Puerto Viejo (Puerto Viejo de Talamanca) weather in May
May in Puerto Viejo: sweltering, soaked, with clean air — a gamble, with 28 rainy days.
Updated September 2026 · climate normals from ERA5 reanalysis
#8 of 12 months in Puerto Viejo · #1134 of 1413 destinations to visit in May · comfort 63/100 (tier C)
- Days
- 28°C
- Nights
- 23°C
- Wet days
- 28
- Sun
- 8.5 h
- Humidity
- 87%
- Daylight
- 13 h

Traveller notes on Puerto Viejo in May
Notes from nearby Bocas del Toro (66 km away)
Puerto Viejo doesn't have its own notes for May yet — these are about Bocas del Toro, close enough to share the season.
Bocas del Toro-forum threads on May and June weather are direct that there's no month that reliably avoids rain here, showers a real possibility on the large majority of days regardless of which month is picked. Posters are consistent that getting rained on at some point during a trip should simply be expected rather than treated as bad luck, and the standing packing advice is a proper umbrella over a rain jacket, since the humidity makes fully sealed rain gear miserable to wear for long. The pattern that does hold, per regulars, is real sunny stretches between the showers rather than an all-day washout, so a rained-on morning doesn't necessarily mean a lost afternoon. Warm, muggy air is the constant regardless of rain, described as the more persistent discomfort than any individual shower. The record: 28.6C days feeling like a sticky 35C, 24.4C nights, a notably high 198mm across 25.4 days, 86 percent humidity, a 30.5C sea and 8.6 hours of sun.
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 — May
Monthly averages from ERA5 reanalysis. AQI is the mean US Air Quality Index for the month.
Crowds in Puerto Viejo in May
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.
Shoulder seasonan ordinary month(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).
Fair weatherPuerto Viejo's weather peaks January–March.
Best weatherFair weatherToughest weather
What's on in Puerto Viejo in May
Recurring seasonal events, natural spectacles, closures and holidays — curated and sourced.
- 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 ↗
- Season
Wet season
MonsoonRisk28 rainy days and about 364 mm in the month — the real kind of rainy season, not afternoon showers.
from the climate normals
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 May — FAQ
- Is May a good time to visit Puerto Viejo?
- May in Puerto Viejo: sweltering, soaked, with clean air — a gamble, with 28 rainy days. It ranks #8 of 12 months for Puerto Viejo on SeasonMap's comfort score (63/100).
- What is the weather like in Puerto Viejo in May?
- In May, Puerto Viejo averages a daily high of 28.1°C and a low of 23.2°C, with about 363.8 mm of rain over roughly 28.2 rainy days.
- What is the air quality in Puerto Viejo in May?
- Puerto Viejo has a mean US Air Quality Index of about 32 in May.
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.