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The current time in San José, Costa Rica is shown live on this page. San José is in the America/Costa Rica timezone, which has a UTC offset of UTC-06:00 (CST). San José does not observe daylight saving time, so its UTC offset of UTC-06:00 remains constant year-round. San José has a population of approximately 346,823 people. San José uses CRC and the international calling code for Costa Rica is ++506.
Now in CR
Timezone
America/Costa_Rica
UTC offset
UTC-06:00
Standard
CST
DST
No regular shift
Local time guide
Use this page when you need the live local time in San José for meetings, travel plans, event schedules, support hours, or international calls. London is currently 7 hours ahead of San José. New York is currently 2 hours ahead of San José.
At a glance
Quick compare
Timezone
America/Costa Rica
UTC Offset
UTC-06:00
Abbreviation
CST
DST
Not active
Region
Central America
Country
Costa Rica
State / Area
San José
Calling Code
+506
Nearest timezone boundary
The nearest major city that uses a different timezone is Managua, approximately 338 km away. Managua uses the America/Managua timezone. When it is the current time in San José, the time in Managua is different by 0 hours.
City profile
San José is located in Costa Rica, Costa Rica, in the North America continent. The primary language spoken here is Spanish. The city has a population of approximately 346,823, ranking it #375 in Costa Rica by size. For timezone purposes, San José uses America/Costa Rica (UTC-06:00). It does not observe daylight saving time, so its UTC offset stays consistent year-round.
Travel and calls
San José does not observe daylight saving time, so its clock stays consistent throughout the year.
Costa Rica does not observe Daylight Saving Time.
Time comparison
Here is what time it is in other major cities when it is 12:00 AM (midnight) in San José. This is useful for planning calls and understanding the time difference at a fixed reference point.
Daylight hours
Based on San José's latitude (9.9°N), the estimated daylight duration for this month is approximately 12.6 hours, with sunrise around 5:43 AM and sunset around 6:17 PM. Being near the equator, San José experiences relatively consistent daylight year-round, with only small seasonal variation.
Best time to call
For work calls, the standard business window in San José is roughly 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM CST. If the other party is in a distant timezone, verify the exact date before sending a calendar invite — daylight saving transitions can shift the overlap by an hour without warning.
Business hours in San José (9:00 AM - 11:00 AM) overlap with London starting at 4:00 PM. The best window for calls between these two cities is 2 hours per day. Business hours overlap: 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM in San José time.
Local planning notes
Best call window
The optimal window for calls between San José and London is 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM in San José time (2 overlapping hours).
Daylight saving impact
San José does not observe DST, so its UTC offset of UTC-06:00 stays constant year-round. This makes it a reliable reference point for long-term scheduling.
Travel essentials
For travel and business planning, San José uses CRC and the calling code for Costa Rica is +506. Languages spoken here include Spanish. The city has a population of around 346,823, making it a local reference point for timezone planning in Central America.
Timezone context
The nearest timezone boundary is 338 km away at Managua (CST). This is a moderate distance, but the timezone difference can affect daily coordination.
Popular conversions
The most relevant time conversions for San José are with nearby Central America cities and major global hubs in different timezones.
Timezone boundaries nearby
The closest cities that operate in a different timezone than San José. Useful for understanding where the timezone boundary falls and how local times differ just a short distance away.
Embed this clock
Embed a live San José clock on your website. The widget is fully responsive, lightweight, and free to use.
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