Seasons & Weather
Guanacaste Events: Why Every Calendar of Them Is Out of Date
Guanacaste Experiences editorial team
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6 October 2026
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7 min read
Hero photo: Peloy (Allan H.M.) / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
In this guide
The dates that are actually fixedThe big fiestas, and when they usually fallWhat a Guanacaste fiesta actually isSportThe natural events, which have no dates at allHow to find the real datePlanning around themSearch for a Guanacaste events calendar and you will find last year’s dates presented as this year’s. Several of the English-language pages doing it have not been updated in two or three years.
That is less laziness than structure. Most cantonal fiestas here are confirmed locally a few weeks ahead, by a municipal committee, and announced on a Facebook page rather than in a press release. There is nothing to copy twelve months out, so people copy the last thing that existed.
So this page is built the other way round: what is genuinely fixed, what recurs and roughly when, what each date was last confirmed as and in which year, and where to look for the real one.
The dates themselves live on the events calendar, which labels every entry with how firm it actually is. This page is the explanation behind it — what a fiesta involves, why the dates behave this way, and how to get the real one.
The dates that are actually fixed
Short list, and worth planning around because these do not move.
Fixed dates. Semana Santa moves with Easter but is calculable years ahead.
| What | When | What it means for a visitor |
|---|---|---|
Anexión del Partido de Nicoya | 25 July, every year | Guanacaste’s own national day and the biggest date in the provincial calendar. In 2027 it falls on a Sunday. |
Semana Santa | 22–28 March 2027 | Holy Week. The single busiest week of the Costa Rican domestic year — see the warning below. |
Semana Santa | 10–16 April 2028 | For anyone planning further out. |
Semana Santa is the one that catches foreigners out
This is when Costa Ricans take their own holidays, and the Guanacaste coast fills with domestic visitors. Accommodation books out months ahead, prices rise, roads are busy, and on Thursday and Friday of Holy Week much of the country closes — including, by law, the sale of alcohol in many years. Book early or avoid it; do not arrive expecting a normal week.
The big fiestas, and when they usually fall
Each of these recurs annually. The dates below are the last ones we could confirm, labelled with their year — treat them as the month to aim at, not as a booking.
Last confirmed dates, by year. Verify before booking travel around any of them.
| Fiesta | Where | Last confirmed |
|---|---|---|
Fiestas Típicas Nacionales | Santa Cruz | 14–18 January 2026 |
Fiestas Cívicas de Liberia | Liberia | 24 February – 8 March 2026 |
Expo Liberia | Liberia | 15–27 July 2026 |
Anexión / Fiestas de Nicoya | Nicoya, Campo Ferial San Blas | Around 25 July, annually |
Santa Cruz is the one to prioritise if you have a choice. It is Costa Rica’s declared *Ciudad Folclórica* and its January fiesta is the national folkloric event rather than a local one — marimba, traditional dance, and a *tope de toros* running from noon each day with bull riding from the afternoon into the evening.
What a Guanacaste fiesta actually is
Worth knowing before you plan a day around one, because the format is consistent and is not quite what "festival" suggests in English.
Tope — a horse parade. Sabaneros ride through town, often for hours. This is the part most visitors enjoy most and it is free to watch.
Corridas de toros a la tica — bull riding, Costa Rican style. The bull is not killed, which is the significant difference from the Spanish form; improvisados jump into the ring voluntarily. People are injured every year.
Marimba, dance and food stalls, heaviest at Santa Cruz.
A funfair and a lot of noise, usually running late.
If a quiet beach holiday is the point of your trip, a fiesta in your town is something to know about rather than something to seek out. If you want to see the province being itself rather than being a destination, it is the best opportunity in the year.
Sport
Two Tamarindo events, routinely confused with each other because both get called "the Tamarindo marathon".
The Tamarindo Beach Marathon ran on 5 September 2026, its 18th edition, and sold out. It is a September fixture. The triathlon is a separate, inaugural event scheduled for 15 November 2026. Our racing guide covers both, including why the marathon starts at four in the morning.
The natural events, which have no dates at all
The two best things in the Guanacaste year cannot be put in a calendar, and any page that gives you a date for them is guessing.
Arribadas at Ostional — mass turtle arrivals — are seasonal, concentrated in the second half of the year, and announced only days ahead because they depend on moon and tide. The sea turtle guide explains how to watch one without doing harm, and why the dates work the way they do.
Bioluminescence is governed by the moon rather than the season, which makes it the one "event" here you genuinely can plan years ahead — the bioluminescence guide has the dark-night windows through to May 2027.
How to find the real date
In the order that actually works:
1.
The municipality’s own Facebook page. Cantonal fiestas are announced there first and often nowhere else. Search for "Municipalidad de" plus the canton.
2.
