Costa Rica vs South Africa

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

Costa Rica and South Africa, 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.

Costa Rica guide · South Africa guide · How we score

By the numbers

Costa Rica compared with South Africa
Costa Rica	Measure	South Africa
Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution	U.S. travel advisory	Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution
7	Resorts in our catalog	0
★ 4.4	Average guest rating	–
$119–$289/night pp	Nightly rates	–
1 of 7	Adults-only resorts	0 of 0
Low hurricane risk	Hurricane exposure	No hurricane season
May–November ('green season'), with September–October seriously wet	Rainy season	November–March (southern-hemisphere summer thunderstorms)
December–April, bone-dry in Guanacaste	Sweet spot	April–September for dry, mild weather; also prime safari season inland
Spanish (English common in tourist areas)	Language	11 official languages – English widely spoken
Costa Rican colón – USD widely accepted	Currency	South African rand (ZAR)
120V, Type A/B plugs (same as the US)	Power	230V, large Type M/N plugs (special adapter needed)
On the right	Driving	On the left
Liberia – Daniel Oduber (LIR)	Main airport	Durban (DUR) or Johannesburg (JNB)
~3.5–5.5h from the US (nonstops to Liberia)	Flight time	~15–17h from the US East Coast (often via Europe or the Gulf)

Advisory levels sync from travel.state.gov; catalog figures reflect the resorts we've researched, not every hotel in the country.

On the map

Costa Rica

No mapped resorts yet

South Africa

Weather, month by month

Month-by-month average high temperature and rainfall for Costa Rica and South Africa
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
South Africa · high °F	82	83	82	79	77	74	73	74	75	77	79	81
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
South Africa · rain (in)	5.3	4.8	4.8	2.9	2.2	1.1	1.5	1.9	2.9	4.3	4.8	4.0

Approximate climate normals for Guanacaste / Papagayo and KwaZulu-Natal coast (Durban): planning guidance, not a forecast. Deeper gold = hotter; deeper teal = wetter.

Where you'd actually stay

Best of Costa Rica

Full Costa Rica guide

Chains here: RIU Hotels & Resorts · Westin · Margaritaville

Best of South Africa

No South Africa resorts in our catalog yet.

Full South Africa guide