Costa Rica vs Spain

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

Illuminated pools with striped umbrellas and loungers at Bahia Principe Fantasia Tenerife, multi-story resort buildings at dusk.

Costa Rica and Spain, 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 Spain
Costa Rica	Measure	Spain
Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution	U.S. travel advisory	Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution
6	Resorts in our catalog	34 (better)
★ 4.4	Average guest rating	★ 4.6 (better)
$88–$285/night pp	Nightly rates	$54–$347/night pp (better)
1 of 6	Adults-only resorts	7 of 34
Low hurricane risk	Hurricane exposure	No hurricane season (better)
May–November ('green season'), with September–October seriously wet	Rainy season	September–November brings the odd storm; winters are mild and quiet
December–April, bone-dry in Guanacaste	Sweet spot	June and September for warmth without peak crowds; July–August for full beach season
Spanish (English common in tourist areas)	Language	Spanish (English at resorts)
Costa Rican colón – USD widely accepted	Currency	Euro
120V, Type A/B plugs (same as the US)	Power	230V, European Type C/F plugs
On the right	Driving	On the right
~3.5–5.5h from the US (nonstops to Liberia)	Flight time	~7–9h from the US East Coast

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

Spain

Weather, month by month

Month-by-month average high temperature and rainfall for Costa Rica and Spain
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
Spain · high °F	59	60	63	66	73	81	86	87	81	73	65	60
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
Spain · rain (in)	1.7	1.4	1.1	1.5	1.4	0.5	0.2	0.8	2.0	2.7	2.3	1.9

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