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.

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.

Use of WhatsApp with Smartphones   WhatsApp has become a very popular way to make and receive long distance phone calls in Mexico by both private individuals and businesses. See the WhatsApp section.

Use of U.S. Cell Phones in Mexico   This paragraph applies to AT&T cell phones. Cell phones from other companies may or may not work the same way. - If you bring your cell phone to Mexico from another country but don't have an international calling plan, you should continue to receive calls as though you were still in your country. There will be additional charges, however. You can receive calls from telephones in Mexico but the caller must use your country code as though you were still in the country where the cell phone was issued. For outgoing calls, your cell phone will behave like a local telephone. You do not need to use the country code for calls to telephones within Mexico but you do need the country code for all calls to telephones outside of Mexico. Those calls can be quite expensive. In our case, our cell phone was issued in the U.S. and we have a domestic long distance plan but no international plan. We were charged about US$1 per minute for all cell phone use in Mexico, whether local or long distance to/from the U.S. Check with your cell phone provider for what your charges will be and for the availability of international plans.

One reader reports that with her prepaid cell phone (no contract with any phone company) she can purchase minutes from AT&T that are applied to a SIM card (free at AT&T if you purchase minutes). The cost is $25/minute for calls within Mexico and from Mexico to another country. (7/11)

A Verizon customer reports (8/2009) that his plan allows calls to and from Mexico with no additional charges. It does use up your minutes but if you are communicating to another Verizon phone, then it does not use your minutes. This calling plan costs an additional US$15 per month over the regular plan.

As of November 4, 2006, the Mexican government is adding a surcharge of at least $0.14 per minute for international calls TO cell phones. This does not apply to calls to landline telephones. Some of Mexico's smaller cell phone companies have obtained a court order to block the charges. But Telmex, which controls 80% of the country's cell phone market, has agreed to impose the extra charges. Most of the additional charges collected will go to companies controlled by Carlos Slim, the world's third-richest man, who controls Telmex. So that international callers will know when they are calling a cell phone number, an additional digit will be required to complete the call. Previously a call to a cell phone was like any other international call, 011-52 + 10-digit number. Now to reach a cell phone, call 011-52-1 + 10-digit number. Note that when calling cell phones locally you call 044 + 10-digit number. When calling internationally, the 044 is omitted.

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. Check with them and see--you may be able to get Mexico coverage for an additional monthly fee without additional per minute fees. 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/AT&T cell phone worked fine in Oaxaca, but calls to the states were about $1 per minute (10/05).

Mexitel: One cell phone option is Mexitel. See www.mexitel.net. They will ship you a phone that is usable in Mexico which you rent from Mexitel and then return when you are done. They advertise that calls to the US or Canada from Mexico are $1 each, up to 20 minutes.

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.

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. Omit the 045 when calling from outside Mexico and dial 011-52 + 1 + the 10-digit number.

Buy a cheap GSM phone and a Telcel SIM card. Everyone loves to hate Telcel in Mexico but they really do have the best coverage. So if you're driving between major places and are way out in the middle of nowhere and have a bit of trouble I find only Telcel reliably works at all. Before you leave the US, in drugstores, Targets, and WalMarts about twenty bucks will get you a cheap GSM cellphone with AT&T. GSM phones use a SIM card. Use it as a back-up phone in the US. This is 1/3 cheaper than buying a comparable cell phone in Mexico. In Mexico, buy a Telcel SIM card for $30. Put that card in your GSM phone. A one-time pain is go to a Telcel company office with your passport to register the number. Then you can buy additional minutes anywhere, typically 100 pesos at a time. Total cost of calling around Mexico will be Dramatically cheaper than using an American cell phone. Lots of folks I know report getting home to find a $700 Verizon bill which makes the $50 we suggest for a GSM phone and Telcel SIM card much cheaper!

Calling the US is 00 + 1 + US telephone number.
Calling from the US friends will dial 011 52 plus the Telcel number.

We use Magic Jack a lot. Before you leave the US, get a Magic Jack and set up a USA telephone number in the most convenient area code. When we travel around the world, we take our laptop with a Magic Jack and a cheap $7 WalMart land-line-type phone and use our Magic Jack USA number to receive and send calls to the US at the amazing cost of less than $40 per year. This works remarkably well at the WiFi spots in hotels and terminals. Incidentally, the notebook laptop we use for calling has absolutely nothing personal on it. We use a 32 Gig SD card to store personal data, and unplug the SD card when using the laptop in a public area with an unsecured network. It is very cool to be at a condo or hotel in Mexico and get calls from friends and family in the US who are making a local call to your US area code!

David M.
4/14/11

Bill C.
9/6/08

Marsha G.
8/23/08

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