Season guide · San José · Costa Rica
San José in the green season
May–August: weather, crowds, prices and the best things to do this time of year.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Andres Alvarez, CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answer
Sunny mornings and afternoon rain, with a drier spell often in July and lower prices. Expect highs up to 27°C (81°F) and lows around 17°C (63°F), with about 83 rainy days across May–August.
Key facts
- Months
- May–August
- Temperatures
- 17°C (63°F) to 27°C (81°F)
- Rainy days in the season
- About 83
- Crowds
- Moderate
- Hotel prices
- Average
Weather in the green season
| Month | High | Low | Rainy days | Daylight | Crowds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May | 27°C (81°F) | 17°C (63°F) | 19 | 12.6 h | 2/5 |
| June | 26°C (79°F) | 17°C (63°F) | 22 | 12.7 h | 2/5 |
| July | 26°C (79°F) | 17°C (63°F) | 20 | 12.6 h | 3/5 |
| August | 26°C (79°F) | 17°C (63°F) | 22 | 12.4 h | 3/5 |
Compared with the rest of the year: average highs of 26°C (79°F) against a yearly 26°C (79°F), and 83 of the year's roughly 168 rainy days fall in these 4 months. Crowds rate 3/5 and hotel prices 3/5 on average.
What's on in the green season
Recurring events; dates move from year to year, so confirm with the organiser.
- August: Romería — pilgrimage to the Basílica de los Ángeles in Cartago (night of 1–2 August)
- August: Mother's Day holiday (15 August)
Good choices for the green season
Market · Centro
Mercado Central
Founded in the 1880s, the central market is a covered maze of narrow alleys selling coffee, herbs, spices, leather goods, flowers and souvenirs, with dozens of small sodas serving casados, sopa negra and ice cream at counter seats.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Food
- Shopping
- Rainy day
Gallery · Barrio Amón
Centro Nacional de la Cultura (CENAC)
Check what is on at the contemporary art museum, and look into the courtyards of the old factory buildings.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Art
- Architecture
- Rainy day
- Off the beaten path
Museum · Barrio Amón
Museo de los Niños
The children's museum occupies a former penitentiary, a castle-like building north of the centre.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Kids
- Rainy day
- History
Architecture · Centro
Teatro Nacional
Take the guided tour to see the auditorium and the upper foyers, then have coffee in the theatre's café off the main lobby.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Iconic
- Architecture
- History
- Rainy day
Museum · Centro
Pre-Columbian Gold Museum
Beneath the Plaza de la Cultura, the Central Bank's museums display a large collection of pre-Columbian gold pieces — frogs, jaguars, eagles and shamanic figures cast by Indigenous goldsmiths — alongside a coin and banknote museum and temporary art exhibitions.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Art
- Rainy day
- Kids
Day trips in the green season
- Cartago and the Orosi Valley (About 1.5 hours by road) — Cartago, the former capital, is home to the Basílica de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles, the country's main pilgrimage church.
- La Paz Waterfall Gardens (About 1.5 hours by road) — A private nature park on the slopes of Poás with trails and stairways past five waterfalls in the cloud forest, plus a hummingbird garden, a butterfly house and animal exhibits.
What to pack
- Light layers for the day and a light jacket for the evening
- A compact umbrella and waterproof shoes — rain is frequent
- Comfortable walking shoes
Other times of year
Questions travellers ask
+Is the green season a good time to visit San José?
It is a trade-off: Sunny mornings and afternoon rain, with a drier spell often in July and lower prices. The best months overall are December–April.
+What is the weather like in San José in the green season?
Highs of up to 27°C (81°F) and lows around 17°C (63°F), with about 83 rainy days over the season.