Panama City is 1 hour ahead of San Jose. San Jose uses Central Standard Time (CST, UTC-6) while Panama City uses Eastern Standard Time (EST, UTC-5). When it's 12:00 PM in San Jose, it's 1:00 PM in Panama City.
Neither Costa Rica nor Panama observes daylight saving time, so this 1-hour difference remains constant year-round.
Best calling time: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM San Jose time. This corresponds to 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM in Panama City, covering standard business hours.
San Jose and Panama City are neighboring Central American capitals and important regional business hubs. Flights between them take about 1 hour, making cross-border business convenient.