Costa Rica in December: What to Expect and How to Plan Around It
December is the month most people picture when they imagine a Costa Rica trip, and there is a good reason for that. It is also the month I get the most questions about, because what makes December appealing is exactly what makes it tricky. I grew up there, so let me give you the honest version of Costa Rica in December and how I plan around it.
Start with the weather, which is the main draw. December sits at the front edge of the dry season, and on the Pacific side it usually delivers, warm days, reliable sun, and the green from the just-ended rainy season still holding before the landscape dries out later in the season. You get the best of both: dependable beach weather and a country that has not yet turned brown. Roads in remote areas are more accessible, you are far less likely to need four-wheel drive, and the conditions favor everything from volcano hikes to boat tours. The Caribbean coast runs on its own pattern and can still see rain in December, which is worth knowing if your plans pull you east toward Tortuguero or Puerto Viejo.
Now the part the glossy photos leave out: December is peak season, and the back half of the month is the peak of the peak.
Costa Rican schools break for the holidays, so you are traveling alongside both international visitors and local families. From roughly the third week of December through the first days of January, the popular beaches, the national parks, and the best hotels are at their fullest and their most expensive of the entire year. Prices climb, availability tightens, and the places that take walk-ins the rest of the year want reservations.
This is the single most important thing I can tell you about a December trip: book early. Not early as in a few weeks. The strong properties in Arenal, Monteverde, and the Manuel Antonio area for late December are often spoken for many months ahead, and the ones that release rooms late tend to be the ones nobody wanted. If you are set on holiday-week travel, the planning has to start well in advance, and the difference between starting in spring and starting in October is the difference between your first choice and your fourth.
There is a quieter version of December that I often steer people toward, and it is the first half of the month. Early December, before the holiday rush builds, gives you the dry season weather without the holiday crowds or the holiday pricing. The country still feels relaxed, the parks are walkable, and you are paying noticeably less for the same hotels you would fight over two weeks later. If your dates have any flexibility and you do not need the trip to land on the holidays themselves, early December is one of the best windows in the entire calendar.
A few practical notes specific to the month.
Christmas and New Year's are celebrated warmly, and around the end of the month some towns hold festivals and the tope, a traditional horse parade, which can be a genuine highlight if you happen into one and a surprise traffic situation if you do not know it is coming. A handful of businesses keep holiday hours, so the planning includes confirming that the tour or restaurant you are counting on is actually open on the day you want it. And because everyone is moving at once over the holidays, transfers and domestic flights fill up the same way hotels do.
The way I plan a December trip is to protect against the two things that go wrong: availability and pace. Availability I handle by locking the hard-to-get pieces first and building the flexible days around them. Pace I handle by routing you to the right places at the right times of day, the popular park early before the crowds arrive, the busy beach town as a base rather than a midday stop. Every coastal and regional piece is backed by vetted local operators I hold to a consistent standard, which matters more in December than any other month, because when something is fully booked, you want someone who already has the relationships to find the alternative.
December is a wonderful time to be in Costa Rica. It just rewards planning more than any other month, and punishes the lack of it more too.
If you are looking at December dates, the sooner we talk the more options you will have. Share your timing through the consultation form on my site, and we will start building before the good rooms are gone.
I'm Ariana, a Costa Rican travel designer and founder of Kajaari Adventures. I grew up in Costa Rica and have spent years planning trips for families and couples who want to experience this country the way it actually is. Every itinerary I build starts with a conversation about what kind of days you want to have. I'd be glad to have that conversation with you. Start your custom Costa Rica planning here
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