Does being short on green stuff mean your Costa Rica vacation has to be short on fun? Not if you can arrange to spend the green you have during Costa Rica’s Green Season. It would be more accurate, but not as attractive from a tourist point of view, to call them dry and rainy season, because that is what they are. However, if you don’t mind risking a daily downpour during your Costa Rica vacation, by going there between May and the end of November, during the “green” season, you can enjoy all of Costa Rica’s attractions at considerable savings, while you wait at least five hours of sun a day.
Your willingness to brave a daily storm will have more than financial rewards. The green season is when even the brownest and most arid of Costa Rica’s provinces becomes abundantly lush, and the crowds that flock to its warmth and sunshine to escape the harsh northern winters are long gone. If you’re lucky, the rain at your Costa Rica vacation spot will be limited to predictable afternoon downpours, and you’ll be able to time your departures (at heavily discounted rates) accordingly.
The first savings you will experience by choosing to travel to Costa Rica in the green season will be on the cost of your plane tickets. You can expect to save up to $150 on your round-trip airfare, and if you’re traveling from the US, you can book a flight on a number of airlines, including Continental, Delta, US Airways, and Spirit Air. Mexicana Airlines also offers service to Costa Rica from many major US cities, with connecting flights in Mexico City.
One of the best ways to save money on your lodging while in Costa Rica is to book an ecotourism vacation. You’ll find yourself staying among some of the most spectacular mountainous or jungle settings in all of Central America, at prices that can be as low as $30 per night for a double occupancy room or bungalow.
If you book an ecotour through Global Exchange, your cost will include not only lodging for your entire stay, but also breakfast and dinner per day, all transportation within Costa Rica (and this can be a blessing during the season of rains) excursion fees and a bilingual guide (another blessing if your Spanish skills aren’t the best).
Global Exchange’s 10-day Costa Rican tour covers three national parks, visits to indigenous villages, a banana plantation and banana-growing cooperative, plenty of beach time, and jungle accommodations, all for $1575 plus airfare for person in double occupancy. You can skip lunch if you want to save even more money, but bring enough money for tips.
If you prefer to stay in the main cities of Costa Rica, your best way to save money is to book with Bed and Breakfast. In Monteverde, for example, you can stay at La Colina mountain lodge surrounded not only by the brightly colored tropical birds of the Clod Forest, but also by an authentic Quaker community. While your breakfast is included in the cost of your roaming, La Colina also has an on-site restaurant where you can enjoy delicious lunches and dinners.
Rooms with private bathrooms are very reasonably priced at $38 per night for singles and $30 for double occupancy during the green season, not including the 16% Costa Rican hotel tax. The staff at La Colina will be happy to organize excursions including horseback riding and jungle tours for you.
An even less expensive B&B for your cheap Costa Rica vacation is the Kalexma B&B in the La Uruca section of San José. What it lacks in style, it more than makes up for in affordability, with a single room and shared bathroom for $15.00 a night during the green season. A private bathroom and hot shower will cost $3 more.
While your Costa Rica accommodations may include breakfast, you’ll still need to eat at least one other meal throughout the day. The cheapest way to do this is to patronize Costa Rican supermarkets, where you can find not only meal fixings if your accommodation has cooking privileges, but also ready-to-eat meals. You’ll find that small family restaurants are also much more affordable than large hotel dining establishments.
Finally, if your schedule doesn’t allow you to search for the cheapest Costa Rica vacation options on your own, use the Internet to locate a cheap Costa Rica travel agent who has connections to the resorts in the area of the country that will help you. would like to visit Many of these brokers work with resorts that would otherwise have blocks of vacant rooms during green season and offer them at significant discounts through the brokers, who charge commissions on the deals.
Most of these deals are all-inclusive, meaning you’ll book your airfare at the same time you book your resort. Your smartest tactic will be to get a quote from a broker before you book it, spend a few minutes seeing what price you can get for the same trip if you book your own airfare and hotel accommodations.