Telephone Calls

(958) is the area code for Huatulco and Puerto Angel, Oaxaca
(954) is the area code for Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca.
(314) is the area code for Manzanillo, Colima.
(315) is the area code for Barra de Navidad and Melaque, Jalisco.

In the past, a local telephone number consisted of a city code of 1, 2, or 3 digits followed by a 4-digit number that might be written like 3 41 81. In 2001, sweeping changes were made to make all local numbers 7-digits, with the city code being the first 3-digits. All area codes are now 3-digits, just like in the U.S. This now applies in the areas that I cover on this web site. For example in Barra de Navidad, the new area code is (315) but local calls are made by dialing only the seven digits that follow. On the coast of Oaxaca, the area code is (958) and local numbers are also seven digits.

The Telmex web site has an area code directory.

On the coast of Oaxaca, calls between the towns of Huatulco, Pochutla, and Puerto Angel are now local calls.

It may be possible to place your call through your long distance carrier by dialing one of the toll-free numbers below. You will be charged at their rate plus an additional surcharge of $2 or more. This may not be the most economical method; check with your telephone company before leaving home:

U.S. residents:

AT&T MCI Sprint

001-800-462-4240 001-800-674-7000 001-800-877-8000

Canadian residents: 001-800-010-1990

Hotels will handle your long distance calls for a fee. However, this may be incredibly expensive so you should ask first. Some hotels can provide fax services also.

Pay phones in Huatulco, Barra de Navidad, Manzanillo, and many other places in Mexico accept phone cards which are available at local stores.

There are small telephone offices (casetas telefónicas) that will handle your calls and faxes for a fee. You probably won't be able to use your calling card though. We are seeing fewer of the casetas and more pay phones now.

If you are calling from a pay phone and wish to call collect or bill to a calling card, dial 09 for an international operator. Many public telephones are out of order. If no one is using the phone, consider this a possibility. Read this warning about pay phone ripoffs.

In Huatulco, Barra de Navidad, and Manzanillo there are payphones all over the place. You can buy a phone card at many of the little stores that will allow you to call anywhere in the states for a little over a dollar a minute. The cards come in 20-, 30-, 50-, and 100-peso denominations. This is probably the least expensive way for visitors to make long distance calls from Mexico.

Voice-over-internet or VOIP is a popular way for people residing in Mexico to use their high-speed internet access to place very economical international telephone calls. Skype (www.skype.com) is one service used for this method.

Can I use my cell phone in Mexico? In most cases, they seem to work fine without making any arrangements but your calls may be very expensive. One way to reduce cell phone expense in Mexico is by purchasing a card that gives you so many minutes of cell time. These are available almost everywhere in increments of $100 pesos, about US$11. If you don't speak Spanish, you might get the salesperson to help you enter the minutes into your phone. This may be the most economical way, but perhaps your cell service provider has a better deal. One reader reports that Verizon's North America's Choice calling plan worked well for him. The plan adds about $20 to the monthly bill and provides free calling in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, both locally and country to country. Coverage in Mexico was reported to be better than Verizon's coverage map indicated. (1/06) Please send me an update if you have any additional information on any aspect of cell phone use in Mexico. tom@tomzap.com.

My Cingular cell phone worked fine in Oaxaca, but calls to the states were about $1 per minute (10/05).

044:   Many Mexico cellphone numbers have the prefix "044". This is only used when calling the number locally and is omitted for international calls. For example, to place a call locally to a cell phone you must dial 044 + the 10-digit number. To place a long distance call to the cell phone you omit the 044, e.g. 011-52 + the 10-digit number. To place an international call to a cell phone, you now must add a "1" after the country code, i.e. 011-52-1 + 10-digit number.

Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, and Oaxaca city also have cell phone service.

045:   If you are calling a Mexican cell phone from within Mexico but it is a long distance call, the prefix is 045; then dial the 10-digit number.

I was in Mexico City for three days and my Verizon Pearl BlackBerry worked great. Call quality was excellent in most spots. The rate was US$0.99 per minute. The data works fair at the low speed. I don't know the cost of the data plan or how much data I used for BlackBerry email or IM. Most likely, the data will cost me a fortune. J. Ahlers
4/20/08

W. Conklin
2/18/08

A. Montanaro
5/31/07

Does anyone know if Verizon works in the Huatulco and Puerto Escondido areas?

Ken Taylor
4/8/07

Lirian
2/7/07

Ingrid C.
11/21/06

I have six cell phones, one is used in Mexico (Tijuana). I use Sprint - their current roaming plan charges .99 cents a minute and a monthly fee of $4 or $5. Last month I had 1400 minutes of useage. HUGE BILL!!

I just checked with T Mobile - they charge $1.49 a minute for roaming and a monthly fee of $4.99. This is worse than Sprint.

Cingular charges .59 cents a minute for roaming with a monthly fee of $5.99. This is better than Sprint.

Verizon, which I am considering using, has a plan. If I get one telephone from them to use in Mexico, the monthly fee will be $59.99 for 450 minutes and $79.99 for 900 minutes. There are no roaming charges. Any minutes over the plan are billed at .40 cents a minute. This sounds like the best plan for me.

Lee Robinson
11/16/06

AT&T digital works in both places, although the signal in Cabo was weak indoors. We were told that in Cabo we would have to dial a special "* code" to get a local operator to place a call and that it would be at a rate higher than the standard AT&T digital rate of $1.49/min, but in fact we were able to direct dial all calls and got the standard rate. Also received calls ok.

In PV, it worked fine inside and out.

The only thing you have to do to get this rate is call AT&T Wireless customer service and get a no-charge feature put on your account (International Dialing). Probably just to keep fraud down on cell numbers that don't travel outside the US.

The $1.49 was net of tax. There is a lower rate for people who travel very frequently to Mexico (minimum minutes, etc.) -- part of a "plan" similar to the US&Canada plan. Has minimum monthly minutes, base fee, etc., but minute charge was only $.25/min I think. - David C. Burns, Feb 16, 2002

My sister is now on Nextel and they have stated to her that it won't work in Mexico.

I just went from AT&T analog to AT&T digital - am going to check whether it works there. - D. C. B., Louisville, CO, October 2001