Here’s a handy guide for travellers to help you work out the time difference between New Zealand and the USA.
Struggling to figure out the time difference between New Zealand and the USA? You’re not alone – thanks to the International Date Line, New Zealand is a day ahead but often behind on the clock. Confusing, right?
To make things easier, we’ve put together this simple guide to help you understand the time difference, know the best times to call New Zealand from the USA (and vice versa), and share a few travel tips to help you adjust to the time difference when you arrive.
Kia Ora, we’re MoaTrek, and we’ve been hosting guests on our New Zealand small group tours since the 1970s, including lots of travellers from all parts (and time zones) of the USA.
We talk to people in the USA all the time so are used to helping travellers understand and adapt to the time difference. Whether you’re calling New Zealand before you come over to visit or need to figure out the best time to call home once you’re here we’ll help you out, in friendly Kiwi style!
Contents
- Time difference between the New Zealand and the USA
- What’s the time in New Zealand right now?
- Time zones in New Zealand and the USA
- What is the best time to call New Zealand from the USA?
- What is the best time to call the USA from New Zealand?
- Does New Zealand have Daylight Saving time?
- Travel Tips to help you deal with the time difference
What is the time difference between New Zealand and the USA?
The time difference between the USA and New Zealand differs depending on which part of the USA you are in. Because our two countries are far apart from each other in latitude (east to west distance) the differences in time are significant.
Here’s a quick summary of the time differences between New Zealand and the main four time zones in the USA:
- Pacific Time Zone: 19 hours behind New Zealand
- Mountain Time Zone: 18 hours behind New Zealand
- Central Time Zone: 17 hours behind New Zealand
- Eastern Time Zone: 16 hours behind New Zealand
Remember: Both New Zealand and the USA observe daylight saving time, so the time differences may be different from the above figures at certain times of the year.
What’s the time in New Zealand now?
Time Zones in New Zealand
We’ll start with the easy one: New Zealand has only one time zone, so no matter where you are it’s the same time all over the country.
New Zealand is in the “New Zealand Standard Time” zone (NZT) which is 12 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) or Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) or 13 hours ahead during Daylight Saving time (April – September).
Time Zones in the USA
The US also has six time zones. Eastern; Central; Mountain; Pacific; Alaska and Hawaii time zones. All of these zones are at different times to New Zealand.
The further East you go in the USA, the wider the time difference becomes. The overlap between business hours in New Zealand and California covers about half the working day, but breakfast time in New Zealand is already late afternoon on the East Coast.
What is the best time to call New Zealand from the USA?
Before calling New Zealand check the time on a website to make sure you’re calling at a good time. Use Auckland as the target city as every other city or town in New Zealand is in this time zone.
The World Clock website is really useful, as it lets you compare the time in New Zealand with any time in your time zone. See this example to compare the time in New Zealand with the time on the West Coast of the USA.
If we set the Auckland time to 9 am on Monday, just as the working week begins, we can see that the local time in California is 2 pm (PT) on Sunday. For most callers from the US, Sunday afternoon is a convenient time to call.
Remember: Sunday in the US is already Monday morning in New Zealand.
Office hours in New Zealand are similar to those in the United States. Most businesses receive calls between the hours of 9 am and 5 pm. Tourism businesses such as accommodation or tour operators may open later into the evening, so if you’re trying to call you can get through later than with other businesses.
When to call New Zealand from the US East Coast? (Eastern Time)
New Yorkers and people on the east coast of the US have a shorter time window for making calls, 9 am in Auckland is 5 pm in New York (the day before). If you plan to call someone in New Zealand at 9 am on Monday morning, make the call at 5 pm (ET) on Sunday.
The typical office day in New Zealand ends at 1 am New York local time.
When to call New Zealand from the US West Coast? (Pacific Time)
Say you’re in California and want to talk to someone about an exciting Queenstown activity or a Maori Culture Experience in Rotorua, the best time to call is from Sunday to Thursday between 2 pm and 10 pm (PT).
Enjoy an after dinner chat with a friendly Kiwi on the other end of the phone!
When to call New Zealand from the US Central Time Zone?
Say you’re in Texas and want to talk to someone in the Bay of Islands about dolphin watching for example, you can call the Paihia visitor information centre, which opens every day from 8.00 am to 7 pm in New Zealand summer, from 3.00 pm to 2 am (CT) in the US.
The Bay of Islands is a favourite visitor spot, and the visitor information centre has longer opening hours, especially during our summer. Smaller towns and destinations work on the typical 9-to-5 work schedule (4 pm to midnight in Texas).
When to call New Zealand from the US Mountain Time Zone?
If you live in Colorado, you probably love the mountains and hiking, so imagine you’re planning a trip to New Zealand and you’d like to phone a tour company to chat about the great hiking trails here.
The best time for you to call New Zealand would generally be any time from 2 pm through to 10 pm (MT).
