New Year's Eve in Costa Rica: where to go, customs and fireworks

New Year’s Eve in Costa Rica is a late family dinner, 12 grapes at midnight and fireworks over every town, followed by a quiet public holiday on 1 January. Many Costa Ricans spend it at the beach, so homes book up months ahead and the roads back to San José fill on 1 and 2 January.

Where should you spend New Year’s Eve in Costa Rica?

At the beach, like most Costa Ricans. For the 2025 to 2026 year-end, the Cámara Costarricense de Hoteles projected 88 percent occupancy in Guanacaste against 77 percent nationally, El Observador reported on 17 December 2025. Costa Rica Vibes (updated October 2026) sorts the options like this:

• Guanacaste and Nicoya: Tamarindo and Santa Teresa for parties, Sámara and Nosara for a quieter night. The IMN puts the northern Pacific in its dry season from December.
• Central Pacific: Jacó for beach bars, set-menu dinners and midnight fireworks. The hotel survey put the Pacífico Central at 73 percent.
• San José and the Central Valley: fireworks go up across the valley, and the Zapote fair normally runs through the holidays.
• Monteverde: on the list of quieter places, for a cool night in the cloud forest.
• Caribbean: Puerto Viejo throws a reggae party, but December is the wettest month on that coast, per the IMN.

The Fiestas de Zapote in San José were still unconfirmed as of 2 November 2026, after a third auction of the fairground failed in October, La Nación reported; our holiday festivals guide follows them.

For each region’s weather, see Costa Rica weather by month; for the rest of the month, Costa Rica in December.

What New Year’s customs do Costa Ricans keep?

Dinner comes first: Costa Rica Vibes describes a late family meal, often with tamales and roast pork leg. Costa Ricans call their good-luck rituals agüizotes, and a 2021 Unimer survey reported by El Observador (31 December 2024) measured how many people know each one:

• Eating 12 grapes at midnight, with a wish for each: known by 45 percent.
• Carrying a sprig of Santa Lucía flower in the wallet so money does not run short: known by 43 percent.
• Wearing something yellow for luck: known by 29 percent; red, for love: known by 20 percent.
• Walking around the block with a suitcase, to travel in the new year: known by 28 percent.
• Making three wishes at midnight: known by 20 percent.

El Observador also mentions a cup of lentils and rice on the dinner table, and Costa Rica Vibes adds yellow underwear and a bucket of water thrown out the door. None of this is unique to Costa Rica: ABC Color traces the grapes to Spain and finds yellow underwear in Peru and the suitcase walk in Cuba. In the south, the Boruca people play the Juego de los Diablitos, a reenactment of their resistance to the Spanish conquest, from 30 December to 2 January, per Delfino; the festivals guide covers it. For the Christmas side of the season, read Christmas in Costa Rica.

Are fireworks legal in Costa Rica?

Yes, from licensed sellers, and never for children. The Ley de Armas y Explosivos (No. 7530) requires a permit from the Dirección de Armamento to make, store or sell pólvora, bans selling or giving it to minors, and leaves it to regulation to set which types are sold freely. Under article 93, trading without a permit or selling to a minor carries prison terms, and public shows must be run by people the Ministry of Health has authorized.

On 12 December 2025 the Ministry of Health said that Executive Decree 32852-S still governs who may sell, that unauthorized shops face sanctions, seizure or closure, and asked people to buy only from authorized shops. Police had seized about 250,000 illegal fireworks in 2025 by 11 December, mostly in northern border cantons, Prensa Latina reported, citing Teletica. The Ministry and the Hospital Nacional de Niños said that in 15 years the country has not closed one year without a child burned by fireworks, with four cases in 2024, and that no child should handle even a sparkler.

One change to watch: bill 25.690 would ban high-noise fireworks and limit noisy ones to between 08:00 and 22:00, La Nación reported on 24 August 2026; it was a bill, not law. Costa Rica Vibes warns that midnight is loud everywhere, which matters with small children or a dog.

Is 1 January a public holiday, and what is open?

Yes. Article 148 of the Labor Code makes 1 January a paid public holiday, and the Ministry of Labor (MTSS) notes that it does not move and that no one can be forced to work it; whoever does is paid double. In 2027 it falls on a Friday, so New Year’s becomes a three-day weekend. 31 December is not on La República’s 2026 holiday list, so it is a working day.

Costa Rica Vibes describes 1 January as quiet. Supermarkets open shorter hours on 31 December and 1 January, tourist-town restaurants stay open while some local sodas close, banks and government offices close or keep limited hours, and tours and national parks mostly run but sell out. Buses run full, so buy tickets early, and stock the kitchen by the 30th.

What is the drive back like on 1 and 2 January?

Slow. Costa Rica Vibes says many Costa Ricans go to the beach after Christmas and drive home around 1 and 2 January. On Route 27, the toll road between San José and the central Pacific, the concessionaire ran a reversible lane toward San José every Sunday in January 2026, from 14:00 to 18:00 at up to 60 km/h, sending coast-bound traffic to Route 1 through Cambronero or Route 3 through Atenas, per Delfino (31 December 2025). We had not seen a January 2027 schedule as of early November 2026.

From Guanacaste on Route 1, expect roadworks: Teletica reported in July 2026 that between Barranca and Limonal, where 50 kilometers are being widened to four lanes, some drivers take up to two hours to cover 10 kilometers. Leave early or travel later in the week, and avoid long drives after dark, which falls at about 18:00, per Two Weeks in Costa Rica.

How far ahead should you book New Year’s in Costa Rica?

Months ahead. Costa Rica Vibes calls New Year’s week the busiest and most expensive time of year and says to book stays, rental cars and tours early, ideally by summer, with free cancellation where you can, and New Year’s Eve dinners weeks ahead. Enter Costa Rica, a tour operator, says most hotels are booked solid by July for the holidays. When the chamber surveyed them in December 2025, hotels already had 69 percent of rooms booked for the year-end, per El Observador. Minimum stays vary by property, so check them before you pay.

Where to stay for New Year’s: our homes

Four of our homes put you on the Pacific for the countdown, three of them in Punta Leona, about 1.5 hours by car from San José airport (SJO) without traffic, and closer to 2 hours with it.

• Casa Azul, Punta Leona. Our single-story family house for up to eight, with a private pool in the middle of the plan and the Arenas supermarket 75 meters from the door. The pool has no gate, so keep an eye on small children. From $287 a night.
• Lapas Paradise, Punta Leona. Our modern two-story house for up to eight, a ten-minute walk from the beach, with a saltwater pool and rancho it may share with Natural Leona next door. From $292 a night.
• Natural Leona, Punta Leona. Our other two-story house for up to eight, with a garden, a BBQ grill and Playa Mantas on foot. From $266 a night. For a group of families, book both houses together as Lapas Leona Home and the pool is yours alone.
• Casa Almendros, Sámara. Our beachfront house on a quiet stretch of Playa Sámara, with a garden gate to the sand and three air-conditioned bedrooms for up to six, about two hours by car from Liberia airport. Two-night minimum, from $303 a night.

Know the house rules before you plan a party: quiet hours run from 21:00 to 08:00 at the Punta Leona houses and from midnight to 07:00 at Casa Almendros, and pets are not allowed. Those prices are the lowest we have seen on Airbnb, and holiday dates cost more; Airbnb shows the total for your dates before you confirm. For New Year’s week, message us on WhatsApp with your dates.