Costa Rica Time Zone

I think it is only fair that I start this topic off by saying Costa Rica is in Latin America and most of us know that Latin America has a few different time zones but there is always "Latin Time". This means that people living in Latin America seem to operate on a more relaxed scale of time. To put it simple 15 - 30 minutes before or after a scheduled event is still considered on time. It is easy to get use to after a while and just seeing the locals not worry about time and to just go with the flow has been one of the more positive effects on the daily lifestyle of living abroad.

Being a Costa Rica Adventure Tour company we unfortunately do not have the liberty to operate our tours on "Latin Time" and we realize our paying customers have limited time in the country and being very on time is one of our companies main goals. When we do have to visit areas that other tourists will be visiting such as the Costa Rica whitewater rafting Pacuare River trips we know it is very important to be early because we always try and get to the river first making it feel like our own private river for the day.  Costa Rica's official time zone is not "Latin Time" it is GMT - 6 zone which gives Costa Rica US Central time when during winter months and during daylight savings time Costa Rica is in US Mountain time. This gives Costa Rica 1 hour behind New York City or 2 hours behind New York City depending on the time of year.

This is time thing can be an important part of a Costa Rica Vacation and usually starts with the planning part. If you are taking part in an active Costa Rica Adventure you want to be able to know when and where you will lose or gain some sleep. If you are joining us for more of a relaxed extended stay such as our Costa Rica Spanish School then I would say the flight is less important on getting the right hours.