MoaTrek Travel Tip: When to call New Zealand from the USA
For businesses that run on a 9 am to 5 pm schedule, like us at MoaTrek, the best times to call New Zealand are as follows:
- From the Pacific Time Zone (e.g. California): 2 pm to 10 pm, Sun to Thu.
- From the Mountain Time Zone (e.g. Colorado): 3 pm to 11pm, Sun to Thu.
- From the Central Time Zone (e.g. Dallas): 4 pm to Midnight, Sun to Thu.
- From the Eastern Time Zone (e.g. New York): 5 pm to 1 am, Sun to Thu (1 am = Friday morning)
What’s the best time to call the USA from New Zealand?
With so many interesting things to see in New Zealand, you’ll want to call family and friends back home to tell them all what you’re up to.
MoaTrek Travel Tip: Best times to call the USA from New Zealand
If your friends and family in the US work a traditional 9-to-5 schedule, these are the best times to call them for a chat after work. Let’s presume that 5pm to midnight (US time) is a reasonable timeframe to call.
- 5 pm to midnight in California (PT) is 12 pm to 7 pm anywhere in New Zealand
- 5 pm to midnight in Colorado (MT) is 11 am to 6 pm in New Zealand
- 5 pm to midnight in Texas or Chicago (CT) is 10 am to 5 pm in New Zealand
- 5 pm to midnight in Miami, Florida or New York (ET) is 9 am to 4 pm New Zealand time
Weekends in the USA start a day later than in New Zealand. If. you want to call your family on Saturday or Sunday back home, make sure you call on Sunday or Monday on New Zealand local time.
Calling home from your MoaTrek tour
When you join one of our trips, like our popular Kakapo 21 day New Zealand tour, we’ll provide you with a full itinerary before you leave home and you’ll be able to see when you have some time for yourself. You can use these times to call back home.
Does New Zealand have Daylight Saving time?
Yes. In New Zealand we put our clocks forward one hour on the last Sunday in September and put them back again on the first Sunday in April, giving us longer daylight hours in the spring and summer months.
This means we have longer evenings during summer, which is often when many travellers chose to visit, perfect for enjoying beautiful outdoor settings during the New Zealand summer weather.
The change to Daylight Saving Time in New Zealand doesn’t line up exactly with when you change your clocks in the USA, so in some months the time differences will vary by one hour to those given in the above chart.
MoaTrek Travel tip: Save your home timezone to your phone
It can be a bit tricky to work out the difference between the time at home and New Zealand, so save the local time at home on your phone in the clock app and check it there to help you plan a call.
Travel Tips to help you adjust to the time difference on your trip
Adjusting to local time in New Zealand
Jet lag is something travellers to New Zealand have to deal with, as much as for any long-haul destination. Apart from visitors from the east coast of Australia, most travellers will have a long journey crossing different time zones to reach New Zealand.
US visitors have the advantage that flights from the US to New Zealand fly west. As a result, travellers experience less intense jet lag than flying the same distance in the opposite direction. And you’ll need less time to recover once you reach New Zealand.
Adjusting to your home time zone after visiting New Zealand
Flying eastwards, disturbs the body clock more than flying in the opposite direction. On returning home to the USA from New Zealand, travellers often experience fatigue for a few days. This is natural and nothing to worry about. It’s a good idea to allow yourself a day or two to rest and ease back into your routine.
If possible, try to avoid jumping straight into a full work schedule, intense exercise, or additional travel right away – giving your body time to adjust can make a big difference.
Tips to adjust to your home time zone after your trip
- Get bright light or sunlight early in the day to help reset your body clock after a long flight.
- Avoid sleeping all day – it can actually make jet lag worse.
- Aim for a short rest, then head outside to soak up natural daylight as soon as possible.
- In the evening, avoid light exposure, especially from screens like phones or tablets.
Why travel to New Zealand?
New Zealand is one of the most popular travel destinations in the world and for many people, travel here is their ‘trip of a lifetime’.
This lightly populated oasis at the edge of the Pacific Ocean has so much going for it that were it closer to the US or Europe, visitors would swarm to these shores in huge numbers.
Visitors that make it to New Zealand are rewarded with the unique sights and experiences of the last major land mass on earth to be populated by the human race.
Travelling down under involves both a seasonal change and time zone adjustment. Most of all your body clock will need to adapt. But it’s worth it. Believe us! And we’re here to help you transition as easy as possible.
Plan Your Dream Trip to New Zealand with MoaTrek
We hope you enjoyed this article, and it helps you get ready for your trip to New Zealand.
At MoaTrek, we’ve been running small group tours in New Zealand for travellers aged 50+ since the 1970s. Our tours are carefully crafted to show you the best of New Zealand without any hassle, so you can relax and enjoy every moment.
Get in touch today to start planning your New Zealand adventure. Remember, if you’re calling, we’re open from 9am to 5pm NZ time, seven days a week!
We can’t wait to show you around. Your trip of a lifetime is closer than you think.
