Santa Teresa (Malpais) weather by month

The best time to visit Santa Teresa (Malpais) is January to March — 94/100 in February, 30°C and 2 rainy days. The best season is the dry season, December to April (90/100 on average).

The worst month is October at 55/100 — hot, soaked, clean air. See October →

Updated September 2026 · climate normals from ERA5 reanalysis

Planning the wider trip? Best time to visit Costa Rica →

Santa Teresa🇨🇷 Costa Rica · Costa Rica & Panama · Beach94
  1. 92Jan
  2. 94Feb
  3. 91Mar
  4. 84Apr
  5. 62May
  6. 58Jun
  7. 70Jul
  8. 60Aug
  9. 63Sep
  10. 55Oct
  11. 71Nov
  12. 87Dec

Best season: December to April (90/100 on average) · worst October (55/100)

Days
30°C
Nights
26°C
Wet days
2
Sun
11 h
Humidity
72%
Daylight
12 h
Santa Teresa, Costa Rica
Photo: Malcoln Oliveira · Pexels

Santa Teresa, month by month

Comfort score out of 100 for the kind of trip Santa Teresa is best for, the average high, rainy days and hours of sun a day from the climate normals, and how busy it tends to be.

MonthScoreTierHighRainSunCrowdsOn
Jan92S29°C5 d11 hPeak2
Feb94S30°C2 d11 hBusy1
Mar91S30°C4 d11 hPeak3
Apr84A30°C16 d11 hPeak3
May62C29°C27 d9 hShoulder1
Jun58D28°C28 d9 hQuiet1
Jul70B28°C28 d9 hShoulder1
Aug60C28°C29 d9 hQuiet1
Sep63C28°C29 d9 hShoulder2
Oct55D28°C29 d8 hQuiet2
Nov71B28°C23 d9 hShoulder—
Dec87A28°C11 d10 hPeak2

What's on in Santa Teresa through the year

Festivals, natural spectacles, holidays and the seasons to watch out for — curated and sourced. The month pages carry the detail.

March
  • Semana Santa29 Mar – 5 AprHoliday
  • Surf season15 Mar – 31 Oct (usually)Season
September
  • The shutdown months15 Sep – 31 Oct (usually)Season
December
  • Christmas and New Year18 Dec – 5 JanHoliday
  • Dry season15 Dec – 15 Apr (usually)Season

Everything on in Santa Teresa through the year →

Crowds in Santa Teresa in February

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.

BusyDry season(estimated)

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak crowdsBusyShoulder seasonQuiet

Traveller notes on Santa Teresa

What people who have been say about the place — the year-round notes first, then month by month.

Forum posters place February and March inside Guanacaste/Nicoya's dry season - genuinely dry and dusty by Costa Rican standards, a sharp contrast to the wetter months later in the year. The typical pattern posters describe even in the dry season: sun and partly cloudy skies dominate, with any rain that does show up more likely arriving late afternoon or at night rather than disrupting daytime plans - the standard advice is to schedule surfing, beach time and outdoor activities for the morning and early afternoon regardless of month. Posters consistently name this Pacific Nicoya Peninsula stretch (Santa Teresa included) as one of the more reliably dry corners of Costa Rica during the dry season months.
Tripadvisor community · February · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗
Santa Teresa forum threads describe August as genuinely rainy country-wide, with the typical pattern being sunny mornings, a real chance of afternoon rain, and possibly wet overnight stretches too - posters called mid-August 'nice and wet' rather than a washout. The consistent advice was to front-load activities for the morning and treat the area as a place to slow down and relax in the afternoons. Multiple threads flagged that the heaviest rainy season here doesn't really start until the very end of August into September/October, when some restaurants and hotels close for the slow season, meaning earlier August still runs noticeably better than what follows it.
NicoyaPeninsulaRegular · August · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗

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