Climate
One of the most common misperceptions about the Southern Caribbean coast is that it is oppressively hot and humid.
On some days, that is true. There is a reason that the forested area of Cahuita National Park is designated as a rain forest. We do get a lot of rain, although most of it falls at night and keeps the tropic foliage extraordinarily healthy.
But It is rare to have several consecutive rainy days, regardless of the time of year. The published "average rainfall" statistics usually lump together the entire province of Limón, or the entire Caribbean Coast, although the northern Caribbean area receives much more rain than in the south (for example, the huge Barra del Colorado Wildlife Refuge at the northern end of the coast averages an astounding annual rainfall of 6 meters or 236 inches). Take a look at our weather maps to see what we mean; Cahuita never falls within the "very wet" category.
And yes, it gets hot here, although average temperatures are below those of the Pacific coastal region of Guanacaste.
We plead guilty to humidity as well. After all, we are surrounded by the warm waters of the Caribbean sea.
But don't expect to encounter a Hollywood style jungle, with steam arising from the ground all around you. You probably can find such an area somewhere in Costa Rica, but not in Cahuita. And medical experts say that it takes the human body approximately two weeks to adapt to a hot, humid climate.
The great majority of days here are represented by brilliant blue skies over a stunning, calm blue/tourquoise sea. And where ever you are in Cahuita, you're only minutes away from the chance to take a dip in that sea, from our miles and miles of beautiful and accessible beaches.
Finally, despite being a tropical Caribbean paradise, there is virtually no risk of hurricanes due to something called the Coriolis effect (please don't ask us to explain it, but Google away if you're really interested.) Hurricane and tropical storm tracking maps maintained by the US National Hurricane center show only one short-lived storm that might have affected Costa Rica, since 1871. In fact, by some quirk of nature, Caribbean hurricanes usually cause much more rain on Costa Rica's Pacific coast than on our Caribbean coast.
