Before you call Costa Rica, you’ve got to figure out what time it is there! Fortunately, Costa Rica does not participate in Daylight Saving Time so that makes things a bit simpler. Costa Rica is 6 hours behind Greenwich Mean Time and 1 hour behind Eastern Standard Time. Keep in mind that while Costa Rica does not participate in Daylight Saving Time, many other parts of the world do. If you are calling from New York, the time difference would depend upon the time of year. From November to March, New York uses Eastern Standard Time and is 1 hour ahead of Costa Rica’s time. However, from April to October, New York uses Eastern Daylight Time and is 2 hours ahead of Costa Rica’s time.

Costa Rica’s country calling code is 506. While the first 3 digits of any local number are usually determined by its location, there are no formal area or city codes. So, when calling Costa Rica from abroad, simply dial the local number you are trying to reach after the country code. Local numbers always have 7 digits.

Check out our Calling Guide for more specific tips on calling Costa Rica long distance. It’s as easy as it sounds!