Time Aspects

Time Zone:

Costa Rica operates in the Central Time zone (-6 GMT). They do NOT use daylight savings, so during the summer half of the year, they match U.S. Mountain Daylight Savings Time.

Sunrise / Sunset:

Because they do not change their clocks with daylight savings and because of the geographic location, Costa Rican days and night are almost always evenly divided.

Sunrise is typically around 5:30 a.m. and sunset is typically around 5:30 p.m., varying only by about fifteen minutes during the course of the year.

Punctuality:

One of the characteristics of the Costa Rican people is their relaxed, laid-back nature. Unfortunately, this translates into a "Tico" trait of always being about fifteen to thirty minutes late...unless, of course they are going to a football match! So when scheduling activities, be sure to emphasize the time element.