Forecast apps are nearly useless for Costa Rica; they show a thunderstorm icon for entire months that are mostly sunny. Here's what each month actually feels like in Sámara, from a family that lives here.
The constants first: days around 30C (mid-80s F) every month of the year, warm ocean, and sunsets that pull people to the beach like a bell rang. What changes is the rain, the green, and the crowd.
December. The rain has just stopped, the hills are still green, and the holiday crowd arrives. Sunny, festive, busy. Book everything early for the Christmas-to-New-Year stretch.
January and February. Classic dry season: day after day of sun, breezy and a touch cooler at night, the most reliable beach weather of the year. Peak season in full swing.
March and April. The hottest, driest stretch. The landscape goes golden brown, the heat builds through the afternoon, and the pool earns its keep. Semana Santa (Easter week) is one of the busiest weeks of the Costa Rican year; plan around it or book far ahead.
May. The first rains land and you can almost watch the hills turn green again. Warm, quieter, and prices ease off. A sleeper pick.
June and July. Sunny mornings, an afternoon or evening shower, then it clears. July often brings veranillo, a drier little summer inside the green season. Great month for families escaping northern summer crowds.
August. Deep green everywhere and the whales arrive (the August-to-October window is the strong one here; see our whale season guide). Still mostly sunny mornings.
September and October. The wettest months and the quietest. Dramatic skies, thunderous nights, empty beaches, and the lowest rates of the year. Some businesses take their annual break around now. If you like your tropics moody and your mornings to yourself, this is your window; just keep plans flexible.
November. The rain tapers, everything is at maximum lush, and the crowds haven't arrived. With whale-season stragglers early in the month and dry-season light returning, it might be the prettiest month on the calendar.
The summary: there's no bad month, just different trades. Guaranteed sun and company from December to April; green hills, soft prices, and morning-built days from May to November. For the longer version of that trade-off, read our dry season vs green season guide.
Whichever month you pick, the villa works the same: pool for the hot afternoons, covered terraces for the rainy ones. Check availability.