Guanacaste vs Mexico

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

White resort building with palm trees, lounge chairs, and umbrellas line a sandy beach with turquoise water under clear blue sky.

Guanacaste 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

Guanacaste compared with Mexico
Guanacaste	Measure	Mexico
Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution	U.S. travel advisory	Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution
6	Resorts in our catalog	88 (better)
★ 4.4	Average guest rating	★ 4.5 (better)
$88–$285/night pp	Nightly rates	$39–$977/night pp (better)
1 of 6	Adults-only resorts	29 of 88
Low hurricane risk (better)	Hurricane exposure	In the hurricane belt
May–November ('green season'), seriously wet September–October	Rainy season	Generally May–October on the Caribbean coast; rain can also occur in winter
December–April, bone-dry	Sweet spot	December–April

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

Guanacaste

Mexico

Weather, month by month

Month-by-month average high temperature and rainfall for Guanacaste and Mexico
Measure	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Guanacaste · 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
Guanacaste · 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 Papagayo / Guanacaste and Cancún / Riviera Maya: planning guidance, not a forecast. A deeper tint is a higher number, read within its own row.