Local Guanacaste press in Spanish — Trivisión, Vive Guanacaste, La Voz de Guanacaste. Weeks ahead rather than months, but correct.
3.
Ask your hotel. They will know, and they will know which nights the noise reaches you.
4.
Ignore English-language calendars, including this page, as a source of specific dates. Use them for the shape of the year and verify the day elsewhere.
Why this page does not list 2027 dates
Because at the time of writing they are not published. We could infer them from previous years and most would be close, but "Santa Cruz, mid-January 2027" presented as a date is the kind of thing people book flights around. The last confirmed dates above are labelled with their year for exactly that reason.
Planning around them
Three practical consequences, whichever fiesta you land near.
Accommodation in the fiesta town fills with Costa Ricans, not foreigners, and goes early. If you want to attend, book the town; if you want to avoid the noise, stay a town away — the coast is rarely more than an hour from any of these.
Tours and transfers still run, with the exception of the public holidays themselves. If your trip collides with a fiesta and you would rather be elsewhere that day, the volcano and waterfall day trips inland are unaffected — a Rincón de la Vieja combo day puts you an hour from the coast and well out of earshot. See day trips from Liberia for the full set.
Banks and offices close on public holidays, and that interacts with the card-and-cash problem covered in the packing list. Some attractions take cards only; some take cash only; a closed bank on 25 July is an avoidable problem.
See what each month is like
Weather, wildlife and crowds, month by month.
What is the biggest festival in Guanacaste?
Two compete. The Anexión del Partido de Nicoya on 25 July is the province’s own national day and the biggest civic date. The Fiestas Típicas Nacionales at Santa Cruz each January are the biggest folkloric event, which is why Santa Cruz holds the title of Costa Rica’s Ciudad Folclórica. Santa Cruz ran 14–18 January in 2026.
When are the Guanacaste fiestas in 2027?
Most are not published yet, and that is normal — cantonal fiestas are confirmed by municipal committees a few weeks ahead rather than a year. The fixed points are the Anexión on 25 July and Semana Santa, which falls 22–28 March 2027. For the rest, check the municipality’s Facebook page or Guanacaste’s Spanish-language press closer to the time.
Are bulls killed at Costa Rican fiestas?
No. Corridas de toros a la tica do not kill the bull, which is the main difference from the Spanish form. The bull is ridden and then taunted by volunteers who enter the ring, and it is the volunteers rather than the animal who are injured — which happens every year.
Should I avoid Guanacaste during Semana Santa?
Only if you dislike crowds. Holy Week — 22–28 March in 2027 — is when Costa Ricans take their own holidays and the coast fills with domestic visitors. Accommodation books out months ahead and prices rise, and much of the country closes on the Thursday and Friday. It is a genuinely good time to see the country being itself, provided you book early and expect company.
When can I see the turtle arribadas at Ostional?
They are seasonal rather than dated, concentrated in the second half of the year, and announced only days in advance because they depend on moon and tide. No calendar can give you a date for one. Our sea turtle guide explains how the timing works and how to watch without doing harm.
Sources
Facts in this guide were checked against these references on the dates shown.
Delfino.cr — "Fiestas Típicas Nacionales Santa Cruz 2026" — The Fiestas Típicas Nacionales at Santa Cruz ran 14–18 January 2026, with a tope de toros each day from noon starting in the Santa Cecilia district and bull riding from 2pm to 8pm. (accessed 6 October 2026)
Vive Guanacaste — Programa Fiestas Cívicas Liberia 2026 — The Fiestas Cívicas de Liberia ran 24 February to 8 March 2026, the longest fiesta in the province, with daily topes, bull riding twice a day and the Tope de Gala on the closing weekend driving cattle from the Puente Real along the Calle Real to the Plaza Camilo Reyes. Published programmes differ on which days pause and exactly when the smaller parades fall. Separately, Expo Liberia was scheduled for 15–27 July 2026. (accessed 6 October 2026)
La Nación — Anexión del Partido de Nicoya programme — The Anexión del Partido de Nicoya is marked on 25 July. The Nicoya programme includes a tope de toros with clowns and marching bands from 1pm and free bull riding from 3pm at the Campo Ferial San Blas. (accessed 6 October 2026)
Guanacaste Experiences — Racing in Tamarindo — The Tamarindo Beach Marathon ran on 5 September 2026 as its 18th edition and sold out. A separate inaugural triathlon is scheduled for 15 November 2026. The two events are distinct and are frequently conflated. (accessed 6 October 2026)
Guanacaste Experiences — Sea Turtle Nesting in Guanacaste — Mass arrivals (arribadas) at Ostional are seasonal rather than dated, concentrated in the second half of the year, and are announced only days ahead because they depend on moon and tide. (accessed 6 October 2026)
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