- Thailand
- Egypt
- Turkey
- Dubai (United Arab Emirates)
- USA, New York
- USA, Miami and Florida
- USA, Chicago
- USA, Los Angeles and California
- USA, Hawaii
- Mexico, Cancún
- Mexico, Mexico City
- Dominican Republic
- Cuba
- Maldives
- Mauritius
- Seychelles
- Bali
- Vietnam
- Sri Lanka
- India
- Japan
- China
- Singapore
- Philippines
- Zanzibar (Tanzania)
- Kenya
- Tunisia
- Canary Islands
- Madeira
- Portugal, Lisbon
- UK, London
- Iceland
- Greece
- Cyprus
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Italy
- Spain (mainland and Balearic Islands)
- Azerbaijan
- Georgia
- Jordan
- Oman
- Qatar
- Canada, Toronto
- Brazil, Rio de Janeiro
- Australia, Sydney
- New Zealand
Prepared and checked by Marián Cabadaj. Last checked October 2026.
Where the data comes from
IANA Time Zone Database for the time zone and daylight saving time of every destination. Your browser and the table on this page calculate the difference from it.
GOV.UK, When do the clocks change? for the days when the clocks change in the UK.
CDC Yellow Book 2026, Jet Lag Disorder for jet lag and how fast the body adjusts to it.
Your browser calculates the difference from the IANA database for the exact day you enter. If a country changes its rules at the last minute, your browser only knows after an update.
In short
- The UK is on UTC+0 in winter and UTC+1 in summer. The clocks change on the last Sunday in March and the last Sunday in October.
- Thailand, Dubai, the Maldives, Bali and Mauritius have no daylight saving time, so the gap is one hour bigger in winter than in summer. Thailand is +7 h in January and +6 h in July.
- The USA and Egypt change their clocks on different days from the UK. For example, New York is only 4 hours behind from 25 October to 1 November 2026, otherwise 5.
- On average the body adjusts to jet lag by 1 hour per day after flying east and 1.5 hours per day after flying west.
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How it works
Pick a destination
Type a country or city and the list narrows as you type.
Enter a date
Your travel date decides whether summer or winter time applies.
Convert the time
Change the time in London and see what time it is at your destination.
How does the time difference from the UK work?
In winter the UK is on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), which is UTC+0. In summer it switches to British Summer Time (BST), UTC+1. According to GOV.UK, When do the clocks change? (UK Government), the clocks go forward 1 hour at 1am on the last Sunday in March and back 1 hour at 2am on the last Sunday in October. In 2026 the clocks went back on 25 October, and they go forward again on 28 March 2027.
Many holiday destinations never change their clocks. Thailand, Dubai, the Maldives, Bali and Mauritius have no daylight saving time. That is why the gap from the UK is one hour bigger in winter than in summer. Thailand is 7 hours ahead in January and 6 in July. If you remember the difference from a summer trip, you will be an hour out in winter.
Time difference in popular destinations
The table shows how many hours ahead (+) or behind (-) of the UK each destination is. The winter column is for 15 January 2027, the summer column for 15 July 2026. Where the two values differ, only one side uses daylight saving time, or the destination has it during our winter, like Sydney.
The tool uses no hand-typed numbers. Every destination has a time zone name from the international IANA database, for example Asia/Bangkok. Your browser calculates the difference from it for the exact day you enter. This table is calculated from the same database.
| Destination | In winter (15/1/2027) | In summer (15/7/2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Thailand | +7 h | +6 h |
| Egypt | +2 h | +2 h |
| Turkey | +3 h | +2 h |
| Dubai (United Arab Emirates) | +4 h | +3 h |
| USA, New York | -5 h | -5 h |
| USA, Los Angeles and California | -8 h | -8 h |
| Mexico, Cancún | -5 h | -6 h |
| Dominican Republic | -4 h | -5 h |
| Cuba | -5 h | -5 h |
| Maldives | +5 h | +4 h |
| Mauritius | +4 h | +3 h |
| Bali | +8 h | +7 h |
| Vietnam | +7 h | +6 h |
| Sri Lanka | +5 h 30 min | +4 h 30 min |
| Japan | +9 h | +8 h |
| Zanzibar (Tanzania) | +3 h | +2 h |
| Tunisia | +1 h | same time |
| Canary Islands | same time | same time |
| UK, London | same time | same time |
| Greece | +2 h | +2 h |
| Cyprus | +2 h | +2 h |
| Australia, Sydney | +11 h | +9 h |
When the difference changes for a few days
The weeks around the clock change cause the most confusion. The United States switches to daylight saving time on the second Sunday in March and back on the first Sunday in November. Europe changes two to three weeks later in spring and a week earlier in autumn. So in 2026 New York is only 4 hours behind London from 25 October to 1 November, and 5 hours the rest of the time. In spring 2027 the same happens from 14 to 28 March. Cuba follows the same pattern.
