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5 Reasons to visit Costa Rica during the rainy season

Costa Rica is divided into two seasons, the dry season from November to April, and the rainy season from May to October. Most tourists visit Costa Rica during the dry season and they are not that interested in visiting Costa Rica during the rainy season, because it sounds like it would be raining 24/7, but this is wrong! In my opinion, the rainy season is a great time to travel to Costa Rica, and in this blog, I will give you 5 reasons why.

Impressive nature

Manuel Antonio green season C.Brandt

The lush nature in Manuel Antonio during the rainy season.

Another word for the rainy season is green season, and I think that one fits a lot better! Thanks to the rain, nature blooms in shining colours and will leave breathtaking views. In the dry season, the temperatures are higher, but since it is raining less, nature is not as green as in the rainy season.

Also, the beaches are quite empty during the green season. Usually, the day starts sunny and warm and in the afternoon it rains, but normally not more than 2 or 3 hours, and the temperatures cool down a little bit. So you have the whole morning to get tanned at the beach or do another outdoor activity. In the North of Guanacaste is doesn’t rain too much and usually at the Caribbean coast it doesn’t rain at all during the rainy season, since the weather on the Pacific side and the Caribbean side are the opposite. Those who like action activities like rafting are lucky because the rivers are fuller and therefore the rapids faster and the rafting even more exciting! And also waterfalls are way more impressive when the rivers have more water!

Three Wonders of Nature

Humpback whale

Humpback whale

Sea Turtle arrivals

Five of seven sea turtle species come every year to Costa Rica’s coasts for breeding. Especially in October, you can see the biggest turtle arrival of the year, for example in Ostional. The Leatherback sea turtle, which is the biggest sea turtle in the world, has its peak season from May to July on the Caribbean Coast, and maybe in October you are lucky and you can see the hatching of the baby turtles in Tortuguero. 

Whale Migration

From July to October, you can see humpback whales on the Pacific Coast, especially at the Marino Ballena National Park, which is located in the south and famous for the coast that is shaped like the tail of a whale. The Humpback whales come all the way from the Antarctic to the warm waters of Costa Rica to give birth and train the baby whales. It’s also possible to see whales between December and March when humpback whales come from the Arctic. Costa Rica is the only place in the world where two separated populations of whales come to, and National Geographic called it the “7th most important whale-watching hotspot in the world”!

Bird Migration

When you come during the rainy season, you will see many birds, since the fall migration of birds happens between August and December. Birds from North and South America migrate to Costa Rica to overwinter, which are 5 billion in total each year! So to the 600 resident bird species and 103 endemic bird species, 250 are migratory. This makes Costa Rica a country with the highest density of birds in the world! So if you love birding, this is the right time and place for you!

The top 5 spots for bird watching in Costa Rica.

Empty National Parks

Manuel Antonio NP green season C.Brandt

Manuel Antonio National Park in the rainy season.

Since there are fewer tourists in the country, the National Parks are not as crowded as in the dry season. This means, that you have a lot of peace to watch the beautiful nature and animals. I always see a lot more animals during the rainy season, because everything is quiet and the animals are not hiding that much like in the dry season when hundreds of people walk through the national parks and are talking loudly. This is why I prefer to visit the national parks during the rainy season. You can just take your time and enjoy nature.

Smaller groups

ATV San Carlos C.Brandt

ATV Tour in La Fortuna in October.

This also applies to all activities and tours. Since there are fewer visitors, the groups are a lot smaller. I went once to La Fortuna with my family in October and we did an ATV Tour, which was just us and a guide. It was also a lot of fun because it rained the night before and there was a little bit of mud and puddles, which made the tour twice the fun. The same we experienced with a horseback riding tour and at a canopy tour, there was just one other couple that joined us. Like this, we didn’t have to wait long for others and could take our time. This also applies to the waiting time in restaurants for example.

Better prices

Poza Roja C.Brandt

Poza Roja, Rincón de La Vieja in October.

Another important point is, that it is, of course, cheaper, and I don’t mean just hotels but also tours and activities often have discounts. Some hotels offer you to pay 3 nights and stay 4 and to be honest, it is also nice to be in a hotel and at a pool which is not too crowded. This happens a lot around September and October.

