Guanacaste vs Riviera Maya

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

Aerial view of Barceló Maya Palace resort showing blue pool complex, palm-lined grounds, beachfront buildings, and Caribbean Sea.

Guanacaste and Riviera Maya, 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 Riviera Maya
Guanacaste	Measure	Riviera Maya
Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution	U.S. travel advisory	Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution
6	Resorts in our catalog	41 (better)
★ 4.4	Average guest rating	★ 4.6 (better)
$88–$285/night pp	Nightly rates	$41–$719/night pp (better)
1 of 6	Adults-only resorts	12 of 41
Low hurricane risk (better)	Hurricane exposure	In the hurricane belt
May–November ('green season'), seriously wet September–October	Rainy season	Generally May–October; winter nortes can also bring rain and rough seas
December–April, bone-dry	Sweet spot	December–April
Papagayo Peninsula, Playas del Coco, Conchal, Flamingo, Tamarindo	The coast	Puerto Morelos, Playa del Carmen, Akumal and Tulum
Nature + beach in one trip; reliable winter sun	Best for	Combining resort time with towns, cenotes and archaeological sites

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

Riviera Maya

Weather, month by month

Month-by-month average high temperature and rainfall for Guanacaste and Riviera Maya
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
Riviera Maya · 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
Riviera Maya · 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 Playa del Carmen–Tulum: planning guidance, not a forecast. A deeper tint is a higher number, read within its own row.