Roughly May to November is called the green season because calling it the rainy season sells fewer rooms. Both names are accurate, and the useful question is not which is honest but what the rain actually does to a trip.
What it actually looks like
Clear mornings and afternoon storms, through most of the season and most of the country. The rain arrives after lunch, falls hard for an hour or three, and clears.
That pattern is the whole planning rule. Do the outdoors and the moving in the morning. Leave afternoons soft. A trip built that way barely notices the season.
What you get in exchange
Emptiness. The famous places have a fraction of the people. Manuel Antonio in October is a different park from Manuel Antonio in February.
Green. Guanacaste, brown and stark in the dry months, is unrecognisably lush.
Wildlife. Breeding, fruiting, loud. The forests are at their most active and the guides are less booked. We fly year-round. In the rainy season the pilot in command decides; if weather stops a flight, it is rescheduled at no cost.
And lower prices, substantially, at every level from lodge to rental car. We show a "from" price per route; the final fare depends on the date, the group and the baggage, and is confirmed in writing before booking.
The weeks that are genuinely difficult
Late September through October on the Pacific. This is the real exception, and not because of the volume of rain: it is because the morning pattern breaks down and the rain can persist through the day.
Some southern lodges close entirely. Roads in the Osa, 83.5 nautical miles out, become harder.
If you have one week and it falls in this window, the Caribbean is the better coast — and its season is inverted, so September and October are often its best months.
What the season does to flying
Visual airfields close on cloud base rather than rainfall, which is why a wet day can be perfectly flyable and a grey one closed. The specific aircraft is assigned on confirmation, based on passenger count, baggage and the destination field.
The practical consequence: earlier departures do better, and it is worth keeping the day you fly free of anything that cannot move. A Tortuguero leg at 53.4 nautical miles or a Drake Bay leg is best flown in the morning in these months, not at four in the afternoon.
The regional map of the season
It is not one season across the country, which is the part most articles flatten.
Guanacaste at 86.9 nautical miles is the driest place in the country even in these months, and its rain arrives late and briefly. The south is wet most of the year and the green season only makes it more so. The Caribbean ignores the whole framing and runs on its own calendar.
So «is the green season bad» has no single answer: it depends which coast you are asking about, and a trip that moves between them will meet two different versions of the same month.
Who should avoid it
Anyone who needs certainty on a specific date — a wedding ceremony outdoors at four o'clock, a single-day window for one activity, a trip with no slack anywhere.
And anyone whose only week is the October Pacific window.
Who should choose it deliberately
Wildlife travellers, straightforwardly. Surfers, since the Pacific swell is better. Photographers, for the light and the green. And anyone who has been in high season and found it crowded, which is the most common reason people come back in September.
Frequently asked
What does green-season rain look like?
Clear mornings and afternoon storms through most of the season, rather than all-day rain.
How do I plan around it?
Outdoors and moving in the morning, afternoons left soft. A trip built that way barely notices it.
Which weeks are genuinely hard?
Late September through October on the Pacific, when the morning pattern breaks down and some southern lodges close.
What if my only week is then?
Go to the Caribbean. Its season is inverted and those are often its best months.
Does rain stop flights?
Cloud base does, not rainfall. A wet day can fly and a grey one may not, so morning departures do better.
Who should choose the green season?
Wildlife travellers, surfers, photographers, and anyone who found high season crowded.
Plan it with us
We fly year-round. In the rainy season the pilot in command decides; if weather stops a flight, it is rescheduled at no cost.
See also: Weather by month · Wildlife watching · National parks · Osa and Corcovado · All destinations