On a moist night in late March a number of years in the past in London, I discovered the arduous manner that international locations do not all change their clocks for daylight saving time concurrently. After ordering a glass of white wine at a comfortable bar in Bermondsey, I mindlessly scrolled on my telephone whereas the bartenders chatted concerning the clocks leaping ahead that coming Sunday. I practically spit out my Chablis.
Again house in New York Metropolis, I had already skipped forward one hour on the second Sunday in March. As I frantically Googled, I discovered that within the U.Okay. the clocks go ahead one hour on the final Sunday in March.
Do not be like me and lose two hours of sleep in a single month. Once you journey, bear in mind the next to keep away from daylight saving time-related snafus and different time zone errors.
Daylight saving time occurs on totally different days world wide — or by no means
The U.Okay. is not the one nation that adjustments its clocks on a unique weekend than we do within the U.S. For instance, most European international locations observe the identical calendar because the U.Okay., shifting clocks ahead one hour on the final Sunday in March and again one hour on the final Sunday in October.
Usually, when touring within the spring and fall, it is at all times finest to examine when the nation you are going to falls ahead or backward — and likewise whether or not that nation observes daylight saving time in any respect. In reality, based on the Pew Analysis Heart, about 66% of the world would not.
Although daylight saving time is usually noticed in North America and Europe, many non-EU international locations in Europe keep on commonplace time year-round, together with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Iceland, Russia and Turkey.
In 2023, Egypt grew to become the one nation in Africa to vary its clocks when it reintroduced daylight saving time for the first time in seven years. Now, every year, its clocks transfer ahead one hour on the final Friday in April and backward one hour on the final Thursday in October.
Not all states throughout the identical nation observe daylight saving time
It is also value double-checking these items even in the event you’re touring inside the US. In 48 states, daylight saving time runs from the second Sunday in March to the primary Sunday in November. Arizona and Hawaii are the outliers who keep on commonplace time year-round. Whereas it is much less of a difficulty on an island like Hawaii, Arizona shares sufficient borders with different states that do observe daylight saving time that it may be problematic.
“At all times double-check timing when flying in/out and on street journeys by way of the state,” says Becky Blaine, TPG’s senior publication editor and an Arizona resident. In any other case, you possibly can danger lacking a flight or reservation.
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To maintain it easy, keep in mind that Arizona is within the Pacific Time Zone from mid-March to early November, and the remainder of the 12 months it is in the identical time zone as different Mountain Time Zone states.
It is a related state of affairs in Canada. Usually, Canada follows the identical daylight saving schedule as the US, however most of Saskatchewan, the Yukon and a few elements of Quebec and British Columbia keep on commonplace time year-round.
In Australia, daylight saving time begins the primary Sunday in October and ends the primary Sunday in April within the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria, whereas the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia do not observe it.
Personal island resorts generally create their very own time zones
Exterior of daylight saving time adjustments, there are some normal time zone points to concentrate on whereas touring.
In international locations as giant because the U.S., Canada and Australia, it is simple to see why there are such a lot of time zones. However Eric Rosen, TPG’s director of journey content material, additionally factors out that within the Maldives, the airport is in a unique time zone than a few of the resorts within the tiny island nation.
Technically, the Maldives has just one official time zone: Maldives Time, which is 5 hours forward of Coordinated Common Time, additionally abbreviated as UTC. Nonetheless, a few of the archipelago’s personal island resorts add an hour to Maldives Time to maximise their visitors’ night gentle.
For instance, the St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort units its clock one hour forward of the official clock to what it calls “Island Time” but additionally gives visitors with butlers who coordinate transfers to and from the airport so no one by chance misses a flight.
Earlier than you go to the Maldives, make sure you examine in case your resort additionally does this.
Associated: The stunning motive some resorts have their very own time zone
Some locations have half-hour time zones
Attributable to its geographic location, the Canadian island of Newfoundland is 90 minutes forward of Jap Time as an alternative of simply 60 minutes forward like the remainder of Atlantic Canada. On a July journey, Nick Ewen, TPG’s senior editorial director, discovered this difficult for calendar functions.
Whereas touring in Newfoundland, he acquired an Outlook invitation for a 7:30 p.m. dinner assembly the next week and accepted it with out pondering a lot about it. Nonetheless, the precise dinner again house within the U.S. began at 6 p.m. Jap Time, a element he utterly missed till the reminder popped up quarter-hour earlier than — at which level he realized he could be late.
Different locations offset from UTC by half-hour embrace India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Iran and a few states in Australia. Need to be confused much more? Nepal’s time zone is offset by 45 minutes because of its geography.
Thoughts your digital calendars
Even when not coping with half-hour time zones, it may be straightforward to make related errors when including occasions again house to your digital calendar whereas touring in a unique time zone.
“Final 12 months, I introduced my center son to a party. We had been operating a couple of minutes late, however once we arrived, it appeared just like the get together was nearly over,” says Tarah Chieffi, a senior author at TPG. “Whereas the youngsters had been consuming cake, I double-checked my calendar to verify we had gotten the time proper, and it appeared like we had. However then I went to examine the invitation, and we had, the truth is, arrived one hour late.”
Her mistake? When she entered the get together into her calendar whereas touring, her calendar app defaulted to the time zone she was in and confirmed her the wrong time again house.
“Now, I at all times toggle the time zone to my house time zone if I enter appointments into my calendar whereas I am touring,” she says.
One other trick?
“Outlook lets you will have as much as three time zones exhibiting on the calendar,” says Madison Blancaflor, TPG’s managing editor of content material operations.
Go to settings > calendar > time zones. Then examine the field for “present second time zone in Day and Week view” beneath your default time zone. Want a 3rd one? It’s also possible to examine that field.
Cruise ships usually sail by way of a number of time zones ceaselessly
It is also essential to keep in mind that it is potential to shortly encounter a number of time zones on cruises — particularly on transoceanic cruises, the place you will change time zones every day or nearly every day. And in the event you’re on a cruise traversing the Pacific Ocean, you might lose a whole day in the event you cross the Worldwide Date Line, like Clint Henderson, a managing editor at TPG, did when he lately sailed from Seward, Alaska, to Tokyo.
Even on shorter cruises, examine in the event you’ll have to vary time zones. “I used to be on a shorter-than-a-week cruise from Portugal to Spain, and we needed to change time zones forwards and backwards with only a day in between,” says Erica Silverstein, TPG’s managing editor of cruises.
Cabin stewards often go away notes in your mattress at turndown to remind you of upcoming time adjustments. Henderson says he needed to set his clocks again between one to 2 hours every night time on his cruise. However Silverstein says you possibly can’t at all times rely in your cellphone to right the best time when it is in airplane mode and accessing satellite-based web. She recommends bringing an analog watch or alarm clock to floor you if you do not know whether or not your gadget will replace correctly.
Associated: Can a cruise assist with jet lag? The reply would possibly shock you
Backside line
When touring, do not assume each nation or state follows the identical daylight-saving-time guidelines and schedules as the place you reside and be conscious of time zone anomalies. Shedding or gaining an surprising hour can result in misplaced sleep, arriving late to an occasion and, worst of all, missed flights.
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