Arenal & La Fortuna
A near-perfect cone of a volcano with hot springs resorts, hanging bridges through the treetops and waterfalls all around. Soak in warm pools as the evening comes on.
- Stay
- 3 nights
- Best for
- Families, adventure, hot springs
Costa Rica in the dry season
Sunny skies, clear volcano views and easy roads make December to April the simplest time to see it all. Here’s how to pace it.
By the Global Escapes travel team · Updated
- Best time to go
- December to April, the dry season
- Trip length
- 9 to 12 days
- From Atlanta
- About 4 hours nonstop to San José or Liberia
- Arenal to Monteverde
- About 3.5 hours by road, or jeep, boat and jeep across Lake Arenal
- Weather
- Guanacaste highs near 92°F in January, cooler in the mountains
- Book by
- Six to nine months ahead, a year for holiday weeks
Why the dry season works so well
From December through April, Costa Rica’s Pacific side barely sees a drop of rain, and the clear mornings bring the best volcano views of the year.
The three classic regions sit just a few hours apart: Arenal and its hot springs, the misty Monteverde cloud forest, and the Pacific beaches of Guanacaste or Manuel Antonio. In the dry months the roads are easier, the hikes are less muddy and beach days are close to guaranteed. Guanacaste averages about a tenth of an inch of rain in January.
The mountains keep their own weather. Arenal faces the wetter Caribbean side of the country, and Monteverde lives up in the clouds, so a passing shower or a drift of mist is part of the experience, even in March. It’s exactly what keeps them so green.
The season, month by month
- DecemberDry days return, holiday weeks book early
- January and FebruaryThe driest, sunniest weeks
- MarchHot and dry, especially on the coast
- AprilEaster week fills up, then the dry season winds down
Volcano, cloud forest and coast
A classic first trip strings together a volcano, a cloud forest and a beach. Here’s what each one does best, and how long to give it.
Monteverde
A cloud forest high in the mountains, with suspension bridges, zip lines and guided night walks. Birders come hoping to see the resplendent quetzal.
- Stay
- 2 nights
- Best for
- Nature lovers, birders
Guanacaste
Dry, sunny Pacific beaches and the luxury resorts of the Papagayo Peninsula, close to Liberia’s airport so you can fly home straight from the coast.
- Stay
- 3 to 4 nights
- Best for
- Beach time, resorts
Manuel Antonio
A small national park where rainforest meets the beach. Sloths and three kinds of monkeys live here, often close to the trail.
- Stay
- 3 nights
- Best for
- Wildlife, families
How to pace it
The secret to a great Costa Rica trip is fewer moves and shorter drives. We keep travel days to about three hours, so you see more and sit less.
Choose one coast. Guanacaste flows naturally after Arenal and Monteverde and lets you fly home from Liberia. Manuel Antonio is the pick for wildlife lovers, about three hours from San José. Trying to fit in both usually means a long travel day, so we save that for trips of two weeks or more.
Start in the mountains and finish at the beach. Adventure comes first, while everyone has energy, and the last few days are for the pool, the sand and a sunset dinner. Between Arenal and Monteverde, the jeep, boat and jeep crossing over Lake Arenal turns a transfer into one of the prettiest mornings of the trip.
Ways to shape it
- Ten daysArenal, Monteverde and Guanacaste
- For wildlife loversArenal, Monteverde and Manuel Antonio
- With young kidsArenal and one beach, with fewer moves
- With more timeAdd the Osa Peninsula, about an hour by small plane from San José
Where to stay
In Costa Rica, the lodge is part of the adventure. The best ones put the rainforest right outside your door.
Near Arenal, Nayara Springs is adults-only, with villas that each have a private plunge pool and hot springs pools to soak in after a day out. Its sister resorts, Nayara Gardens and Nayara Tented Camp, welcome families. In Monteverde, Hotel Belmar sits in the cloud forest with its own farm and long views over the Gulf of Nicoya.
On the coast, the Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo has beaches, family programs and even surf lessons for kids. In Manuel Antonio, Arenas del Mar is set in 11 acres of rainforest with two beaches, naturalist guides on staff and monkeys and sloths often seen right on the property.
Good to know
The small things that make a dry-season trip feel easy.
Roads take longer
Mountain roads wind more than maps suggest. A private driver makes the transfers relaxing, and you can watch for wildlife on the way.
Pack a warm layer
Monteverde is cool and breezy, especially at night, even when the coast is in the 90s.
Book park tickets ahead
In recent years Manuel Antonio National Park has sold entry online only and closed on Tuesdays. We plan your visit around both.
Hire a naturalist guide
A good guide with a spotting scope finds the sloth, the toucan and the tiny frog you would walk right past.
Mind Easter week
Holy Week is a big local holiday, and beaches and hotels fill fast. Book early, or plan around it.
Easy entry
U.S. travelers need a passport but no visa, U.S. dollars are widely accepted and plugs match the ones at home.
Planning the whole trip?
Our Costa Rica guide
Dry and green seasons, month-by-month weather, drive times, a route map and the places our travelers love most, from Arenal to the Osa Peninsula.
See the Costa Rica guideLet’s plan your Costa Rica adventure
Tell us when you’re thinking of going and who’s coming along. An advisor will take it from there.