The mountain ranges spanning the country from the northwest to the southeast form a barrier that divides the country into two larger climatic zones, the Pacific and the Caribbean. That’s why weather conditions on the Pacific side are usually the opposite of the Caribbean and vice versa. Independent of the climatic zones, several days of consecutive rainfall are rare. You will usually experience sunny mornings and a refreshing tropical thunderstorm in the afternoon. There is a period of less rain from December to April on the Pacific side and from August to October on the Caribbean side.

From July to November is the perfect time if you want to experience three great natural wonders in Costa Rica: The observation of humpback whales on the Pacific coast, the sea turtle nesting season, and the bird migration from North America on the Caribbean side. Costa Rica’s flora literally explodes and shows its most diverse side from May to November. In our opinion, it is a pity to only lay around on the beach in Costa Rica, but if you are looking for a pure beach holiday, December to April is perfect for the Pacific side and August to October on the Caribbean side.

Costa Rica is a country pioneering in a sustainable tourism economy. The foundation for this was laid in the 1970s with the creation of the first national parks. Today, more than 30% of the country’s surface area is subject to nature conservancy protection.

Another equally important step was the sustainable organisation of the tourism industry. This was secured by introducing the Sustainability Certificate CST which is awarded by the Costa Rican Tourism Board.

Today, many hotels, destination area agencies, car rentals and tourist attractions are certified with the CST, and we would like to ask you to consider these providers during your trip to Costa Rica. You can specifically search and filter for CST certificated products on ARA Tours product platform www.latinconnect.com. Each company is checked again every two years, and the goal of all participants is to reach the highest category of CST.

ARA Tours is proud to have the highest certification, Elite category for taking into consideration, within its operations, its impact within the environment in which we operate and all the actions we take to mitigate the social, cultural, environmental and economic impacts in all different tourist regions not only today but in the future, therefore is highly sustainable.

Here learn more about sustainability:

• Blue Flag Program
• Entrance restrictions: Costa Rica´s National Parks
• Carbon Neutral Program
• Certification for Sustainable Tourism

Greenhouse Gases

Air travel is one of the actions that most generates greenhouse gases that influence global warming, such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. To mitigate these effects, we invite you to calculate the gas emissions generated by your international air travel, entering data such as: Origin, passenger number and destination in the following link: https://www.fonafifo.go.cr/en/calculadora/

The result is shown in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent and can be offset through the purchase of Carbon Credits, which are administered through the Costa Rican organisation Fondo Nacional de Financiamieto Forestal (FONAFIFO), developed based on recognised international methodologies. This payment made to FONAFIFO is used to finance payments for environmental services to small and medium landowners who protect the forests that are producing oxygen and absorbing these pollutant gases. Help us mitigate and be part of contributing to cleaner air!