Costa Rica
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
41.2km²
Area
63km
Coastline
15m
Highest point
1,819
People
29°C
Warmest sea
April
When to go to Chira
Best for the beach from December to January.
The sea is warmest in April (29 °C) and coolest in November (28 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
District in Puntarenas canton, Puntarenas province, Costa Rica
Chira is an island in Costa Rica. It covers 41.2 km², with 63 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 15 m. About 1,819 people live on it.
Getting there
- Nosara Airport (NOB)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 57 km in a straight lineCar hire at NOB airport (Nicoya)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesRuta Puntarenas - Isla de Chira, Ruta Costa de Pájaros - Isla Chira
- From December to Januarybest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Chira.
- 9beachesPlaya Lagarterito, Playa Calera, Playa Roble and 6 more
- 2ferry terminalsPunta Gavilanas
- 4hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 7restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 38 m above the sea. 99 % of it is below 200 m.
- 74 %0–50 m
- 26 %50–200 m
- <1 %200–500 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
5 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 31 | 32 | 34 | 33 | 31 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 29 |
| Night low (°C) | 23 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 23 |
| Sea (°C) | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 28 |
| Rain (mm) | 14 | 8 | 10 | 48 | 198 | 190 | 150 | 186 | 259 | 288 | 132 | 34 |
| Wet days | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 18 | 20 | 18 | 21 | 24 | 22 | 15 | 6 |
| Sun h/day | 5.2 | 6.3 | 6.7 | 6.1 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 4.7 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 4.4 |
| Wind (km/h) | 15 | 15 | 14 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.5 | +0.8 | +0.5 | +0.1 | +0.7 | +0.1 | −0.1 | −0.4 | −0.4 | +0.2 | −0.6 | ±0.0 |
| 2021 | −0.4 | +0.2 | +0.1 | −0.1 | +0.1 | −0.2 | +0.2 | −0.3 | ±0.0 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.2 |
| 2022 | −0.1 | −0.7 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | −0.7 | −0.4 | −0.2 | +0.3 | +0.2 | −0.1 | ±0.0 |
| 2023 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | −0.2 | +0.1 | +1.3 | +0.8 | +1.1 | +1.0 | +1.6 | +1.8 | +1.4 | +1.3 |
| 2024 | +1.2 | +0.8 | +0.6 | ±0.0 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +0.7 | −0.2 | +0.2 |
| 2025 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.5 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nicaragua
Panama
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q164096) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
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