What Time Is It In Hawaii?
What Time Is It In Hawaii?
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Such a common question, here's what time it is in Hawaii.
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• General: Educational
What Time Is It In Hawaii? It's a question many on the mainland ask when planning their trip to Hawaii or before calling a local business. Many more don't ask it and wonder why nobody is answering in Hawaii when they call!

Time is less important here, as explained in Crazy Signs That Can Only Be Found In Hawaii

The first thing to note about time in Hawaii is that all of the islands are within the same time zone which is the Hawaii–Aleutian Standard Time Zone (and abbreviated as HST or HAST) or as Hawaii Standard Time. Note that Hawaii Time is not the same as Island Time, for more on the latter read Hawaii Living: Island Time.

The second thing to know is that Hawaii does not use Daylight Savings Time (DST). Not familiar with DST? This is a process that many US states (and other countries) use that advances time by one hour in the summer and then back an hour in the winter. It's an idea from the late 1800's that is still around today, even if it's a ridiculous concept in the modern world. Since Hawaii doesn't do the DST thing, figuring out the time in Hawaii compared to the US mainland can be confusing.

So let's clear it up, Hawaii times work like this...

When the mainland is on standard time (no DST), which is roughly between November and March, then Hawaii time is:

2 hours earlier than Pacific Time
3 hours earlier than Mountain Time
4 hours earlier than Mountain Time
5 hours earlier than Eastern Time

When the mainland is observing Daylight Savings Time, which is roughly between March and November, then Hawaii time is:

3 hours earlier than Pacific Time
4 hours earlier than Mountain Time
5 hours earlier than Mountain Time
6 hours earlier than Eastern Time

If you live in Arizona where DST is not observed, then Hawaii is always 3 hours earlier regardless of the time of year.

Hawaii Living: Island Time

Of course, if you're ever not sure then you can always Google "what time is it in Hawaii" and get the answer in real time.

Of course, even though it isn't the same, here in Hawaii we're always on Island Time (see Hawaii Living: Island Time) and thus generally not too concerned with what time it actually is here.