Photos: San Sebastian by Guérin Nicolas, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped; Santa Teresa, Costa Rica by Christopher Crouzet, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.
San Sebastian or Santa Teresa, 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 San Sebastian for
- day trips
- getting around
- food and drink
What lies behind each score is written up on San Sebastian’s own page.
Choose Santa Teresa, Costa Rica for
- wellness
- beaches
- nature and the outdoors
What lies behind each score is written up on Santa Teresa, 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: San Sebastian and Santa Teresa, Costa Rica.
Your match
Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.
Wins on day trips and getting around with your weighting.
Wins on wellness and beaches with your weighting.
What matters to you?
When should you go?
Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.
San Sebastian in July
Santa Teresa, Costa Rica in July
Daytime high, °C
Rainfall in the month, mm
Where the figures come from
San Sebastian's station stands 252 m above the city centre, so the centre is likely a little warmer than the figures say.
Santa Teresa, Costa Rica's temperatures are measured 52 km from the centre, at Puntarenas.
Santa Teresa, Costa Rica 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. San Sebastian: 1991-2020 normals, San Sebastian / Igueldo (6.1 km from centre). Santa Teresa, Costa Rica: 1961-1990 (rainfall 1991-2020) normals, Puntarenas (51.5 km from centre).
Before you go
| Measure | San Sebastian | Santa Teresa, Costa Rica |
|---|---|---|
| Official language | Spanish | Spanish |
| Currency | Euro (EUR) | Costa Rican Colon (CRC) |
| Sockets | CF230 V, 50 Hz | AB120 V, 60 Hz |
| Driving side | Right | Right |
| Time zone | UTC+1, UTC+2 in summer | UTC-6 |
| Emergency number | 112 | 911 |
| Elevation | 6 m | 19 m |
| Main airport | San Sebastián Airport (EAS)16 km from centre11 non-stop destinations | Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport (LIR)113 km from centre30 non-stop destinations |
| Public holidays this year | 13 days | 11 days |
By the numbers
| Measure | San Sebastian | Santa Teresa, Costa Rica |
|---|---|---|
| City population | 189,866 | - |
| People per km² | 3,118 | - |
| Museums within 10 km | 14 | 0 |
| UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km | 3 | 0 |
| Swim season, months above 21 °C | 2 months | 12 months |
Where else could you go?
Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow San Sebastian or Santa Teresa, Costa Rica somewhere new.