Costa Rica vs Mexico

Planet Hollywood Costa Rica's modern entrance glows with purple neon signage at dusk under a dramatic cloudy sky.

Costa Rica and Mexico, 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

Costa Rica compared with Mexico
Costa Rica	Measure	Mexico
Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution	U.S. travel advisory	Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution
6	Resorts in our catalog	91 (better)
★ 4.4	Average guest rating	★ 4.5 (better)
$117–$795/night pp	Nightly rates	$55–$1694/night pp (better)
1 of 6	Adults-only resorts	31 of 91
Low hurricane risk (better)	Hurricane exposure	In the hurricane belt
May–November ('green season'), with September–October seriously wet	Rainy season	Generally May–October on the Caribbean coast; rain can also occur in winter
December–April, bone-dry in Guanacaste	Sweet spot	December–April
Spanish (English common in tourist areas)	Language	Spanish (English at many resorts)
Costa Rican colón – USD widely accepted	Currency	Mexican peso (MXN)
120V, Type A/B plugs (same as the US)	Power	Type A/B plugs, as in the U.S.
On the right	Driving	On the right

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

Costa Rica

Mexico

Weather, month by month

Month-by-month average high temperature and rainfall for Costa Rica and Mexico
Measure	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Costa Rica · high °F	91	92	93	93	91	88	88	88	87	86	87	89
Mexico · high °F	82	83	85	87	89	90	90	91	89	87	84	82
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
Mexico · rain (in)	3.5	2.0	1.5	1.5	4.0	6.5	4.0	4.5	8.5	8.5	4.0	3.5

Approximate climate normals for Guanacaste / Papagayo and Cancún / Riviera Maya: planning guidance, not a forecast. A deeper tint is a higher number, read within its own row.