Alajuela, Costa Rica · UTC-6
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Alajuela is in the America/Costa_Rica timezone (CST/UTC-6), with no daylight saving. Costa Rica’s second-largest city has a population of around 300,000.
Alajuela sits in Costa Rica’s Central Valley, at about 1,000 meters elevation, a few kilometers from the Juan Santamaría International Airport. It is Costa Rica’s second-largest city and the country’s coffee heartland. The mild highland climate and proximity to the airport have made it a major arrival point for visitors to Costa Rica.
The timezone is Central Standard Time, UTC-6, permanent. Costa Rica abolished daylight saving time in 1992 and has not used it since. The clock is fixed. No spring forward, no fall back.
At 10 degrees north latitude, the logic of daylight saving simply doesn’t apply with the same force as in temperate countries. Day length varies from roughly 11.5 hours in December to 12.5 hours in June. That’s a one-hour variation across the entire year. There is no dramatic swing of summer evenings that makes extended daylight feel valuable.
Airport and coffee country rhythms
Alajuela’s daily rhythm is shaped partly by the airport. Early morning arrivals and departures mean the city has a 24-hour tourism economy layered over its agricultural base. The coffee harvest season, from October to February, adds another rhythm: the early morning call of pickers heading to the fields, the smell of processing from the beneficios.
9am in Alajuela is 3pm in London during European winter.
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Read more about time in Costa Rica →Same time as Alajuela
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Questions about time in Alajuela
- What timezone is Alajuela in?
- Alajuela uses the IANA timezone
America/Costa_Rica. The UTC offset is always UTC-6 - this timezone does not observe daylight saving time. - Does Alajuela observe daylight saving time?
- No. Alajuela does not observe daylight saving time. The UTC offset remains UTC-6 all year round.
- What is the current UTC offset for Alajuela?
- Alajuela is currently at UTC-6.
- What is the time difference between Alajuela and New York?
- Alajuela is currently 2 hours behind New York.
- What is the time difference between Alajuela and London?
- Alajuela is currently 7 hours behind London.
- What is the time difference between Alajuela and Los Angeles?
- Alajuela is currently 1 hour ahead of Los Angeles.
- What is the time difference between Alajuela and Tokyo?
- Alajuela is currently 15 hours behind Tokyo.
- What is the IANA timezone name for Alajuela?
- The IANA timezone database identifier for Alajuela is
America/Costa_Rica. Use this string in programming languages and APIs: JavaScript (`new Intl.DateTimeFormat('en-US', { timeZone: 'America/Costa_Rica' })`), Python (`pytz.timezone('America/Costa_Rica')`), or any IANA-compatible library.