Offset
The time difference between Zürich and San José is 8 hours.
Zürich (CEST) is ahead of San José (CST).
CEST: UTC+2
CST: UTC-6
Zürich is currently observing daylight saving time; San José is not.
When to schedule
Standard business hours (9 AM–5 PM, Mon–Fri) in Zürich and San José don't overlap on the same weekday. San José is 8 hours behind Zürich.
With some flexibility, there’s a workable window outside standard hours:
- 3 PM–8 PM in Zürich (7 AM–12 PM in San José) — suggest 5:00 PM Zürich (9:00 AM San José).
This means an early start or late finish for one side, but it’s a reasonable slot for a one-off meeting.
This window may shift by an hour during daylight saving time.
Public holidays in 2026
National public holidays can affect availability — a counterpart is likely off work on their own holidays, so it's worth planning meetings and deadlines around them.
Switzerland
- New Year's DayThu, Jan 1
- Ascension DayThu, May 14
- Swiss National DaySat, Aug 1
- Christmas DayFri, Dec 25
Costa Rica
- New Year's DayThu, Jan 1
- Maundy ThursdayThu, Apr 2
- Good FridayFri, Apr 3
- Juan Santamaría DaySat, Apr 11
- Labour DayFri, May 1
- Annexation of the Party of Nicoya to Costa RicaSat, Jul 25
- Feast of Our Lady of the AngelsSun, Aug 2
- Mother's DaySat, Aug 15
- Independence DayTue, Sep 15
- Army Abolition DayTue, Dec 1
- Christmas DayFri, Dec 25
About these zones
Quick reference
Full 24-hour conversion table — tap any time to open it in the converter.
| Zürich | San José | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 12:00 am | 4:00 pm | -1 day |
| 1:00 am | 5:00 pm | -1 day |
| 2:00 am | 6:00 pm | -1 day |
| 3:00 am | 7:00 pm | -1 day |
| 4:00 am | 8:00 pm | -1 day |
| 5:00 am | 9:00 pm | -1 day |
| 6:00 am | 10:00 pm | -1 day |
| 7:00 am | 11:00 pm | -1 day |
| 8:00 am | 12:00 am | Same day |
| 9:00 am | 1:00 am | Same day |
| 10:00 am | 2:00 am | Same day |
| 11:00 am | 3:00 am | Same day |
| 12:00 pm | 4:00 am | Same day |
| 1:00 pm | 5:00 am | Same day |
| 2:00 pm | 6:00 am | Same day |
| 3:00 pm | 7:00 am | Same day |
| 4:00 pm | 8:00 am | Same day |
| 5:00 pm | 9:00 am | Same day |
| 6:00 pm | 10:00 am | Same day |
| 7:00 pm | 11:00 am | Same day |
| 8:00 pm | 12:00 pm | Same day |
| 9:00 pm | 1:00 pm | Same day |
| 10:00 pm | 2:00 pm | Same day |
| 11:00 pm | 3:00 pm | Same day |
Daylight saving time
Zürich observes daylight saving time; San José does not. The offset between the two zones changes when Zürich transitions: on Sunday, October 25, 2026, clocks fall back from CEST to CET.
See the daylight saving time page for transition dates across every time zone.
Daylight today
- Sunrise
- 5:31 AM
- Sunset
- 9:21 PM
- Day length
- 15h 50m
- Sunrise
- 5:16 AM
- Sunset
- 5:57 PM
- Day length
- 12h 41m
Cities in these zones
Browse all cities to see the current local time anywhere.
Airports in these zones
Airports in Central European Time
- ZRH
- BRN
Airports in Central Standard Time
- SJO
- SYQ
Related conversions
Common conversions
- What is 9:00 am Zürich in San José?
- 9:00 am Zürich is 1:00 am San José.
- What is 12:00 pm Zürich in San José?
- 12:00 pm Zürich is 4:00 am San José.
- What is 12:30 pm Zürich in San José?
- 12:30 pm Zürich is 4:30 am San José.
- What is 2:00 pm Zürich in San José?
- 2:00 pm Zürich is 6:00 am San José.
- What is 5:00 pm Zürich in San José?
- 5:00 pm Zürich is 9:00 am San José.
- What is 11:30 pm Zürich in San José?
- 11:30 pm Zürich is 3:30 pm San José.