Puerto Viejo (Puerto Viejo de Talamanca) weather in March
March in Puerto Viejo: hot, rainy, with clean air — fine if you can take 20 rainy days.
Updated September 2026 · climate normals from ERA5 reanalysis
#1 of 12 months in Puerto Viejo · #237 of 1413 destinations to visit in March · comfort 88/100 (tier A)
- Days
- 27°C
- Nights
- 22°C
- Wet days
- 20
- Sun
- 10.3 h
- Humidity
- 81%
- Daylight
- 12 h
Traveller notes on Puerto Viejo in March
Notes from nearby Bocas del Toro (66 km away)
Puerto Viejo doesn't have its own notes for March yet — these are about Bocas del Toro, close enough to share the season.
March, April and September are normally the driest months in Bocas, and the forum's emphasis falls on normally: this is rainforest, and regulars say plainly that there is no predictable dry season here and you should expect to be rained on at some point. What they also say is how little it matters - one visitor's forecast promised rain every day and delivered on about 30 percent of them, usually as a ten-minute drizzle. Our row reads wetter than dry season implies, at 20.5 precipitation days carrying 95mm, and that rain is what feeds the jungle people come for. The record: 27.7C days that feel like 33C, 23.1C nights, 10.6 hours of sun and a 28.9C sea.
Other months in Puerto Viejo
Puerto Viejo's forum consistently rates August as better than the genuinely wet June-July stretch on the Caribbean coast, with the back half of the month described as noticeably improving as September - reportedly the driest, sunniest month here - approaches. That framing is relative, though: some rain most days is still the norm this time of year, and posters were honest that Caribbean-side weather stays genuinely unpredictable regardless of the calendar. Hot and humid is the constant, with the real variable being how much of each day gets interrupted by a shower.
Forum posters describe February as genuinely variable here - some visitors get a good run of sunny days mixed with a few cloudy, showery ones, while others land mostly sunny and dry throughout their stay, with no reliable way to predict which in advance. Posters are consistent that the Caribbean side of Costa Rica, where Puerto Viejo sits, gets real rain year-round unlike the more clearly seasonal Pacific coast, with local experience suggesting roughly 65% of rain falls at night and most daytime rain is a short shower rather than an all-day event. Posters generally rate the destination higher for wildlife and rainforest activities than for guaranteed beach-lounging weather, given the real chance of a rainier-than-hoped stretch even in the relatively better dry season.
Add your own note from Puerto Viejo's card on the map.
Puerto Viejo climate normals — March
Monthly averages from ERA5 reanalysis. AQI is the mean US Air Quality Index for the month.
Crowds in Puerto Viejo in March
How busy the place itself is — school and mass holidays, the months an editor tagged, and how sought-after the weather makes them. Never part of the comfort score.
BusySemana Santa, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it(estimated)
Peak crowdsBusyShoulder seasonQuiet
Best months for Puerto Viejo's weather
Ranked by this destination's own climate comfort score across the year — a different thing from how busy it gets (see Crowds above).
Best weatherPuerto Viejo's weather peaks January–March.
March includes Leatherback nesting at Gandoca.
Best weatherFair weatherToughest weather
What's on in Puerto Viejo in March
Recurring seasonal events, natural spectacles, closures and holidays — curated and sourced.
- Season
The dry spells
1 Feb – 31 Mar · usuallyDry seasonThe Caribbean side runs on its own calendar: February and March are the driest weeks of the year, with a second, shorter break around September. The rest of it is genuinely wet, whatever the Pacific coast is doing.
- Nature
Leatherback nesting at Gandoca
1 Mar – 15 Jul · usuallyTurtle nestingLeatherbacks, greens and hawksbills all use the refuge beaches south of Manzanillo. Night walks go out with the monitoring project rather than on your own, and the numbers are small enough that nothing is guaranteed. Source ↗
- Holiday
Semana Santa
29 Mar – 5 AprEaster & Holy WeekCrowdedBook earlySan José empties onto this coast for the week and the one road in from Limón backs up. Cabinas that never take bookings suddenly need them, and the bicycles out to Manzanillo all go early. Source ↗
- Season
Salsa Brava season
1 Dec – 31 Mar · usuallySurf seasonThe north swells arrive and Salsa Brava breaks over shallow reef straight in front of town — the heaviest wave in Costa Rica and not somewhere to learn. Playa Cocles down the road takes everyone else.
Nearby, and something's on
Within 300 km of Puerto Viejo — a day trip or a short hop — with something on this month. Never part of the comfort score.
Where is Puerto Viejo?
Puerto Viejo in March — FAQ
- Is March a good time to visit Puerto Viejo?
- March in Puerto Viejo: hot, rainy, with clean air — fine if you can take 20 rainy days. It ranks #1 of 12 months for Puerto Viejo on SeasonMap's comfort score (88/100).
- What is the weather like in Puerto Viejo in March?
- In March, Puerto Viejo averages a daily high of 27.2°C and a low of 21.8°C, with about 113.2 mm of rain over roughly 19.8 rainy days.
- What is the air quality in Puerto Viejo in March?
- Puerto Viejo has a mean US Air Quality Index of about 37 in March.
Within 300 km: Bocas del Toro's Sea turtle nesting around 1 Mar – 31 Oct, and Boquete's Quetzal nesting season around 1 Feb – 30 Jun.