Things to Do in Costa Rica in March

March thins Manuel Antonio's canopy enough that three-toed sloths stand out against bleached sky. No vanishing into wet-season green. White-faced capuchins drop lower along trails. Scarlet macaws cross canopy gaps in trackable pairs. Heat builds fast once the sun clears the ridge. Serious walks start at park opening, around six in the morning. Overnight dew still hangs in the air. Howlers are mid-chorus. By ten the trail steams. Animals go quiet. The park caps daily visitors. March slots fill early. Arriving at dawn is not optional. It is the plan. The trail to Playa Manuel Antonio ends at a cove. Water is warm enough to skip the flinch entirely.

March is one of few months when Arenal's perfect cone reveals itself. Rainy season clouds swallow the summit by mid-morning. They do not lift until the next day. Most visitors never see what they came for. March mornings are likely clear. Hike the solidified lava trails on the volcano's western flank. Feel volcanic scoria crunch underfoot. Catch the silhouette against orange sunset from thermal river pools in the valley below. Hot springs hit differently when air is dry. Sulfur-tinged steam rises into cool evening air. Tree frogs call from surrounding heliconia. Heat soaks into trail-sore legs. The soak earns itself.

Monteverde sits high enough in the Tilaran mountain range to make its own weather. Even in the driest month, mist drifts through canopy in slow curtains. Smells like wet moss, bromeliad rot, and metallic cloud moisture. March is prime nesting season for the resplendent quetzal. Males trail iridescent green tail feathers through understory in courtship flights. Birdwatchers stop in their tracks. Hanging bridges and zip lines run without rain delays most of the month. You feel the height. No clenching wet cables. Temperature hovers around 18°C (64°F) even at midday. Genuine relief after lowland heat. Sound environment layers: bellbirds, cicadas, bridge creak under your weight, wind through epiphyte-heavy oak branches.

March delivers Pacific surf conditions that let beginners stand up. Consistent offshore winds groom swells into clean, forgiving faces at beach breaks along the Nicoya Peninsula. The water temperature sits warm enough that a rashguard is all you need. Playa Samara offers the gentlest introduction, a protected crescent where the break is mellow enough for children and first-timers. The point breaks near Nosara deliver more shape for intermediates ready to read a wave. The sand underfoot is bath-warm by mid-morning. Salt crusts on your skin between sessions. The post-surf ritual at any beachfront soda involves fresh ceviche with enough lime and cilantro to taste the ocean twice. Dry-season mornings mean glassy conditions before afternoon thermals kick up. Early sessions are the sweet spot.

National Geographic once called the Osa Peninsula the most biologically intense place on Earth. March is one of the narrow windows when you can reach Corcovado's interior without wading through thigh-deep river crossings. The dry season drops water levels enough that the Sirena ranger station trails are fully passable. Reduced canopy cover means tapirs, all four of Costa Rica's monkey species, and poison dart frogs in electric blue and red are visible from the main paths. They would be lost in the green wall of the wet season. The hike in from Drake Bay crosses rocky beaches where the tide schedule dictates your departure time. The air on the trail carries the thick, sweet decay-and-bloom scent of primary rainforest that has never been logged. This is the Costa Rica that existed before the roads. Getting here still requires effort. That is the filter that keeps it this way.

Two volcanic mineral streams collide inside Tenorio Volcano National Park. They produce Rio Celeste, a river so aggressively turquoise it looks retouched in every photograph. It is not. March's lower water levels intensify the color, concentrating the suspended aluminosilicate particles that scatter light into that specific, almost unnatural blue. The hike down to the waterfall is about 6 km (3.7 miles) round trip. The trail in the rainy season turns into a mud chute. In March it is firm packed dirt with exposed root steps. The air temperature under the canopy sits cooler than the lowlands. The sound of the falls builds for ten minutes before you see them. Tubing sections downstream run through secondary forest where the turquoise water slides beneath overhanging branches. The only sound is the current, your own breathing, and the occasional kingfisher.