Ask most people when to visit Costa Rica and they'll tell you the dry season. But here's a secret the locals know: the rainy season — fittingly called the “green season” — might just be the most magical time of year to come. The whole country turns impossibly lush and green, the air carries a fresh, clean smell after every shower, and both the crowds and the prices drop. If you've been holding out for the dry months, consider this your permission to think again.
It doesn't rain all day — not even close
The biggest myth about the green season is that it rains from morning to night. It doesn't. On a typical day the mornings are bright and clear — perfect for the beach, a hike, a zipline, or a boat tour — and the rain rolls in for just a few hours in the afternoon, often as a warm, dramatic downpour that clears as quickly as it came. You plan your adventures for the morning, enjoy the afternoon shower from a rocking chair or a gazebo, and you've lost nothing. Nearly every activity you can do in the dry season, you can do in the green season too.
The greenest, most beautiful time of year
This is when Costa Rica truly earns its name. The hills and valleys turn a deep, glowing green, the rivers and waterfalls run full and powerful, flowers bloom everywhere, and wildlife is active and easy to spot. And there's something you can only understand once you're standing in it: the smell — that unmistakable, fresh, earthy scent of warm rain on tropical green that lingers in the air after every shower. From the top of the mountain at Bella Vista, you watch the mist roll through the valleys and the sunsets break through the clouds in a way the dry season simply can't match.
Taste the season: Costa Rica's rainy-season fruit
One of the quiet joys of Costa Rica is that each season brings its own fruit — and the green season is one of the most delicious of all. As the rains arrive, roadside stands and local markets fill with tropical fruit you may have never tasted:
- Mamón chino (rambutan) — the bright red, soft-spined fruit everyone falls in love with. Peel back the shell and inside is a sweet, juicy, lychee-like treat. Ticos buy them by the bagful all through the rainy months.
- Mangostán (mangosteen) — a deep-purple rind hiding snow-white segments that are sweet, tangy, and utterly unique. Many people call it the best fruit they've ever eaten.
- Pejibaye — the peach-palm fruit, boiled in salted water and eaten with a touch of mayonnaise. Nutty and squash-like, it's about as Costa Rican as it gets.
- Manzana de agua (water apple) — crisp, cool, and lightly sweet, like biting into a rose-scented apple made mostly of water. Perfect on a warm afternoon.
- Jocote and nance — small, tart-sweet local favorites you'll see sold in little bags, often with a pinch of salt.
At Bella Vista the grounds themselves are full of fruit — from the mango trees that ripen as the season turns to fresh coconuts straight off the palm.
See it for yourself: a cinematic film of the offseason
A couple of years ago, a filmmaker set out to make a documentary about Costa Rica's rainy season — and stayed at all three of our Costa Rica properties, Bella Vista Private Resort among them, to capture it. The result is one of the most beautiful films we've seen of what this country looks like when the green season is in full swing:
“Offseason Unveiled” — a cinematic travel film by jlucan.
Fewer crowds, better prices, same paradise
Because fewer travelers know the secret, the green season means smaller crowds at the beaches and attractions, easier reservations, and better rates. At Bella Vista, our green-season pricing (May, September, and October) makes booking the whole private resort more affordable than any other time of year — the same 360° mountaintop views, four pickleball courts, pool, and total privacy, at a green-season value.
So don't wait for the dry season. Come see Costa Rica when it's greenest, freshest, and most alive — and let Bella Vista be your home base.