Costa Rica in July/August?

[thenwhen]

We're hoping to go to Costa Rica for a wildlife trip next year - two adults and two teen/tweens. The ideal time for us would be the main summer holiday, but when I mentioned that to a travel agent he wrinkled his nose and said it wouldn't be the best time to go, as it's cooler and wetter than the winter/spring. I was already aware of that, but his reaction did worry me a bit. We could look at Easter instead, but it would be a significantly worse time in terms of work/school.

So - how 'bad' is the summer for a CR trip? We're absolutely not sun-seekers, so I'm not remotely bothered about the lying on a beach and getting a tan - but I don't want to pay thousands for a trip and then find that it's really spoiled by the weather. Any advice?

We went in the summer with similar ages and had a great time. Yes, it did rain on a number of days but that didn't stop what we were doing. When you go to a rainforest (or cloud forest) in the rainy season that's what you get. Definitely recommend flying from Tortuguero to La Fortuna; apart from the fun experience there had been some damage to the road between San Jose to where you get the boat and others in the hotel were stuck for a number of hours (not usual though). We spent our last 4 nights in an AI hotel in the northwest and had absolutely beautiful weather the whole time we were there.

We went in August a few years ago and it was fine as long as you weren't expecting it to be consistently sunny and dry! It typically poured it down with rain for a few hours in the afternoons, but not every day as PP mentions, and we had some great weather in between times.

We actually experienced some tropical storms that we still talk about - a great experience!

Waterproof walking shoes/ boots and very lightweight macs (it was hot - not unbearably so - and humid) and you will be fine.

We were travelling with a 12 & 10 YO and all loved it - brilliant holiday! Bonus is that it's not the main season so less crowded in some areas.

May til November is the wet season, so perhaps an Easter trip may be more consistent weather, if you want to avoid rain in the afternoons.

Thanks everyone, it's reassuring to hear that others have been at that time and it's been OK. I've also read it's the time that the turtles hatch, which could perhaps be a bonus.

I went in November, end of rainy season. Sure it rained, quite a lot on the Caribbean side, but we saw loads of wildlife and had an absolute BALL. Best country on earth.

If wildlife is your main reason for going, don't let the weather stop you.

We saw the turtles hatching! Amazing. Would another time of year be best? Yes probably. But that's not when the long school holidays fall and we still had a fabulous time. You can be lucky or unlucky with weather wherever you go.