Alright, someone asked me the other day about Costa Rica in January, weather-wise. It got me thinking back to when I actually went myself a couple of years back. See, I’d heard January was the ‘dry season,’ the best time to go, but you know how that goes. Sometimes ‘dry’ just means ‘slightly less rain’. So, I started prepping for that trip.
Getting Ready and What I Packed
I remember digging through my closet. I figured, okay, tropical country, gotta be warm. But then you read about cloud forests like Monteverde, and mountains, and suddenly you’re packing sweaters and rain jackets alongside shorts and t-shirts. I almost brought proper hiking boots, the heavy ones, but thankfully a buddy who’d been there before talked me out of it. Said good walking shoes were enough unless I planned some serious off-trail stuff, which I didn’t.
So, my suitcase ended up being a mixed bag:
- Lots of light cotton shirts
- Shorts and light trousers
- One light sweater
- A thin waterproof jacket (more for wind sometimes than rain)
- Swimsuit, obviously
- Good sneakers
Turned out, that was pretty much spot on.
What It Was Actually Like There
Flying into San Jose, the first thing that hit me wasn’t crazy heat, but just… pleasant warmth. It wasn’t that sticky, heavy humidity you get some places. January felt pretty comfortable right away.
Down by the coasts, places like Manuel Antonio on the Pacific side? Beautiful. Sunny almost every single day. Hot, yeah, definitely beach weather, hitting maybe the high 80s Fahrenheit (around 30-32 Celsius) during the day. Evenings were lovely and warm too, perfect for sitting outside. Hardly any rain to speak of. Maybe a quick, brief shower one late afternoon that lasted all of 15 minutes, then sunshine again. It was nothing, really.
Then I headed inland, up towards Arenal and La Fortuna. Still warm during the day, maybe a touch cooler than the coast, especially if clouds rolled in around the volcano. Evenings were comfortable. Again, mostly sunny days. I remember one afternoon it looked like it might rain properly, got a bit grey, but it just sort of drizzled on and off for less than an hour. Didn’t disrupt anything.
Monteverde, the cloud forest place? Okay, that was different. Definitely cooler up there because of the altitude. Mornings and evenings, I was glad I had that light sweater. During the day, if the sun was out, it was pleasant, maybe low 70s (low 20s C). But it’s a ‘cloud forest’ for a reason. It gets misty, damp, especially later in the day. Not necessarily heavy rain, but that fine drizzle, that ‘misting’ they talk about. The light waterproof jacket was useful here, mostly for the dampness and a bit of wind.
So, The Bottom Line?
January really is mostly dry season. Expect lots of sunshine, especially on the coasts. It’s warm to hot, pretty ideal vacation weather if you ask me. Bring layers mainly if you’re heading to higher elevations like Monteverde. A light rain jacket is smart, just in case, but don’t expect constant downpours like in the green season. It was way better than I even hoped for, weather-wise. Didn’t ruin a single plan I had. Just remember sunscreen and a hat, the sun is strong!
