Costa Rica time difference: what time is it in San José?

Costa Rica is 6 hours behind London in UK winter and 7 hours behind during British Summer Time; it is 1 hour behind New York during Eastern Standard Time and 2 hours behind during Eastern Daylight Time (UK and US daylight saving seasons; Costa Rica does not change its clocks).

In practice, when it is noon in London it is 06:00 in San José during UK winter time (GMT) and 05:00 during British Summer Time. When it is noon in New York, it is 11:00 in San José during Eastern Standard Time and 10:00 during Eastern Daylight Time.

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Time in London	In San José (UK winter, GMT)	In San José (UK summer, BST)
08:00	02:00	01:00
12:00	06:00	05:00
18:00	12:00	11:00
22:00	16:00	15:00

Time in New York	In San José (US winter, EST)	In San José (US summer, EDT)
08:00 (8 am)	07:00	06:00
12:00 (noon)	11:00	10:00
18:00 (6 pm)	17:00	16:00
22:00 (10 pm)	21:00	20:00

Period	San José vs London	San José vs New York
25 October – 31 October 2026	−6 h	−2 h
1 November 2026 – 13 March 2027	−6 h	−1 h
14 March – 27 March 2027	−6 h	−2 h
28 March – 30 October 2027	−7 h	−2 h
31 October – 6 November 2027	−6 h	−2 h
7 November – 31 December 2027	−6 h	−1 h

The one-hour difference between winter and summer comes from daylight saving time in the UK and the US; local time in Costa Rica does not change.

Clock changes 2026–2027

Costa Rica does not observe daylight saving time: local time stays at UTC−6 all year round. Only clock changes in your home country alter the gap.

Clocks change on the following dates (local time):

• UK, Sunday 25 October 2026: BST (UTC+1) to GMT (UTC+0)
• US, Sunday 1 November 2026: EDT (UTC−4) to EST (UTC−5) in New York
• US, Sunday 14 March 2027: EST (UTC−5) to EDT (UTC−4)
• UK, Sunday 28 March 2027: GMT (UTC+0) to BST (UTC+1)
• UK, Sunday 31 October 2027: BST (UTC+1) to GMT (UTC+0)
• US, Sunday 7 November 2027: EDT (UTC−4) to EST (UTC−5)

When to call Costa Rica from the UK or the US

To reach someone between 09:00 and 20:00 San José time, call between 15:00 and 02:00 (ending after midnight) London time in UK winter and between 16:00 and 03:00 (ending after midnight) during British Summer Time. From New York, call between 10:00 and 21:00 during EST, and between 11:00 and 22:00 during EDT.

With such a large gap, working days barely overlap: aim for the very start or end of the day, and always state the time zone in your meeting invitations.

Time difference and jet lag: practical tips

Flying to Costa Rica from the UK means travelling west: your day is lengthened and you will go to bed later than usual. From the US East Coast the difference is much smaller (1 hour in winter and 2 hours in summer). A few simple rules help you adjust to local time:

• Set your watch and phone to local time as soon as you board.
• Align meals and bedtime with local time from the first day.
• Plan a light first day, with no important meetings or long drives.
• Get out in daylight when you arrive and avoid long naps.
• If you take medication at fixed times, ask your doctor how to adapt the schedule to the time difference.

Zone	IANA identifier	Standard time on 15 January 2027	On 15 July 2027	Abbreviation
San José	America/Costa_Rica	UTC−6	UTC−6	CST

• San José (America/Costa_Rica): last recorded clock change on Saturday 14 March 1992, from UTC−5 to UTC−6. Daylight saving time was applied in some years since 1970 (last in 1992); it is no longer applied.

No daylight saving time in Costa Rica in 2027

The tz database lists no clock change in 2027 for America/Costa_Rica: standard time remains UTC−6 all year. Only the UK clock changes (Sunday 28 March and Sunday 31 October 2027) and the US clock changes (Sunday 14 March and Sunday 7 November 2027) alter the gap.

2027 period	San José vs London	San José vs New York
1 January – 13 March	−6 h	−1 h
14 March – 27 March	−6 h	−2 h
28 March – 30 October	−7 h	−2 h
31 October – 6 November	−6 h	−2 h
7 November – 31 December	−6 h	−1 h

Sunrise and sunset in San José in 2027

Local sunrise and sunset times on the 15th of each month in San José (9.94° N, 84.09° W). They help you time your exposure to daylight, the main lever for resetting your body clock on arrival.

15th of the month	Sunrise	Solar noon	Sunset	Day length	Sunrise / sunset in London time
January	05:58	11:46	17:34	11 h 36	11:58 / 23:34
February	05:56	11:50	17:45	11 h 49	11:56 / 23:45
March	05:43	11:45	17:47	12 h 04	11:43 / 23:47
April	05:26	11:36	17:47	12 h 21	12:26 / 00:47
May	05:15	11:33	17:50	12 h 35	12:15 / 00:50
June	05:16	11:37	17:58	12 h 42	12:16 / 00:58
July	05:23	11:42	18:02	12 h 39	12:23 / 01:02
August	05:27	11:41	17:54	12 h 27	12:27 / 00:54
September	05:26	11:32	17:37	12 h 11	12:26 / 00:37
October	05:25	11:22	17:19	11 h 55	12:25 / 00:19
November	05:31	11:21	17:11	11 h 40	11:31 / 23:11
December	05:45	11:31	17:18	11 h 33	11:45 / 23:18

The longest day in the table is 15 June (12 h 42 between 05:16 and 17:58), the shortest 15 December (11 h 33).

Jet lag: how flight direction affects you in Costa Rica

• Outbound from the UK (flying west): you « gain » 6 hours in UK winter and 7 hours in summer; your arrival day is lengthened and tiredness hits early in the local evening.
• Return to the UK (flying east): the opposite applies. Flying east shortens the day, so plan a quiet day when you get home.
• From New York: the gap is small (1 hour during EST, 2 hours during EDT), so the time change itself is easy to absorb.
• Your usual night at home (23:00 – 07:00) corresponds to 17:00 – 01:00 in San José from London in UK winter (16:00 – 00:00 during British Summer Time), and to 22:00 – 06:00 from New York during EST (21:00 – 05:00 during EDT): this is when your body will want to sleep for the first few days.
• Daylight on arrival: in San José, the sun rises around 05:58 and sets around 17:34 in mid-January, and around 05:23 and 18:02 in mid-July (table above). After flying west, make the most of late-afternoon light to stay awake until the evening; this is the standard advice for shifting your body clock.

Plan your trip to Costa Rica

• Our complete Costa Rica travel guide: highlights, itineraries and budget
• Best time to visit Costa Rica: month-by-month weather and the best season
• Time differences around the world: every country in our guides

Frequently asked questions

Our sources

• Sunrise and sunset: algorithm from the NOAA Solar Calculator (Global Monitoring Laboratory), applied to the capital’s coordinates (Natural Earth, Wikidata or Wikipedia): Destination de Voyage calculation.
• IANA Time Zone Database (tz database), version 2026b, consulted on 13 October 2026: time zones, rules and clock-change dates. Future dates may be changed by local authorities.
• UK clock changes: GOV.UK, « When do the clocks change? » (last Sunday of March to last Sunday of October).
• US clock changes: NIST, « Daylight Saving Time » (second Sunday of March to first Sunday of November).
• Live time: calculated by your browser (Intl API), which relies on the same IANA database.
• Our methodology

Updated October 2026.