Quick Question: Do I need a jacket in Costa Rica?
 

We are leaving in 2 days for a two week trip to Costa Rica. We are limited to approx. 25# of luggage due to the small plane we have chartered to move the 6 of us around. 3 of the stays are on the water... the third ( Peace Lodge) is at higher elevation where the hotel lists fireplaces in the rooms.... do you think we will need some sort of light or perhaps even warm jacket for this stay? I'm just trying to eliminate unnecessary weight and bulk.

Yes. You will need a light jacket. It is still the rainy (green) season in CR until December. I am guessing you are traveling to Monteverde for the "higher elevation" part of your trip since that is on all the tourist treks. If so, then you will need the jacket because it is chilly in Santa Elena and can be quite damp.

A light jacket would not be bad. It´s often rainy, so keep that in mind as well. If you´re going to any of the volcano´s, then a jacket is a must have as it gets fairly chilly up at the top. At the beach, it´s doubtful you´d need one, and I never use on in San Jose proper.

I did a search and found the Peace Lodge was at La Paz. I now know exactly where you are staying. I have never been to the Peace Lodge and have actively boycotted it because they absolutely ruined the pristine area around the La Paz waterfall.

However, the damage is done but you will need a light jacket for the obligatory walk behind the waterfalls.

Have fun and be careful. Robbing tourists is the Tico national sport. The latest story I read stated that the US Embassy in San Jose processes an average of 20 stolen passport claims per day.

Arenal and Monteverde have highs around 70F and lows in the mid 50's over the next week. Manuel Antonio is 83/72 and San Jose is 80/65. If you're going up the Poas Volcano, expect it to be quite a bit cooler.

I'm heading down there on Friday and will bring long-sleeve shirts and a light jacket, and will layer up for a morning trip from Peace Lodge to Poas on Saturday morning. Plus two pair of shorts and short-sleeve shirts for a couple of beach days.

See you in the cloud forests...

http://www.costarica.com/Home/Weather

Perhaps we will run into each other.... I am the one with the receeding hairline.

Does the rainy season usually last through all of December?

It usually ends sometime during December. We could always tell it was ending when the paraqeets would make their annual migration from the Braulio Carrillo into the Central Valley. (I lived near Heredia for about 6 years)

Don't let the words "rainy season" worry you. During this time of year, from May until December, most every morning is sunny and beautiful. In the afternoon there would be thunderstorms which were quite refreshing and led to glorious sunsets.

My husband will be there in mid December. And from your description it sounds as if I going to regret opting to stay home this time. :(

His contacts there have been a bit vague about the weather conditions. I'd been intending to google it (but hadn't gotten around to doing so) when I stumbled across this thread. So mucho gracias for the info.