Costa Rica at Christmas, New Year and Holy Week: The Agent’s Peak-Dates Guide
Christmas, New Year and Holy Week are the two stretches of the year when Costa Rica’s calendar matters as much as its weather. A large part of the country takes time off and heads for the same beaches your clients want to see. Hotels fill, the roads to the coast clog, some services close and rates move. None of this is a reason to avoid these dates, but it changes how an itinerary should be built and how early it should be requested. This guide covers what changes on the ground and how to set your client’s expectations. For the wider picture of dry and green season, see our seasonal guide for travel agents.
Why These Dates Are Different
Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, Holy Thursday and Good Friday are national holidays in Costa Rica, and schools are on break around them. In 2026, for example, the Ministry of Education set Holy Week as a full school break and ended the school year on 9 December. Costa Rican families who would normally be at work or in class are free to travel, and most of them head for the coast.
That domestic demand lands on top of the international high season, which already runs through the dry months. It is the combination, not either factor alone, that sets these weeks apart from an ordinary week in January or February. We treat roughly 20 December to 5 January, and Semana Santa, as the peak windows.
Christmas and New Year
How the season builds. Early December is usually calmer, with quieter beaches. Crowds build through the middle of the month, the days between Christmas and New Year are the busiest of the season, and things typically settle back to normal high-season levels in the first days of January. For clients with flexible dates, the first week of December and the days after about 5 January are the easiest to sell.
Where the weather is best. By December the Pacific side is moving into the dry season: Guanacaste is mostly dry, and the Central and South Pacific are drying out as the month goes on. The Caribbean coast and the Arenal area are different. December is still a wet month there, and Arenal can be cooler and cloudier. Neither is ruled out, but a client who puts clear skies first is safer on the Pacific.
What closes, and what does not. Banks and government offices close on 25 December and 1 January, but hotels, tours and restaurants in tourist areas generally keep working. Supermarkets and smaller businesses can close early on 24 and 31 December, so make sure the first night’s dinner is arranged, or that clients arrive in time to eat at the hotel.
Roads and transfers. Holiday traffic towards the beaches is heavy, and a drive that takes a few hours on an ordinary day can stretch well beyond that. Put the longest transfers on the quieter days, leave early, and never combine a long transfer with a big activity on the same day. A local driver cannot remove the traffic, but knows when to leave and which route to take.
Parks and activities. Popular parks such as Manuel Antonio limit the number of daily visitors, so entry tickets and good time slots should be secured ahead of time. Guided tours and transfers fill up in holiday weeks as well.
Holy Week (Semana Santa) 2027
The dates. Holy Thursday is 25 March 2027 and Good Friday is 26 March, with Easter Sunday on 28 March. Both days are national holidays, and schools are usually on break for the whole week.
The beach exodus. Costa Ricans head for Jacó, Manuel Antonio, Tamarindo, Playas del Coco and similar towns, often in large family groups, while San José becomes unusually quiet. Roads are at their worst on the Wednesday afternoon and Thursday before Good Friday, and again on the Sunday-evening return. Public buses run reduced schedules on Holy Thursday and Good Friday, banks are closed and many shops shut.
The quieter side of the country. The highlands and inland areas, such as La Fortuna and Arenal, Monteverde and San Gerardo de Dota, are less affected by the beach crowds, and so is Tortuguero. Holy Week falls inside the dry season, so the Pacific side is generally sunny. A route that keeps the beach days for earlier in the week, or for the week after, and puts the inland stops across the holiday itself is often the most relaxed.
Local rules. Some municipalities restrict alcohol sales on Holy Thursday and Good Friday. The rules are set locally and the popular beach towns are generally unaffected, but it is worth checking with the property if a client is staying somewhere small. The processions in cities such as San José, Cartago and Alajuela are solemn religious events rather than festivals, so clients should ask before photographing people.
Building the Route Around the Peaks
There are three workable approaches, and the right one depends on why your client is travelling on these dates.
Travel through the peak, and plan it early. If the holiday is the reason for the trip, it is entirely workable. Settle the dates first, then the hotels, then the transfers, then the activities. In peak weeks the properties your client most wants are the first thing to tighten, so they end up deciding the route.
Move the dates a little. Arriving in the first week of December, or travelling after the first days of January, often puts the client in the same dry season with fewer people. Even a few days can change how the trip feels.
Use places the rush does not reach. Keep inland and highland stops for the busiest days and the beaches for the days on either side. This works at Christmas as well as at Easter.
Holiday weeks coincide with school breaks, so many of these bookings are family trips. The usual rule applies with extra force: one substantial activity a day is normally enough, and transfer days stay light. Our family travel guide for agents goes into pacing in more detail.
What to Tell Your Client
Request early. For Christmas and New Year, request the trip at least six months ahead. For Semana Santa, request it as early as you can. In both cases the popular beach hotels and Manuel Antonio entry tickets tend to tighten first.
Expect heavier traffic and a few closures. Long transfers take longer. Banks and government offices are closed on 25 December and 1 January, and on Holy Thursday and Good Friday public buses run reduced schedules and banks are closed. Tourist services keep running, but clients should not plan errands for those days.
Check the cancellation terms. Terms can be stricter over holiday dates than at other times of year, so make sure the client has read them before anything non-refundable is paid.
Confirm rates for the dates, not the month. Hotel rates over holiday weeks can differ from the rest of the season, so rates should be confirmed for the exact travel dates rather than assumed from a quote for other weeks.
Working With CRS Tours on Peak Dates
The right plan depends on who is travelling, when they can leave and what matters most to them. Send us the dates, the party and the interests as early as you can, and a specialist in our San José team will tell you what that week looks like in the places you are considering and how to route around the busiest days. We handle the planning and the operation on the ground. Use the Request a Quote button at the top of the page, or write to contact@crstours.com.