Climate and average weather in Monteverde

In Monteverde, the weather is humid, hot, wet, and partly cloudy and remarkably steady, with daytime highs holding near hot levels all year. The wettest stretch peaks around October.

Best: early December to late March

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Monteverde typically varies from 18°C to 29°C, and is rarely below 17°C or above 31°C. April is the hottest month of the year, while November is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Monteverde for warm-weather activities is from early December to late March.

Hottest
Apr
29°
Coldest
Nov
19°
Wettest
Oct
381 mm
Driest
Mar
8 mm
Rain / yr
2004 mm
192 wet days
Daylight
11.4–12.6 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
0 m
10.3°N
Clearest
Feb
38% cloud

Monteverde weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around early December to late March.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Monteverde, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

Temperatures in Monteverde stay fairly even through the year, without a distinct hot or cool season. The warmest month is April, with an average high of 29°C and low of 20°C; the coolest is November, with an average low of 19°C and high of 26°C.

Days typically run about 8°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 10°C) in March.

15°20°25°30°35°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan2618
Feb2718
Mar2919
Apr2920
May2820
Jun2720
Jul2720
Aug2720
Sep2720
Oct2620
Nov2619
Dec2619

Average hourly temperature in Monteverde

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on April afternoons, near 29°C, and coldest before dawn in November, near 19°C.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Monteverde weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan26° / 18°123.511.57.9
Feb27° / 18°9211.78.0
Mar29° / 19°82.111.97.0
Apr29° / 20°467.712.25.5
May28° / 20°26021.412.54.2
Jun27° / 20°28725.612.63.8
Jul27° / 20°20022.512.54.3
Aug27° / 20°24624.412.34.1
Sep27° / 20°34628.312.13.5
Oct26° / 20°3812811.83.7
Nov26° / 19°16519.411.55.0
Dec26° / 19°447.511.47.1

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Monteverde gets about 2004 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is very wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 6.6 months, from around May 7 to Nov 23, peaking in September at about 95% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Mar 6.

October is the wettest month by volume, with 381 mm over about 28 wet days; March is the driest, with 8 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%110%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetSep 20 · 95%Mar 6 · 6%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan114
Feb72
Mar82
Apr268
May6921
Jun8426
Jul7323
Aug7924
Sep9428
Oct9028
Nov6319
Dec258

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Monteverde collects about 2004 mm of rain across 192 wet days — roughly 167 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. October is the wettest month with 381 mm, while March is the driest at just 8 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 51% of the year’s total.

050100150200250300350400450JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12984626028720024634638116544
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan124
Feb92
Mar82
Apr468
May26021
Jun28726
Jul20023
Aug24624
Sep34628
Oct38128
Nov16519
Dec448

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Monteverde, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around November 25 and lasts for 5.0 months, ending around April 24. The clearest month is February, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 81% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around April 25 and lasts for 7.0 months, ending around November 24. The cloudiest month is September, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 97% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecFeb 4 · 83%Oct 5 · 2%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastclearercloudierclearer
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan7525
Feb8119
Mar7426
Apr4456
May1189
Jun496
Jul595
Aug496
Sep397
Oct496
Nov2179
Dec5644

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around May 31, brings about 12 h 36 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 11 h 24 min — a swing of roughly 1 h 12 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan11.56:055:32
Feb11.76:045:44
Mar11.95:515:47
Apr12.25:335:46
May12.55:215:50
Jun12.65:225:57
Jul12.55:286:01
Aug12.35:335:54
Sep12.15:325:35
Oct11.85:315:17
Nov11.55:395:10
Dec11.45:535:17

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Monteverde averages about 6 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 0 and 20 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 4.6 months, from around Dec 2 to Apr 19. The sunniest month is February, with roughly 18 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is June, down near 0 sunny days — about 100% fewer than the February peak.

0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsunniergreyersunniergloomymixedbrightbrilliantFeb 520 daysJun 120 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan15Bright
Feb17Bright
Mar15Mixed
Apr7Gloomy
May1Gloomy
Jun0Gloomy
Jul0Gloomy
Aug0Gloomy
Sep0Gloomy
Oct0Gloomy
Nov2Gloomy
Dec9Mixed

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

Monteverde is humid all year round — on a typical day the air feels at least humid, and there is no real dry season to wait for.

The stickiest month is May, when it feels muggy, oppressive or miserable about 91% of the time. Even in March, the mildest month, the air is dry or comfortable only 7% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMar 1 · 9%May 15 · 0%oppressivemuggyhumidcomfortablecomfortablehumid
Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)
Jan372250
Feb676170
Mar773200
Apr449461
May09828
Jun009010
Jul00964
Aug00964
Sep00955
Oct01954
Nov09910
Dec136630

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Across the year, average wind speed in Monteverde is typically calm, near 7 km/h, and varies moderately with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 4.9 months, from around Nov 18 to Apr 16. The windiest month is February, averaging about 11 km/h (calm).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Apr 17 to Nov 17, with September the calmest month at about 5 km/h.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeFeb 7 · 12 km/hSep 16 · 5 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan11calm
Feb11calm
Mar10calm
Apr8calm
May6calm
Jun5calm
Jul6calm
Aug6calm
Sep5calm
Oct5calm
Nov7calm
Dec10calm

Hazard calendar for Monteverde

In seasonPeak

When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.