What you should know during the rainy season

  • It’s raining usually in the afternoon, so if you have to drive a long distance, try to leave early and if there is a tropical storm, wait that it goes away until you continue driving.
  • Plan enough time for driving distances. Landslides can cause delays.
  • Be careful when you swim in rivers because it might be raining on the top of the mountain and with that, a flood could be coming down the river.

As you can see, the green season has many benefits, so if you are planning your trip and you hear “rainy season” you don’t have to worry, actually I really recommend you this time. And if it is raining, it just means to take a little break to read a book, drink a cup of coffee, drink a cocktail and enjoy the company of your family or friends. If you are still not sure which time is the best one for you to travel to Costa Rica, I recommend you to read this blog. If you have any question or need help to plan or book your vacation in Costa Rica, feel free to contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.!

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  • Janaina & Dieter

    The trip was wonderful! Your help was invaluable and without your choices it would not have been so good! I am very very satisfied and very happy with the choices you made!

    Thank you very much for everything!

    Janaina & Dieter
  • Kathrin, Ines, Matthias & Ingo

    Hello dear Aline, many thanks to you for the great compilation and organization of the trip. We were able to spend eventful, interesting and wonderful days in Costa Rica and will keep them in good memory. A thank you also goes to the ARA Tours team, which was available 24/7 for problems and questions, which were solved and answered quickly and reliably. The punctuality of the transfers offered should also be emphasized. In summary, it was a wonderful holiday.

    Kind regards

    Kathrin, Ines, Matthias & Ingo
  • Carina und Thomas

    Hello dear Aline,
    Now we have arrived back at San Jose Airport after a great trip. Everything worked out great and the tour was just perfectly planned and organized. Thank you very much. We take a lot of positive memories with us.
    Best regards.

    Carina und Thomas
  • Yvonne Deiss

    The Costa Rica trip together with my family is already behind us - it was wonderful!!! Everything went smoothly from A to Z, we had a wonderful time, no incidents and wonderful experiences.
    We all enjoyed it very much; the nature is enormous, but also the warm-hearted people, the cleanliness, the food - we are very enthusiastic!
    At this point I would like to thank you very much for your support in the preparation, for all the bookings, clarifications and enquiries!!!
    We visited the waterfall in La Fortuna and had a great view of the Arenal. In Monteverde we did a Hanging Bridges and Zipline tour and in Nosara a surf course. In Finca Rosa Bianca we did the coffee tour, it was all great, fun and interesting 😊. All in all, we saw lots of animals, always ate well, enjoyed the beaches....even in rainy weather 😊. Often we were even glad that it was overcast, otherwise it would have been almost toouuu hot for us.
    So THANK YOU again so much for everything!!!!

    Yvonne Deiss
  • Christina

    Many thanks for the extensive support (before, during and after the trip) and the professional handling of our concerns. With your support we had a smooth and unforgettable vacation in Costa Rica! Our favorite hotels: Hotel Plaza Yara and the Poas Volcano Lodge - a dream!
    All the best
    Christina

    Christina
  • Steinebrunner

    Yay! I´m glad we are back on track. Thank you again for helping us with all these changes.
    I´m glad we choose ARA-you are amazing! Thanks for all your help! It made it a very memorable visit!

    Steinebrunner
  • Janka

    Hi Eli & ARA Team,
    We have spoken to the guest and they are super enthusiastic about their Costa Rica roundtrip! Everything was well organized, nice hotels, nice mix of activities & beach and they have big compliments for you guys!!
    Many thanks for all the good work!! The guest highly appreciate it!!
    They had lunch nearby in Ara Ambigua Lodge, and they loved this place. Friendly staff and good food!
    Do you work with this accommodation? If so, we would love hear 😊
    Once again, heads off for this amazing trip!
    With warm regards

    Janka
  • Thomas, Deborah, Eva & Paula

    Dear Priska
    Happily I write some words to you in English, so you can easily forward them also to Ara Tours, please. Thank you all, we spent a magic time in Costa Rica! Baumeler's and Ara Tours organisation and logistics were perfect, everything worked out even better than we expected. The tours were brilliant, we really enjoyed everything very very much!
    All the accomodation was absolutely wonderful... the setting, the quality, the food, with happy helpful friendly staff everywhere. It was a wonderful way to experience this beautiful country the way we did, on a private tour with personal guide and drivers. We saw and learnt sooo much - it would have been impossible to do so on our own.
    Especially we praise our brilliant guide Fernando Perez, we benefited so much from his truly wide knowledge and deep love for his Country which he passed on in lovely encouraging way. We even became friends and we will meet in Switzerland coming September! Also our driver Carlos Sandi was great, not only as a driver but also as a compagnion, animal spotter and photographer. Thank you!
    So.... now we just enjoy our last day...
    Sunny greetings, pura vida