Egypt has had daylight saving time since 2023, but on different days from the UK. In 2026 it runs from 24 April to 29 October. For most of the year Egypt is 2 hours ahead of the UK. From 29 March to 23 April 2026 it was only 1 hour ahead, and from 25 to 29 October 2026 it is 3 hours ahead. If you fly to Hurghada on those days, enter the exact date in the tool.
In the southern hemisphere, daylight saving time falls in our winter. Sydney has it from the first Sunday in October to the first Sunday in April. In January Sydney is 11 hours ahead of the UK, in July 9.
Flight times are always shown in the local time of each airport. Example: leaving London at 13:00 and landing in Bangkok at 7:00 is not an 18 hour flight. With the winter difference of +7 h it is 11 hours. When you search for flights from London to Bangkok, compare the flight duration, not the arrival time.
Jet lag: why flying east is harder
According to the CDC Yellow Book 2026, Jet Lag Disorder chapter (CDC, 2026), jet lag is a sleep disorder after quickly crossing time zones. The diagnosis assumes you cross at least two zones. Symptoms are poor sleep, daytime sleepiness, weaker concentration and stomach problems.
The same chapter gives an average adjustment rate of 1 hour per day after flying east and 1.5 hours per day after flying west. The body clock runs a little longer than 24 hours, so a day is easier to stretch than to shorten. For Thailand in winter that means about 7 days before your body adjusts. After flying back west it takes around 5 days.
Flying to the USA works the other way round. The outbound trip is easier because your day gets longer. The return is usually harder, when it is morning in London and your body still thinks it is night.
How to prepare for the time difference
- Two to three days before you fly, shift your sleep by an hour a day. Earlier if you fly east, later if you fly west. The CDC says this shortens the time you need to adjust.
- After flying east, get out into daylight in the morning. The CDC advises seeking morning light after travelling east and avoiding it in the morning after travelling west.
- On a short trip with a difference of up to 2 hours, do not bother adjusting. For Spain, Portugal, the Canary Islands or Greece, just reset your alarm.
- Talk to a doctor about sleeping pills and melatonin. The dose and whether they suit you are individual.
On a long flight east we choose an afternoon arrival. On the first day we stay awake until the local evening and go to bed at a normal time. We plan nothing on day one that cannot be moved. For a trip to Asia shorter than 5 days, we ask ourselves whether it is worth adjusting at all.
FAQ
What is the time difference in Thailand?
7 hours ahead of the UK in winter, 6 hours in summer. Thailand has no daylight saving time, only UK time changes.
What is the time difference in Egypt?
For most of the year 2 hours ahead. Egypt changes its clocks on different days from the UK, so from late March to late April it is only 1 hour ahead, and for a few days at the end of October it is 3 hours ahead.
What is the time difference in Dubai?
4 hours ahead in winter, 3 hours in summer. The United Arab Emirates has no daylight saving time.
What is the time difference in Turkey?
3 hours ahead in winter, 2 hours in summer. Turkey stays on UTC+3 all year.
How many hours behind is the USA?
New York and Miami are 5 hours behind the UK, Chicago 6 and California 8. For a few days in spring and autumn the gap is one hour smaller, because the USA changes its clocks on different days from Europe.
When do the clocks change?
In the UK on the last Sunday in March and the last Sunday in October. The clocks went back on 25 October 2026 and go forward on 28 March 2027.
How we checked this
On 20 October 2026 we checked the tool and the table against two independent calculations from the same time zone database. Where they differed, we removed the destination from the list.
- We compared the difference from the browser (Intl) with Python (zoneinfo) for every destination on 4 days, calculated from the UK: 15 January, 10 March, 15 July and 28 October 2026. The results match.
- We removed Morocco because the two calculations gave a different difference in October. Morocco changes its clocks during Ramadan, and the databases do not agree on it.
- We checked the UK clock change days on GOV.UK and the jet lag figures in the CDC Yellow Book 2026 chapter.
- The table calculates the difference for 15 January 2027 and 15 July 2026, at 12:00 UTC.
