February is Costa Rica's sunniest month — rainfall nearly disappears on the Pacific side, rivers run slow and clear, and the light at golden hour turns everything amber. Coral reefs are at their clearest visibility of the year. The Caribbean coast operates by different rules: short afternoon downpours keep the landscape vivid and the birding extraordinary.
Highlights this month
- ✓Clearest water visibility of the year for snorkeling and diving on both coasts
- ✓Butterfly species diversity peaks in lowland Pacific rainforests
- ✓Scarlet macaw nesting season well underway in the Osa Peninsula
- ✓Dry forest flora in peak golden-brown dormancy — a photographic register all its own
Best for
Photography
February light on the Pacific coast is exceptional. Underwater photography reaches its year-round peak — visibility at reef sites can exceed 20 metres.
Worth knowing
Waterfalls are at their seasonal low. If the falls are what you're coming for, wait until May when the green season wakes them up.
Event note — Valentine's Day brings coastal lodges and mountain viewpoints to capacity — book ahead for the week of February 14.
Places that shine in February
🔭 Viewpoints
La India Dormida
I climb the ridge of a sleeping guardian above the volcanic crater of El Valle.
El Valle de Antón
🏊 Swimming
Piscina Natural San Blas Islas
Step off a boat into a clear Caribbean pool where starfish outnumber tourists.
San Blas
🔭 Viewpoints
Canopy Crane
Rise forty metres into a rainforest canopy where scientists first unlocked the treetops.
Soberanía NP
🔭 Viewpoints
PRDC - Tower
Climb 175 steps above the rainforest canopy and watch raptors at the level you always imagined.
Gamboa
🔭 Viewpoints
Lago Calamito Observation Platform
Sit at the lake's edge and wait — ospreys, gallinules, and maybe a caiman.
Gamboa
🔭 Viewpoints
Mirador Cinta Costera 3
One free path, two Panamas — the skyscrapers on your left, Casco Viejo on your right.
Cinta Costera
🔭 Viewpoints
Mirador Cerro Ancón
Thirty minutes uphill from Panama City, sloths doze above the Canal.
Ancón