    Thomas, Deborah, Eva & Paula
  • Yvonne & Andrea

    Hello all
    Unfortunately, our wonderful trip is already over and everyday life has caught up with us again. We would like to thank you very much for everything. The trip was planned exactly according to our wishes and we have seen so many beautiful places.
    Thank you Stefanie!
    We have felt completely comfortable and top cared for by you. Via Whats App we got immediate answers to our questions, with the car everything worked out great. In all locations we were treated very warmly and nicely. It was just so indescribably beautiful, we will dream of the beautiful experiences for a long time. In any case, we will warmly recommend you and hope for a next time. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
    Best regards.

    Yvonne & Andrea
  • Anita

    We have arrived safely in Switzerland and have already returned to work.
    It was a wonderful trip you put together for us.
    Your excellent service, as well as the 24 hour support service from ARA Tours, was truly outstanding.
    I have already recommended you several times and would book with you again and again. Thank you very much and keep me informed if there are any interesting offers.
    Best wishes.

    Anita
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    Hello Pedro, our time in CR is coming to an end and we wanted to say "thank you very much for organizing a phenomenal week". Everything has been well organized and we have seen many beauties of nature. Thanks!

    Lukas & Isabelle
  • Reinout & Yvonne Woittiez

    Thanks Jenny for the clear answer. We will make an appointment via the link you gave us.
    Today we visited National Parc Cabo Blanco. What an amazing park, so quiet for tourists, so full of animals, really lovely and therefore together with Monte Verde, Cahuita and Corcovado the park today, Cabo Blanco, scores high in our ranking of most beautiful parks of CR.These parks give us reason, together with the Pura Vida in CR, to come back soon. We'll keep in contact.

    Reinout & Yvonne Woittiez
  • Dominik

    Good day Jennifer
    As we have already told Simone, the stay at Lapa Rios is extremely enriching, thanks to the well planned planting and the untouched environment we see a lot of animals. Contrary to the plans before the stay, we do not want to visit more animals in captivity at the end. We will have a look at the few hours before we leave.
    We thank you and your team very much for the excellent advice and the permanent support! We can only recommend Ara Tours.
    Best regards.

    Dominik
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    A big thank to you, you saved our vacation!
    Communication already worked very well in Germany. The help from you, especially through Aline, should be mentioned here. This was fantastic from the first WhatsApp message to the last. We already know Costa Rica, so we knew what we wanted and what not. Ara Tours was an important point of contact for us. We are very grateful to Aline precisely because our actual travel agent cancelled our trip 36 hours before departure. She immediately organized everything for us. Whether the hotel in beautiful Punta Leona, the tours to the national parks, even the shuttle service with the great driver Guillerno Ortega has to be mentioned here. We are very grateful to you, dear Aline, but also to the entire Ara Tours team. You too made our almost 3-week trip to Costa Rica unforgettable again. We would love to come back and of course we will book through Ara Tours again.

    Daniel, Jana und Theo
  • Wolf Family

    Thank you, everything really worked out great. Super organization and at any time quick info / help / support from you!
    We liked it very much. The conclusion in Quepos was crowning. We liked the beach in the National Park Manuel Antonio very much. We would have liked to stay longer, but we take home many wonderful, unforgettable impressions. PURA VIDA!
    Many thanks to you Aline! We will gladly recommend you to others.

    Wolf Family
  • Neumann

    - The route was super planned, first time to arrive at the beach and then from Monteverde with excursions inland etc. and at the end again beach - perfect!
    - Support from Ara Tours was VERY good!!! Through Whatsapp reachability the service was great, very quick answers / very flexible, good suggestions etc. Also with the doctor Ara Tours helped with translations by phone - that was very, very good!
    - The Home Stay day was absolute highlight - very authentic - so they got to know the locals REAL, the family was super friendly and very open and have talked about everything. Not at all touristy perceived, you were also allowed to look at the house there and Mrs. Neumann found it also a great experience for their children

    Neumann
  • Marine & Bruno Serra

    Hello
    We would like to thank you personally for this beautiful trip that you organised for us and for the follow-up that you did throughout the stay. A big thank you also to Jennifer d'Ara tours! Thank you again and have a great week!

