Costa Rica January rainfall patterns.  January is the begining of the dry season. Clear weather is much more reliable on the Pacific side. (©Toucan Guides)

When to Travel?

The second half of January is one of the best times for a Costa Rica vacation. The first half of the month is also great from the perspective of weather but it tends to be somewhat crowded and peak season surcharges can make the first week one of the most expensive all year (see below).

January Weather

January the first reliably dry month at the beginning of the Costa Rican dry season. November and early December can be very wet or quite dry, the end of the year is usually dry. By January the northwestern (Guanacaste) and central regions (Jaco, Manuel Antonio) of Costa Rica have little rain and mostly sunny weather. What little rain falls usually comes as afternoon or evening showers.

On the Caribbean side of the central mountains it's wetter especially in the northeast where polar air pushes across the Gulf of Mexico picking up heat and moisture then depositing it as continuous days of rain referred to locally as temporales del Atlantico.

The beaches and lowlands experience high temperatures in the mid-eighties and low temperatures in the sixties to mid seventies. A day or two of temperatures in the mid nineties is possible at low elevations and especially on the Nicoya coast during January. Three thousand feet higher around San José and the Central Valley temperatures are 5-10 degrees cooler and temperatures at high elevations (Monteverde and Chirripo) can be 20 or even 30 degrees lower in January.

Planning Ahead & Reservations

Not only is January one of the best months to travel it is also one of the most popular. It's the heart of the high season for international travelers and the middle of the school holidays for Ticos so activities and accommodations fill up quickly. Especially for the first week, advanced reservations (as far ahead as six to twelve months) are a necessity for the popular higher quality mid-price, superior and luxury class hotels, lodges and resorts.

Budget and mid-priced hotels that rely on walk-in clientele also fill up but if you arrive early in the day and are flexible you shouldn't generally have any trouble finding lodging on the fly in January.

Costs & Availability for Travel in January

Prices reflect the popularity of travel at this time, high season rates are in full effect, and most hotels and lodges in the mid and luxury price ranges add a holiday surcharge for the first week of January. Many hotels and lodges that have dining rooms throw New Years Eve parties. Dinner and dancing are often mandatory for all guests and included in the room rates for the night of December 31 adding between $50 and $100 per person. Many accommodations also have minimum stays ranging from three to seven nights over New Years so you should check the fine print carefully when booking.

Reasonable airfares are available for advance purchasers, but most have sold out by November when prices typically climb by 20-50%.

The approximate predicted currency exchange rate is shown on the calendar below.

Alternatives to January in Costa Rica

If you like the sound of Dry Season, but would prefer to avoid the crowds try traveling in February or early March before the Spring Break and Easter crowds arrive.

Costa Rica January Calendar

January 2014				Exchange Rate 505 ¢ per $U.S. Sunrise ↑ 5:56, Sunset ↓ 17:29
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat

			1 ↑5:57↓17:59	2 ↑6:56↓19:02	3 ↑7:53↓20:03	4 ↑8:45↓21:01
			↓8:16↓20:34 ↑2:00↑14:35 $$$$ New Year's Day	↓9:06↓21:27 ↑2:52↑15:25 $$$$	↓9:56↓22:19 ↑3:43↑16:16 $$$$	↓10:45↓23:11 ↑4:34↑17:06 $$$
5 ↑9:34↓21:56	6 ↑10:21↓22:50	7 ↑11:07↓23:41	8 ↑11:52↓23:41	9 ↑12:37↓0:32	10 ↑13:23↓1:23	11 ↑14:10↓2:13
↓11:34 ↑5:25↑17:56 $$$	↓0:03↓12:24 ↑6:17↑18:48 $$$	↓0:57↓13:16 ↑7:10↑19:42 $$$	↓1:53↓14:10 ↑8:07↑20:39 $$$	↓2:54↓15:09 ↑9:08↑21:39 $$$	↓3:58↓16:12 ↑10:14↑22:41 $$$	↓5:04↓17:17 ↑11:20↑23:43 $$$ Fiesta Palmares
12 ↑14:58↓3:02	13 ↑15:46↓3:51	14 ↑16:35↓4:39	15 ↑17:23↓5:25	16 ↑18:10↓6:09	17 ↑18:57↓6:51	18 ↑19:43↓7:33
↓6:07↓18:19 ↑12:22 $$$	↓7:01↓19:13 ↑0:38↑13:16 $$$	↓7:48↓20:00 ↑1:28↑14:03 $$$	↓8:29↓20:42 ↑2:12↑14:45 $$$ Día de Santo Cristo de Esquipulas	↓9:06↓21:20 ↑2:53↑15:24 $$$	↓9:42↓21:57 ↑3:31↑16:00 $$$	↓10:16↓22:34 ↑4:09↑16:36 $$$
19 ↑20:29↓8:13	20 ↑21:15↓8:53	21 ↑22:03↓9:34	22 ↑22:52↓10:16	23 ↑23:43↓11:00	24 ↑23:43↓11:47	25 ↑0:37↓12:39
↓10:50↓23:10 ↑4:45↑17:11 $$$	↓11:25↓23:47 ↑5:21↑17:46 $$$	↓12:00 ↑5:58↑18:22 $$$	↓0:26↓12:36 ↑6:36↑19:00 $$$	↓1:07↓13:17 ↑7:18↑19:43 $$$	↓1:54↓14:04 ↑8:06↑20:33 $$$	↓2:47↓14:59 ↑9:02↑21:31 $$$
26 ↑1:35↓13:34	27 ↑2:34↓14:34	28 ↑3:35↓15:36	29 ↑4:35↓16:39	30 ↑5:34↓17:42	31 ↑6:29↓18:43
↓3:49↓16:03 ↑10:08↑22:36 $$$	↓4:55↓17:13 ↑11:17↑23:43 $$$	↓6:01↓18:21 ↑12:23 $$$	↓7:02↓19:23 ↑0:46↑13:22 $$$	↓7:58↓20:20 ↑1:44↑14:17 $$$	↓8:50↓21:14 ↑2:38↑15:09 $$$