Photos: Cusco by Pedro Szekely, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped; Tamarindo by Jarle Naustvik, CC BY 2.0, cropped.
Cusco or Tamarindo?
Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.
Choose Cusco for
- culture and sights
- day trips
- prices
What lies behind each score is written up on Cusco’s own page.
Choose Tamarindo for
- beaches
- families
- wellness
What lies behind each score is written up on Tamarindo’s own page.
Scoreboard
Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.
What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Cusco and Tamarindo.
Your match
Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.
Wins on culture and sights and day trips with your weighting.
Wins on beaches and families with your weighting.
What matters to you?
When should you go?
Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.
Cusco in July
Tamarindo in July
Daytime high, °C
Rainfall in the month, mm
Where the figures come from
Cusco's station stands 151 m below the city centre, so the centre is likely a little cooler than the figures say.
Tamarindo's temperatures are measured 54 km from the centre, at Liberia.
Tamarindo has no rain gauge within 25 km of the centre, so its rainfall comes from a gridded climate dataset read at the city rather than from a gauge further away.
Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Cusco: 1991-2020 normals, Cuzco (3.7 km from centre). Tamarindo: 1991-2020 normals, Liberia (53.8 km from centre).
Before you go
| Measure | Cusco | Tamarindo |
|---|---|---|
| Official language | Spanish, Aymara, Quechua | Spanish |
| Currency | Sol (PEN) | Costa Rican Colon (CRC) |
| Sockets | ABC220 V, 60 Hz | AB120 V, 60 Hz |
| Driving side | Right | Right |
| Time zone | UTC-5 | UTC-6 |
| Emergency number | 111 or 911 | 911 |
| Elevation | 3,399 m | 27 m |
| Main airport | Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport (CUZ)5 km from centre6 non-stop destinations | Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport (LIR)43 km from centre30 non-stop destinations |
| Public holidays this year | 16 days | 11 days |
By the numbers
| Measure | Cusco | Tamarindo |
|---|---|---|
| City population | 428,450 | 7,132 |
| People per km² | - | 57 |
| Museums within 10 km | 11 | 0 |
| UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km | 2 | 0 |
| Swim season, months above 21 °C | - | 12 months |
Where else could you go?
Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Cusco or Tamarindo somewhere new.