מזג האוויר בסן חואן דל סור בדצמבר

The rains usually finish in November, so December catches Guanacaste in its best state - dry, but with the foliage still green before the long brown months set in. Our row is a shade wetter than the regulars' 'very little to no rain', at 64.3mm across 10.6 precipitation days, which is the turn rather than the dry season proper. December to March is also when North Americans arrive to escape their winter, so the town fills. For surfers the draw is consistency: Playa Guiones is among the most reliable breaks in the country and a typical season runs knee to head high from November to March, which is why the surf and yoga crowd is here now. The sea is 28.9C. The record: 30.5C reading as 36C, 24.5C nights, 10.3 hours of sun and AQI 24.

San Juan del Sur's forum describes September and October as the heaviest rain of the year here, but the typical day still follows a manageable rhythm: cooler and overcast at dawn, clouds burning off by mid-morning, then sunny through the afternoon before rain returns. Posters said showers roll in roughly every other day and usually last only an hour or two rather than the whole day. A few forum regulars specifically preferred August over September, since the risk of a genuinely wet stretch climbs the closer you get to the end of the month.

Forum posters describe March as squarely inside the strong seasonal wind window that runs January through March, with the ocean itself running noticeably cooler (around 17C) during the windiest stretch and beach days sometimes getting genuinely uncomfortable - one reviewer described wind strong enough to feel like it was 'beating' them while trying to lie on the beach. By March the pattern shifts toward hot, dry and dusty conditions on land even as the wind persists, with posters generally naming April (before or right after Easter week) or very early May as calmer, more comfortable alternatives for travelers who prioritize a still, sunny beach day over surf conditions - Papagayo-style offshore winds like this one are prized by kitesurfers even as they frustrate sunbathers.