Photos: Rio de Janeiro by Arne Müseler, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE, cropped; San Jose, Costa Rica by Bernard Gagnon, CC0.
Rio de Janeiro or San Jose, Costa Rica?
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 Rio de Janeiro for
- beaches
- nightlife
- culture and sights
What lies behind each score is written up on Rio de Janeiro’s own page.
Choose San Jose, Costa Rica for
- day trips
What lies behind each score is written up on San Jose, Costa Rica’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: Rio de Janeiro and San Jose, Costa Rica.
Your match
Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.
Wins on beaches and nightlife with your weighting.
Wins on day trips with your weighting.
What matters to you?
When should you go?
Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.
Rio de Janeiro in July
San Jose, Costa Rica in July
Daytime high, °C
Rainfall in the month, mm
Where the figures come from
Rio de Janeiro has no weather station within reach, so its figures come from a gridded climate model rather than a measured record, and read a broad area rather than the city itself.
San Jose, Costa Rica's station stands 241 m below the city centre, so the centre is likely a little cooler than the figures say.
Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Rio de Janeiro: 2001-2020 normals, NASA POWER reanalysis grid, no weather station within 90 km. San Jose, Costa Rica: 1991-2020 normals, Juan Santamaria (16.8 km from centre).
Before you go
| Measure | Rio de Janeiro | San Jose, Costa Rica |
|---|---|---|
| Official language | Portuguese | Spanish |
| Currency | Brazilian Real (BRL) | Costa Rican Colon (CRC) |
| Sockets | CN60 Hz | AB120 V, 60 Hz |
| Driving side | Right | Right |
| Time zone | UTC-3 | UTC-6 |
| Emergency number | Police 190, ambulance 192, fire 193 | 911 |
| Elevation | 31 m | 1,161 m |
| Main airport | Rio de Janeiro Galeão – Tom Jobim International Airport (GIG)12 km from centre54 non-stop destinations | Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO)16 km from centre49 non-stop destinations |
| Public holidays this year | 14 days | 11 days |
By the numbers
| Measure | Rio de Janeiro | San Jose, Costa Rica |
|---|---|---|
| City population | 6,211,223 | 335,007 |
| People per km² | 4,930 | 7,511 |
| Museums within 10 km | 69 | 9 |
| UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km | 3 | 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 Rio de Janeiro or San Jose, Costa Rica somewhere new.