Costa Rica Weather in May: Region by Region

The green season begins in May, though in Guanacaste the rains don’t usually build until June. It is a quieter month, good value, and the weather is still lovely.

The country is small, but the weather changes a lot from one region to the next. Here is how May usually looks where most of our travelers go.

Guanacaste and the Nicoya Peninsula

The rainy season officially starts on the Pacific side in May, but Guanacaste’s first real peak of rain is June, so May often still feels like the end of summer here. Olive ridley and loggerhead turtles start nesting on both coasts from May.

Central Pacific: Manuel Antonio and Jacó

Green season. Most days start sunny, with rain in the afternoon, and the forest around Manuel Antonio turns its greenest.

The South Pacific: Uvita and the Osa Peninsula

Green season here too, with the same sunny mornings and afternoon rain.

Arenal and the Northern Plains

Arenal sits on the Caribbean side of the mountains and gets rain in every month, which is why it is so green. Across the country the first rains set the frogs off on their breeding choruses. The hot springs are perfect whatever the sky does.

Monteverde

The mountains are cooler and can be misty at any time of year. Bring a light jacket for the cloud forest.

The Caribbean Coast

The Caribbean is in a wetter stretch from May to August. Leatherbacks are still nesting, and olive ridley and loggerhead turtles arrive from May.

May is a quieter month with more choice of hotels, and we build the days around the sunny mornings. Our team has lived here and built trips by hand since 2004, so we know which regions pair well, how long the drives really take and which hotels are worth it. Tell us what you love and we will design your Costa Rica around it.

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