March is the final full month of reliable dry season before the transition begins. Quetzals are actively seeking nesting sites in the cloud forests of San Gerardo de Dota and Monteverde — making this one of the most reliable months for sightings. The Pacific coast reaches its warmest sea temperatures of the year.
Highlights this month
- ✓Peak quetzal season — cloud forests of San Gerardo de Dota and Monteverde
- ✓Pacific coast sea temperatures at annual peak for swimming
- ✓Waterfalls beginning to recover with first tentative early rains
- ✓Pre-Easter tourism surge begins in the final week of March
Best for
Photography
Cloud forests in March offer the classic misty-but-not-fully-rainy conditions that produce the best atmospheric photography. Early mornings in San Gerardo de Dota are exceptional.
Worth knowing
Holy Week (Semana Santa) falls in late March or early April and represents the single busiest travel period in Costa Rica. Roads, beaches, and popular spots become extremely crowded.
Event note — Semana Santa (Holy Week) may fall in late March. Plan around it or lean into the cultural experience of pilgrimage routes and coastal town processions.
Places that shine in March
🌊 Waterfalls
Catarata La Fortuna
A dramatic 70-metre waterfall, tropical rainforest, wildlife, and swimming
La Fortuna
🔭 Viewpoints
Cerro de la Muerte
One of the most dramatic and iconic highland regions
Cerro de la Muerte
🌊 Waterfalls
Cataratas Llanos de Cortez
The most accessible major waterfall in Costa Rica — and the most generous
Bagaces
🌊 Waterfalls
Cataratas Nauyaca
Two-tier 45-metre falls, three hours deep in the jungle south of Dominical
Dominical
🦜 Wildlife
Canales de Tortuguero
Boat through rainforest canals watching caimans, sloths, and river otters
Tortuguero
🥾 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
Sendero Valle del Silencio
A dawn hike into Costa Rica's most remote cloud forest — quetzal territory
Talamanca
☕ Scenic Cafés
Dota Coffee Region
One of the most beautiful and prestigious coffee-growing areas
Valle de Dota
🥾 Hiking
Cerros de Escazú
Cloud forest directly above San José — brujas legend, 18th-century hilltop church, mountain trails
Escazú
🦜 Wildlife
Savegre Valley
Cloud forest river valley at 2,200 metres — primary quetzal habitat, trout in the river
San Gerardo de Dota
🥾 Hiking
Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve
Where the cloud never quite leaves and every surface is covered in something living
Monteverde
💎 Hidden Gems
Finca Bellavista
An extraordinary off-grid treehouse community surrounded by hundreds of acres of pristine rainforest
Golfito