categories: dry (summer) and rainy season. Summer arrives on December, although usually Christmas season has its “cold” (64 F- 18 C) nights from the northern winds. January, February and March continue with the dry-summer season, with high speed winds sweeping throughout most of the country. March, April and May are transition months towards the rainy season, and the rain begins officially in June.

The Caribbean , however has a different dynamic: October until May are rainy, and dry season is from June until September.

Main cities

As a person is planning a Costa Rica Vacation, it is recommended that they know the main cities before arrival, for a previous screening of the different options, depending on what is the idea of the experience.

The Central Valley hosts the Capital city, San José, and other mayor urban cities (Heredia, Cartago and Alajuela) , is located at a suitable altitude of 1600 mts. average, and surrounded by beautiful medium size mountains that look blue in the early morning and green on the afternoon. This all sums up to a refreshing temperature that usually ranges between 73 and 80 Fahrenheit (23 to 27 Celsius-used in CR). If you want a warmer approach, you can always visit Alajuela, known as the Mango city, and also known for having many healthy elders who are said to live more because of the weather. Alajuela is Costa Rica´s biggest province, so its tropical forests in Sarapiquí, and its productive farms up north will give you diverse weather, also depending on the season. As for its volcanoes, you have the Poas volcano located at 2700 mts and 53 F (12 C) aprox. The other very celebrated volcano in Alajuela is Arenal, up north about 4 hours max. , and with a warmer weather of aprox. 86 F (30C).

Beaches

Beaches are all warm but vary in their local micro climate, as you can confirm yourself in your own Costa Rica Vacation, For example, the tropical rainforests in the Caribbean bring a very humid atmosphere and exotic landscape full of birds, monkeys, turtles, crabs and other creatures of nature, not to mention the cultural contribution of afro Caribbean communities. The Pacific coast also varies, although it is fair to say that it´s dry up north, with the best infrastructure for leisure tourism. At the Central Pacific there are some national parks that protect parts of the coastline, and it is a transition to the unique and extraordinary south pacific, in the Osa Peninsula, which holds the largest tropical forest in the coastline of all Central America. With its well known Corcovado National Park, it is considered the region with the most intense biodiversity in the country, and the rainy season is particularly heavy in that region, so it is perfect for the adventurous visitor. So if you are coming to a Costa Rica Vacation, prepare for a large range of springlike weather, because in this beautiful land, micro climate is a specialty.