Best time to visit Costa Rica

Timing is simple in Costa Rica: almost every destination here peaks in February or December, so one set of dates works for the whole country.

Averaged across every destination listed, Costa Rica is at its best in February, scoring 73 out of 100, with January close behind at 72. May is the weakest month nationally at 50. The window is narrow: only 3 months come within eight points of the best, so an itinerary covering several of these places should be built around that rather than around any one city's own peak.

There is real variation inside Costa Rica: 32 °C annually in Puntarenas against 25 °C in San José. Rainfall is broadly similar throughout, from 174 wet days a year in Liberia to 291 in Limón.