Green Season in Costa Rica
May to November brings a different Costa Rica. Waterfalls surge to their most dramatic. The jungle turns vivid. Wildlife nesting and breeding seasons begin. Fewer tourists reach these places. These are the locations that reward the decision to travel in the green season.
🏊 Swimming
Isla del Caño Biological Reserve
The finest reef on the Pacific coast of Central America, twelve kilometres offshore
Drake Bay
🌊 Waterfalls
Catarata La Fortuna
A dramatic 70-metre waterfall, tropical rainforest, wildlife, and swimming
La Fortuna
🏊 Swimming
Parque Nacional Cahuita
One of Costa Rica’s most beautiful Caribbean national parks
Cahuita
🌊 Waterfalls
Cataratas Llanos de Cortez
The most accessible major waterfall in Costa Rica — and the most generous
Bagaces
🦜 Wildlife
Playa Grande
Leatherback turtles nest here in darkness — the beach is theirs first
Playa Grande
🌊 Waterfalls
Cataratas Nauyaca
Two-tier 45-metre falls, three hours deep in the jungle south of Dominical
Dominical
🏕️ Camping
Estación Sirena, Corcovado
The most biologically intense place on Earth — no services, no shade, no compromise
Osa Peninsula
🌊 Waterfalls
La Paz Waterfall Gardens
One of Costa Rica’s most famous eco-attractions, located in the cloud forest between Poás Volcano and Sarapiquí
Heredia Province
🦜 Wildlife
Canales de Tortuguero
Boat through rainforest canals watching caimans, sloths, and river otters
Tortuguero
🥾 Hiking
Sendero Las Pailas, Rincón de la Vieja
Active mud pots, fumaroles, and howler monkeys in a single morning hike
Rincón de la Vieja NP
🥾 Hiking
Savegre Valley Trail
Network of cloud-forest hiking trails around San Gerardo de Dota and the upper Río Savegre
San Gerardo de Dota
🥾 Hiking
Reserva Natural Absoluta Cabo Blanco
Costa Rica's first protected area ends in a wild beach almost nobody reaches
Cabo Blanco
💎 Hidden Gems
Bahía Drake
One of the wildest and most biodiverse destinations
Drake Bay
🥾 Hiking
Dominical
Jungle coast surf town — strong rip currents, one main street, gateway to the southern Pacific
Dominical
🦜 Wildlife
Puerto Jiménez
Main gateway to Corcovado on Golfo Dulce — scarlet macaws in the town trees, pura vida pace
Puerto Jiménez
🦜 Wildlife
Uvita
The whale-tail sandbar at low tide — humpback nursery from August to October
Uvita
🦜 Wildlife
Golfo Dulce
One of Costa Rica's most spectacular natural regions and one of only a few tropical fjord-like gulfs in the world
Golfito
🥾 Hiking
Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve
Where the cloud never quite leaves and every surface is covered in something living
Monteverde
🦜 Wildlife
Piedras Blancas National Park
Primary lowland rainforest connected to the Osa — jaguar, tapir, almost no visitors
Golfito
🥾 Hiking
Barra Honda National Park
Dry forest mesa with 42 caves beneath it — stalactites and fossil seashells 300 metres underground
Nicoya
🏊 Swimming
Poza Los Coyotes
A hidden oasis where volcanic rivers, waterfalls, and dramatic canyon scenery create one of Guanacaste’s most beautiful natural swimming spots.
Liberia
🌊 Waterfalls
Catarata Aquiares
A stunning waterfall cascades into a crystal-clear pool surrounded by lush rainforest and the historic Aquiares Coffee Estate.
Turrialba
💎 Hidden Gems
Laguna Hule
One of Costa Rica's most beautiful volcanic lakes
Santa Isabel
🌊 Waterfalls
Catarata del Toro
Ninety metres straight down into an extinct volcanic crater — visible from the rim above
Sarchi