    Marine & Bruno Serra
  • Walter Eggenschwiler

    We really appreciated your (almost) daily updates from Costa Rica on Covid and related issues. That was a highlight compared to other incoming agents worldwide! We thank you for your effort and wish you that you manage the coming time well and stay healthy.

    Walter Eggenschwiler
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    Our great compliments for keeping us informed every day on the developments. We wish you all the best and keep yourself and families in good health and mood during this unprecedented period!

    Ronald Raadsheer
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    You are really super! It is impressive how you manage the crisis with your super flow of information and the great reversal. Hats off!

    Kathrin Vonschiller
  • Michael White

    Hello, we were on a round trip in Costa Rica from 27.11., which was booked through BigXtra and organised by them. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you very much. The tour was simply amazing! The support by Carlos was just great. We have done many trips before, but this one was an unforgettable experience thanks to Carlos. Carlos speaks very good German and was able to sensitively introduce us to Costa Rica, its incomparable nature and its great, friendly inhabitants. Pura Vida became for us a term for the attitude towards life in Costa Rica. Please say hello to Carlos from us and once again a huge thank you to him in the name of the whole group of 8. We wish him only the best for his future.

    Michael White
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    Wie just did a 4 week trip in Costa Rica which was organised from ARA tours and we really liked it - well done Ara Tours! We also had a guide - his name is Enrique. His German is really good and he knows a lot about Costa Rica and he showed us a lot of animals. We had a wonderful time with hime - thank you so much Enrique!

    Evelyne Thommen
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    perfect tour perfect tour guide pablo, everything very well organised 👍👍👍👍🇨🇷🇨🇨🇷 were thrilled

    Tanja Weber
  • Ines Lechner

    Many thanks and great praise to our tour guide Mauricio and our bus driver Adrian! We felt very comfortable during the 2 weeks in Costa Rica. The wide-ranging knowledge of Mauricio and the super driving skills of Adrian were particularly admirable. Thanks to the eagle eyes of both of them, we had the opportunity to observe a variety of animals in Costa Rica. Thank you for everything!

    Ines Lechner
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    I can only recommend ARA Tours. Thanks again to Nicole for the great planning of the tour and the support. Our tour guide Peter Käser was simply incredible (a walking encyclopaedia) and always had an answer to all my questions about the flora and fauna and the history of CR. Our driver Julio carried my father on his hands, for which I am very grateful. CR is also worth a trip for wheelchair users at any time (with ARA Tours, of course).

    Sabine Schumacher
  • Familie Thieme

    We would like to thank you once again for organizing our trip [...] through the beautiful country of Costa Rica. Our special thanks go to our tour guide Enrique, who with his extensive knowledge of flora and fauna about his country brought it very close to us and made us want to come even a second time. We were very glad and happy to travel with him, as he was also very committed to our problems on site, in addition to his competent function as a tour guide.

    Familie Thieme
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    Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your sensational effort! I do not know such a competent tour guide as with you really from nowhere else... and we have already traveled a lot... 🙏🏻🍀

    Familie Stalder
  • Katja Stadelmann

    I wanted to thank you again for the great Costa Rica trip. We flew back home very happy and with many great impressions. A compliment for the super organisation. Everything worked out perfectly (except for the handover of the rental car, which was force majeure...). So thank you again and I have already recommended you to friends:-)!

    Katja Stadelmann
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    You and your team have organized a great trip and wonderful days for the guests in your beautiful country and I thank you very much for that!

    Conny Koch
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    Thank you very much for your email and the tickets. We really appreciate how quickly and efficiently you deal with our requests each time!

    Denise Steiger
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    Hello Christine Thank you very much for this information. The support is super👍 many thanks Gruss

    Philippe
  • Marianne & Stefan Gräub

    Otherwise, the planned trip was a complete success. Everything went well and the visits you organised were all very interesting. The visits you organised were all very interesting and gave us a great insight into the respective topics. The fact that the Ticos are very friendly and always ready to help was fully confirmed.

    Marianne & Stefan Gräub

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