The country code for Costa Rica is 506. Local telephone numbers have seven digits. The Costa Rican phone system is very good by the standards of other developing countries. However, phone numbers change often and are handed out willy-nilly.

Domestic and international calls (aside from those to an operator) from almost all public phones require phone cards. Coin-operated phones exist, but are scarce.

Calling Outside Costa Rica

The cheapest way to call internationally is to call from a pay phone using an international phone card; you can also call from a pay phone using your own long-distance calling card; or call from a telephone office. Dialing directly from a hotel room is very expensive, as is recruiting an international operator to connect you. Watch out for pay phones marked Call USA/Canada with a credit card. They are wildly expensive."

To call overseas directly, dial 00, then the country code, the area code, and the number. You can make international calls from almost any phone with an international calling card purchased in Costa Rica. First dial 199, then the PIN on the back of your card (revealed after scratching off a protective coating), then dial the phone number as you would a direct long-distance call.

When requesting a calling card from your phone provider, ask specifically about calls from Costa Rica. Most 800-number cards don't work in Costa Rica. Callingcards.com is a great resource for prepaid international calling cards. At this writing, it lists at least one calling-card company with rates of 1¢ per minute for calls to the U.S.

You may find the local access number blocked in many hotel rooms. First ask the hotel operator to connect you. If the hotel operator balks, ask for an international operator, or dial the international operator yourself. To reach an English-speaking operator, you'll have more luck dialing the international operator (175 or 116). One way to improve your odds of getting connected to your long-distance carrier is to sign up with more than one company: a hotel may block Sprint, for example, but not MCI. If all else fails, call from a pay phone.

AT&T, MCI, and Sprint access codes make calling long-distance relatively convenient but can be very expensive.

To make a collect call from any phone, dial 09 (instead of 00 for a regular call), the country code for the country you're calling, and then the number.

Calls to the United States and Canada are 27¢ per minute; calls to the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand are 52¢) per minute.

Cell Phones

If your cell phone or pager company has service to Costa Rica, you theoretically can use it here, but expect reception to be impossible in many areas of this mountainous country.

Most car-rental agencies have good deals on cell phones, often better than the companies that specialize in cell-phone rental. If you're not renting a car, a number of companies will rent TDMA or GSM phones; remember, coverage is spotty. Rates range from $7-$10 per day, plus varying rates for local or international coverage and minimum usage charges. You'll need your ID, a credit card, and a deposit, which varies per phone and service but averages $350-$400; some rent only to those over 21. The deposit then drops significantly with companies that can hook you up with a rented local chip for your own phone.

Brusque but professional, Cell Phones Costa Rica will get you hooked up, whether you fly into San José or Liberia. Cellular Telephone Rentals Costa Rica has higher daily rates but free local calls.

Cellular Phone Rentals

Cell Phones Costa Rica (877/268-2918 in U.S. and Canada; 506/293-5892 in Costa Rica. www.cellularphonescr.com). Cellular Telephone Rentals Costa Rica (800/769-7137 in the U.S.; 506/845-4427 in Costa Rica. www.cellulartelephonerentals.com).

Phone Cards

Most public phones require phone cards (for local or international calls), but phone cards can also be used from any nonrotary telephone in Costa Rica, including residential phones, cell phones, and hotel phones. It's rare to be charged a per-minute rate for the mere use of the phone in a hotel.

Phone cards are sold in an array of shops, including Más X Menos supermarkets, post offices, offices of the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE), and at any business displaying the gold-and-blue tarjetas telefónicas" sign. International cards tend to be easier to find in downtown San José and in tourism areas.

With tarjetas para llamadas nacionales (domestic calling cards), cards are available in denominations of 500 colones and 1,000 colones. Phone-card rates are standard throughout the country, about 2¢ per minute; a 500-colón card provides about 50 minutes of landline calls. This decreases sharply if calling a cell phone; rates vary. Tarjetas para llamadas internacionales (international calling cards) are sold in $10, $20, 3,000-colón, and 10,000-colón amounts (denominations are inexplicably split between dollars and colones). It's harder to find the 10,000-colón cards; your best bet is to try a Fischel pharmacy or an ICE office.

Some public phones accept tarjetas chip ("chip" cards), which record what you spend, though they're a dying breed. Avoid buying chip cards: they malfunction, you can use them only at the few-and-far-between chip phones, and they are sold in small denominations that are not sufficient for international calls.

Calling Within Costa Rica

You can make local calls from any phone with a domestic calling card. First dial 197, then the PIN on the back of your card (revealed after scratching off a protective coating), then the phone number. Some phones have a card reader on the right-hand side; swiping the card through once you've dialed 197 saves tedious keying, but the readers are hit-and-miss. There are no area codes in Costa Rica, so you only need dial a seven-digit number; without the 506 country code. Fewer and farther between are the gray coin-operated phones; posted on each are the coins accepted (it varies from phone to phone).

Dial 113 for domestic directory inquiries and 110 for domestic collect calls, usually your only option if you don't have a phone card.