Photos: Santa Teresa, Costa Rica by Christopher Crouzet, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; Sayulita by Luisalvaz, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.
Santa Teresa, Costa Rica or Sayulita?
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 Santa Teresa, Costa Rica for
- wellness
- nature and the outdoors
- beaches
What lies behind each score is written up on Santa Teresa, Costa Rica’s own page.
Choose Sayulita for
- getting around
- day trips
- shopping
What lies behind each score is written up on Sayulita’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: Santa Teresa, Costa Rica and Sayulita.
Your match
Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.
Wins on wellness and nature and the outdoors with your weighting.
Wins on getting around and 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.
Santa Teresa, Costa Rica in July
Sayulita in July
Daytime high, °C
Rainfall in the month, mm
Where the figures come from
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.
Sayulita 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.
Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Santa Teresa, Costa Rica: 1961-1990 (rainfall 1991-2020) normals, Puntarenas (51.5 km from centre). Sayulita: 2001-2020 normals, NASA POWER reanalysis grid, no weather station within 90 km.
Before you go
| Measure | Santa Teresa, Costa Rica | Sayulita |
|---|---|---|
| Official language | Spanish | Spanish, Nahuatl, Yucatec Maya |
| Currency | Costa Rican Colon (CRC) | Mexican Peso (MXN) |
| Sockets | AB120 V, 60 Hz | AB127 V, 60 Hz |
| Driving side | Right | Right |
| Time zone | UTC-6 | UTC-6 |
| Emergency number | 911 | 911 |
| Elevation | 19 m | 2 m |
| Main airport | Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport (LIR)113 km from centre30 non-stop destinations | Puerto Vallarta International Airport (PVR)29 km from centre52 non-stop destinations |
| Public holidays this year | 11 days | 9 days |
By the numbers
| Measure | Santa Teresa, Costa Rica | Sayulita |
|---|---|---|
| City population | - | 3,390 |
| Museums within 10 km | 0 | 0 |
| UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km | 0 | 1 |
| Swim season, months above 21 °C | 12 months | 12 months |
Where else could you go?
Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Santa Teresa, Costa Rica or Sayulita somewhere new.