Costa Rica has fairly nice weather in terms of temperature year around. However, with it being a rainforest area, the sunny days and rainy days are sporadic. Generally, March or April starts the rain season with it progressively getting heavier throughout the year.
October is considered the rainiest month of the year in Costa Rica.
The good news is that even in the rainy season, they call this the green season and still many tourists visit the area during this time of the year. The primary reason is because you will find that it will rain for an hour or two in the middle of the day and then stops for the evening. So you have the morning hours and the late evening hours without any rain most of the time. The good news is that it cools everything off some and the city is built around this type of climate. Therefore, it is not feeling like you are in a monsoon every time you get some rain there.
In November and through January you will primarily find blue skies with little or no rain at all. As a matter of fact, in the middle of December you will find temperatures up around 85 degrees. This is a very comfortable number for being out on the beach and enjoying the sun.
If you are looking for some beach fun, it is recommended to go from December to about May on the Pacific side of Costa Rica. The beaches are generally very nice during these months with plenty of sun and little rain. The worst time of the year to go would be in the month of October. As noted before, this is the rainiest season, and when they say it is rain season they mean it. The Caribbean is generally flooded during this month.
However, the best time if you want to do some white water rafting or surfing, you want to have a little bit of rain rather than it being a total drought. Therefore, the best time to experience good white water rafting would be March through November, with November the rapids being quite high. Obviously, public places have safety first precautions and you should be safe when they say it is safe to go.
If you want to do any fishing in Costa Rica, you can go pretty well year around and expect to catch some type of fish. However, if you want marlin or sailfish specifically, this is primarily done in December and through March. Keep in mind that if you don’t want to be rained out, the earlier in the season the better.
