What is the time zone of Turks and Caicos Islands?
The Turks and Caicos islands are in the Atlantic Time zone. All places including the capital Basse-Terre have the same time, there are no exceptions. The islands are is observing daylight savings so there are two different clocks depending on the time of the year.
- Atlantic Standard Time (AST):– 4:00 UTC (behind)
- Atlantic Standard Time (AST):– 3:00 UTC (behind
Time of neighboring islands and countries
You will remain in the same time zone when traveling to the Dominican Republic in the south. But all other surrounding islands such as Cuba, Bahamas and Haiti observe the same Eastern Standard Time.
Turks and Caicos Islands Daylight Savings Time (DST)
During daylight savings the time changes from Standard time to Daylight time, so AST becomes ADT.
It starts on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. In March the clock is moved forward from 02.00 am to 03.00 am (so you will lose an hour of sleep during the night). While in November it’s reversed as the clock is moved backward from 03.00 am to 02.00 am and you will gain an extra hour of sleep. One way of remembering the movement sequence is that clocks “spring forward and fall back”.
The total period of daylight savings lasts for 34 weeks which is about 65% of the year.
Other Caribbean Islands
You can check out information and maps of other Caribbean Islands by clicking on the below links.