Rates and rules
Easter falls in March in 2027: the Costa Rica high-season calendar, date by date
In 2027, Easter week comes earlier than in 2026 and lands on top of the spring breaks in the United States and Canada. Costa Rican schools start later. Together, those two dates move the whole season. Here is the calendar, and the rules worth checking for each stretch of it.
The dates that changed
In 2026, Semana Santa ran from March 29 to April 5. In 2027 it runs from Palm Sunday, March 21, to Easter Sunday, March 28. Holy Thursday and Good Friday, the two public holidays, are March 25 and 26.
The other date comes from the Ministry of Public Education (MEP). Public-school lessons end on December 9, 2026, and the 2027 school year starts on Monday, March 1, a week later than in 2026, when it began on February 23. The mid-year break is July 5 to 16.
Together, those dates do two things. Costa Rican families have about twelve weeks off, from early December to the end of February, all of February included. And the March peak gets squeezed: Semana Santa, many American spring breaks and Ontario’s March Break, in the middle of the month, fall in the same few weeks.
The season’s calendar
| Date | What happens | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Thu, Nov 26 | Thanksgiving in the United States | A long weekend for American guests |
| Tue, Dec 1 | Public holiday (paid at the employer’s choice) | A short boost from the local market |
| Wed, Dec 9 | Last day of public-school lessons | Costa Rican families start travelling |
| Fri, Dec 25 | Christmas | The busiest stretch of the year begins |
| Fri, Jan 1 | New Year’s Day | A long weekend; the local market goes home after it |
| Mon, Jan 18 | Martin Luther King Jr. Day (US) | A long weekend for American guests |
| February | Costa Rican school holidays continue | Local families, above all at weekends |
| Mon, Feb 15 | Presidents’ Day (US) | A long weekend for American guests |
| Mon, Mar 1 | The school year starts | The local market drops on weekdays |
| Mid-March | Spring breaks in the US and Canada | North American families |
| Mar 21–28 | Semana Santa (holidays on the 25th and 26th) | The last big peak of the season |
| April | After Semana Santa | Quieter than April 2026 |
Stretch by stretch: the rules to check
No rule fits every hotel. These are the ones most worth checking in each stretch, with starting points you can adjust to your own property:
- Christmas and New Year. The most requested week of the year. A minimum stay of five to seven nights that covers December 31 stops you ending up with single nights you cannot sell. Ask for a deposit when the guest books, and set the free-cancellation deadline at least 30 days ahead.
- January. Once the first weekend of January is over, the local market goes home and North American and European guests remain. With 10-night trips split across several places, a two- or three-night minimum usually sells better than a long one.
- February. Costa Rican families are still on holiday, above all at weekends. It is a good month for a two-night minimum on Fridays and Saturdays, and for prices by number of guests that work for families.
- March up to Semana Santa. Schools are back and North American spring breaks begin. Keep high-season prices and look at the pace of bookings every week.
- Semana Santa. The last big peak. A three- or four-night minimum from Wednesday or Thursday onwards, with a deposit and no free cancellation in the final days before arrival.
- April. With Semana Santa in March, April 2027 will have less demand than April 2026. If your budget copied last April, adjust it now.
Deposits and cancellations
On peak dates, a late cancellation is almost never resold. That is why the three rules that matter most are the deposit, the deadline for cancelling free of charge and the non-refundable rate.
- The deposit. A share of the total when the guest books, and the rest before arrival or at the property. For Christmas and Semana Santa many hotels ask for more.
- The deadline. Until when a guest can cancel at no cost. What matters most is that it is the same on your own website and on every channel; if it is not, guests pick the most flexible one.
- The non-refundable rate. A lower price in exchange for no refund. It helps you fill dates early without lowering your flexible rate.
In the hotel surveys of the Costa Rican Hotel Chamber (CCH), hotels had 68 percent on the books shortly before Semana Santa 2026 and expected to reach 75. Late bookings still come. The point of a deposit is not to scare them off, but to make sure the ones you take are real.
The same rules everywhere
A minimum stay that exists only on your website does not work: the guest books a single night through a channel instead. Before December, check that every rule is the same on your booking page and on every channel: the minimum stay, the days with no arrivals, the cancellation policy and the deposit.
Then look at the gaps. A two-night hole between two long bookings at Christmas will not sell with a five-night minimum. Opening it up with a shorter minimum for those exact dates is worth more than leaving it empty.
How Staywarden helps
In Staywarden, your seasons sit on a year wheel with the holidays marked, each with its own price and minimum stay. Closed-to-arrival and closed-to-departure days and dates closed for sale go out to every channel at the same time, and your booking page applies the same rules.
You also get a non-refundable rate, prices by number of guests and a lowest price that no discount can go below. Deposits and the balance are recorded on the booking. The plans are on the pricing page, and the numbers behind this season are in our article on the 2026–27 high season.