Monteverde's rainy season runs May–October, when most of the year's rain falls.

Rainy season
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Best time to visit Monteverde

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Monteverde throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around late March, Monteverde is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 18°C and 28°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Monteverde for general outdoor tourist activities is from early December to late March, with a peak score in the last week of January.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJan 31 · 8.1

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan7.9ideal
Feb8.0ideal
Mar7.0good
Apr5.5good
May4.2fair
Jun3.8fair
Jul4.3fair
Aug4.1fair
Sep3.5fair
Oct3.7fair
Nov5.0fair
Dec7.0good

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Monteverde for hot-weather activities is from mid December to late April, with a peak score in the second week of March.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationMar 10 · 8.5

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Monteverde, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

Monteverde packs about the same all year — highs hold near 29°C. Across the year the things worth having are light clothes, sun protection and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In April, Monteverde sees daytime highs around 29°C and nights near 20°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection. About 8 days see rain.

Sea temperature near Monteverde

Average ocean temperature at the nearest coast, month by month, banded into swim-comfort zones — the other half of the beach question.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 52 km away) is warmest in April at about 29°C and coldest in November near 28°C.

The water stays above 20°C all year — warm enough for a swim any month.

26°28°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan29Tropical
Feb29Tropical
Mar29Tropical
Apr29Tropical
May29Tropical
Jun29Tropical
Jul29Tropical
Aug29Tropical
Sep29Tropical
Oct28Tropical
Nov28Warm
Dec28Tropical

UV index (midday) in Monteverde by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Monteverde peaks around March 17 at about 14 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 16 at about 10 (very high).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeMar 17UV 14Dec 16UV 10
UV index (midday)Level
Jan11Extreme
Feb14Extreme
Mar14Extreme
Apr14Extreme
May13Extreme
Jun13Extreme
Jul12Extreme
Aug13Extreme
Sep13Extreme
Oct12Extreme
Nov11Extreme
Dec10Very high

Average hourly UV index in Monteverde

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in March the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6.5 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan7.55.5
Feb86
Mar86.5
Apr86.5
May86.5
Jun8.56.5
Jul8.56.5
Aug86.5
Sep86
Oct7.55.5
Nov7.55.5
Dec75

Air quality in Monteverde by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.

Air quality in Monteverde is worst in May — around 23 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.5× the cleanest month (January, 10 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodMay 1623 µg/m³Jan 1210 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan10Good
Feb11Good
Mar13Moderate
Apr21Moderate
May23Moderate
Jun21Moderate
Jul22Moderate
Aug20Moderate
Sep18Moderate
Oct15Moderate
Nov12Good
Dec10Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Monteverde is frost-free year round — even the coldest nights rarely reach freezing, so there is no start or end to the growing season.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecfrost-free year round
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan1000
Feb1000
Mar1000
Apr1000
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov1000
Dec1000

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 10°C)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 10°C: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Monteverde banks about 4,815 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around April.

02,0004,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan380
Feb358
Mar421
Apr432
May437
Jun406
Jul415
Aug415
Sep395
Oct396
Nov375
Dec383

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Monteverde receives about 4.9 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 3.8 and 6.3 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 4.4 months, from around Jan 1 to May 13. The brightest month is March, averaging about 6.3 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is October, down near 3.9 kWh/m² — roughly 37% less than the March peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseMar 296.3 kWhOct 203.8 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan5.2Bright
Feb5.8Bright
Mar6.3Intense
Apr6.0Intense
May4.8Bright
Jun4.4Bright
Jul4.5Bright
Aug4.6Bright
Sep4.4Bright
Oct3.9Moderate
Nov4.0Moderate
Dec4.6Bright

Where is Monteverde?

Monteverde sits at 10.3°N, 84.8°W, 0 m above sea level, in Costa Rica. The nearest listed city is La Fortuna, 26 km away.

La FortunaCañasChacaritaPuntarenasEsparzaQuesadaSan_Ramon_Nicoya

Topography around Monteverde

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Monteverde.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Monteverde has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,048 m around an average of 1,390 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,704 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,891 m.

The land around Monteverde is covered by trees (90%) within 3 km, trees (83%) within 16 km, and trees (60%) and grassland (25%) within 80 km.

3 km
1,048 m
16 km
1,704 m
80 km
2,891 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswatermangroves
Nearby: La Fortuna 26 km · Cañas 34 km · Chacarita 36 km · Puntarenas 37 km · Esparza 38 km · Quesada 41 km · San_Ramon_ 45 km · Nicoya 72 km

Costa Rica travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type A / B
120 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 59% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$19,970
2025
Happiness
7.4 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
81%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
17.7
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
14.8
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Moderate
EF EPI 516
Religion
Roman Catholic 48%none 27%Evangelical and Pentecostal 20%other 3%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Monteverde (10.3077°, -84.8106°, elevation 0 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).