Costa Rica’s peak of the rainy season doesn’t affect my monthly relocation tours

In Costa Rica there are two seasons: Summer which runs from the end of November (noviembre) to about mid-April (abril) and the green or rainy season which extends from mid-April to mid-November.

The months of September and October are the wettest of the year in Costa Rica. This year, it is expected that the rains will be far more intense than normal, mainly due to an above normal Atlantic Hurricane (huracán in Spanish) season. The hurricane season formally begins in June and ends in November; however, meteorólogos (meteorologists) have noted that in recent years the season starts earlier and tends to end later. Since predicting the weather is not accurate, sometimes Costa Rica’s meteorólogos are referred to as mentirólogos which is a form of word play based on the word mentiroso, which means liar.

The good news is that we do not get hurricanes in Costa Rica, only a lot of rain. The country’s tall mountain ranges seem to keep hurricanes at bay. ¡Gracias a dios! (Thank god!). Indeed Costa Rica is blessed in many ways.

Typically, days are sunny with rain coming in the afternoon and evening. So, Costa Ricans, retirees and other expats get the bulk of their shopping and errands finished before the rain begins.

Rain can sometimes be intense mainly in some areas of the Pacific and Central Valley. Rivers, streams, sewage overflows, and landslides can occur at times but are not widespread.

When I initiated my monthly relocation/retirement tours over 25 years ago, I always did tours in September and October. I ended up not doing them at this time of year in all fairness to my clients. A couple of times in October it rained so hard while on the beach portion of my tour that we virtually had to spend part of our time indoors. I found this very unfair because my clients paid good money to see Costa Rica but could not, due to the inclement weather.

As a result I stopped conducting tours during September and October. Rainfall poses no obstacle to having tours during the other months of the year.