Barbados vs Costa Rica

Multi-story beachfront resort with pool, lounge chairs, and palm-lined sand leading to turquoise Caribbean waters.

Illuminated beachfront dining pavilion with white railings and thatched-roof bungalows reflected in the pool at dusk.

Barbados and Costa Rica, side by side: live travel advisories, our resort catalog's real guest data, and each destination's honest weather picture. Everything you need to break the tie.

By the numbers

Barbados compared with Costa Rica
Barbados	Measure	Costa Rica
Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions (better)	U.S. travel advisory	Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution
14 (better)	Resorts in our catalog	6
★ 4.3	Average guest rating	★ 4.4 (better)
$152–$638/night pp	Nightly rates	$88–$285/night pp (better)
5 of 14	Adults-only resorts	1 of 6
Low hurricane risk	Hurricane exposure	Low hurricane risk
June–November, typically short heavy showers	Rainy season	May–November ('green season'), with September–October seriously wet
December–April	Sweet spot	December–April, bone-dry in Guanacaste
English	Language	Spanish (English common in tourist areas)
Barbados dollar (pegged 2:1 to USD)	Currency	Costa Rican colón – USD widely accepted
115V, Type A/B plugs (same as the US)	Power	120V, Type A/B plugs (same as the US)
On the left	Driving	On the right
Bridgetown (BGI)	Main airport	Liberia – Daniel Oduber (LIR)
~4.5–5h from the US East Coast	Flight time	~3.5–5.5h from the US (nonstops to Liberia)

Advisory levels sync from travel.state.gov; catalog figures reflect the resorts we've researched, not every hotel in the country. A marked row is one we are willing to call; rows without a mark are a matter of taste, or we have no comparable figure for both sides.

On the map

Barbados

Costa Rica

Weather, month by month

Month-by-month average high temperature and rainfall for Barbados and Costa Rica
Measure	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Barbados · high °F	83	83	84	86	87	87	87	88	88	87	86	84
Costa Rica · high °F	91	92	93	93	91	88	88	88	87	86	87	89
Barbados · rain (in)	2.6	1.6	1.3	1.4	2.3	4.4	5.8	5.8	6.7	7.0	6.1	3.8
Costa Rica · rain (in)	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.7	7.7	9.0	5.9	7.9	13.0	12.2	4.3	0.5

Approximate climate normals for West & south coasts and Guanacaste / Papagayo: planning guidance, not a forecast. A deeper tint is a higher number, read within its own row.