Did you know Costa Rica has a mini "little summer"?

Summertime and the living is fine! I don't know about you, but summer just so happens to be my favorite season. With long summer days, fresh fruit + vegetables (give me all the corn on the cob, peaches, berries + cherries...oh my!), backyard BBQs, and of course, beach days!!!! 

📷 *STARS and STRIPES*

But there's one minor detail... 
Costa Rica doesn't follow the same seasons as the rest of the Northern Hemisphere. 


Weird, I know! 
 

In Costa Rica, summer falls between the months of December-April, and winter falls between the months of May-November.

Costa Rica Photography Coffee Table Book,
Slice of Pura Vida-dise

So why is this backwards?
From December-April, the weather in Costa Rica in the Guanacaste region is blue skies + sunny days every single day, also known as Dry Season. As a result of this, Costa Ricans designate these typically Northern Hemisphere winter months as their summer months. And consequently, the rainier months from May-November are the winter months in Costa Rica, also known as Rainy Season.


In short, in Costa Rica, December-April = Dry Season = summer, and May-November = Rainy Season = winter.

And to make it all even more confusing...

Did you know that Costa Rica has a mini summer during Rainy Season?

For a brief stretch during Costa Rica's winter, the afternoon rains stop and the refreshing offshore summer winds come back for a mini summer / little summer, or what's called Veranillo de San Juan (verano means "summer" in Spanish).

 

📷 *ROSE GOLD RAIN*

Interestingly enough, Costa Rica's mini summer typically starts right around June 21st, the summer solstice. And in true slow latin / Tico time, mini summer has been all over the place this year -- we'll have a stretch of dry, blue sky days for only the following day to be gray!

So now that little summer in Costa Rica has arrived, how about we officially cheers to an endless summer?!
 

*Beach Day*

P.S. To learn about rainy season:
What is Rainy Season in Costa Rica?
The Real Insider Insight to Rainy Season
How Bad is Rainy Season in Costa Rica?

And P.P.S....eat some freshly picked summer corn and peaches for me, will ya? You definitely can't find these American summer staples here in Costa Rica. :(

Do you have more questions about Costa Rica?

Click here to read more of my Costa Rica tips, check out the highlights in my Instagram stories "CR Tips", or feel free to email me and ask away!

*[Blog post originally posted on 6/28/19, updated July 2021]*