{"id":2242,"date":"2025-03-05T13:28:14","date_gmt":"2025-03-05T13:28:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travel-4-fun.ru\/canaries\/?p=2242"},"modified":"2025-03-05T13:28:16","modified_gmt":"2025-03-05T13:28:16","slug":"time-in-canaries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travel-4-fun.com\/canaries\/time-in-canaries\/","title":{"rendered":"Time in Canaries"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n<p>Time in Canaries: a short but handy article for those planning a vacation here on the Canary Islands, covering the time aspect. I&#8217;ll not only talk about the time zone and the time difference with cities in Europe, Asia, and the USA but also how establishments and shops operate, how locals perceive time, and how punctual they are. The information from the article will help you better prepare for your trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_83 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/travel-4-fun.com\/canaries\/time-in-canaries\/#Time_on_the_Canaries_Time_Zone_and_Time_Difference\" >Time on the Canaries: Time Zone, and Time Difference<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/travel-4-fun.com\/canaries\/time-in-canaries\/#Daylight_Saving_Time_in_Canaries\" >Daylight Saving Time in Canaries<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/travel-4-fun.com\/canaries\/time-in-canaries\/#General_information_about_time_on_the_Canaries\" >General information about time on the Canaries<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/travel-4-fun.com\/canaries\/time-in-canaries\/#About_the_Locals_Attitude_Towards_Time\" >About the Locals&#8217; Attitude Towards Time<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Time_on_the_Canaries_Time_Zone_and_Time_Difference\"><\/span>Time on the Canaries: Time Zone, and Time Difference<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>At first glance, it might seem like just a couple of sentences, but there are interesting points to note.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Canary Islands belong to Spain. However, if you look at a map of Europe (photo below), you&#8217;ll see that the Canaries are over 1000 km away from mainland Europe. You can find more details about this in the article: &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/travel-4-fun.com\/canaries\/canary-islands-on-map\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"70\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Canary Islands on the World Map.<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Canary Islands even have their own time zone identifier &#8211; &#8220;Atlantic\/Canary.&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Canary Islands are in the UTC 0 time zone, like London.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mainland Spain, with its capital Madrid, is in the UTC +1 zone, like most EU countries.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel-4-fun.com\/canaries\/wp-content\/themes\/maktub\/assets\/images\/transparent.gif\" data-lazy=\"true\" data-src=\"https:\/\/travel-4-fun.com\/canaries\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2024\/04\/time-1-1024x548.jpg\" alt=\"canaries time difference\" class=\"wp-image-2261\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The blue vertical line represents the UTC +1 time zone, and the dark blue color highlights European countries in this time zone, including Spain. To minimize the time difference with Madrid, the Canaries follow a time zone as close to Madrid&#8217;s as possible.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Key points to know:<\/p>\n<cite>Here are two interesting points. Geographically, the Canaries fall right in the center of the UTC -1 time zone. However, for business and economic convenience, it&#8217;s better when there&#8217;s not a significant time difference between mainland Spain and the Canaries. So, the Canaries are placed in a time zone that doesn&#8217;t exactly match theirs, to keep the difference with Madrid minimal. Read below for the second interesting point.<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Daylight_Saving_Time_in_Canaries\"><\/span>Daylight Saving Time in Canaries<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Historically, clocks worldwide are changed for daylight saving time to adapt daylight hours to human activities. This has psychological and economic benefits, reducing electricity consumption when there&#8217;s more daylight in the evenings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>A very brief theory:<\/p>\n<cite>The closer a country is to the equator, the less the length of daylight changes throughout the year, and vice versa. So, in equatorial countries, it gets dark early year-round, with 12-hour days and nights. At the equator, it gets dark at 7 pm, and sunrise is at 7 am, all year round.<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>The Canaries are at 28 degrees north latitude, the southernmost part of Europe. The equator is not far away. Technically, the Canaries don&#8217;t need to change their clocks, and neither do other countries at the same latitude; none of them do. But Spain and all of Europe do, and to avoid confusion and keep the time difference with Madrid at 1 hour year-round, the Canaries also change their clocks for daylight saving time, following mainland Spain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What you need to know about this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Clocks are set forward by an hour on the last Sunday in March for daylight saving time.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Clocks are set back by an hour on the last Sunday in October for standard time.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>With Spain, Italy, and most of Europe, the time difference is 1 hour year-round. It&#8217;s an hour later in Europe.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>New York &#8211; 5 hours<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Los Angeles &#8211; 8 hours<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Warsaw &#8211; 1 hour<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Istanbul &#8211; 2 hours<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Beijing &#8211; 7 hours<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel-4-fun.com\/canaries\/wp-content\/themes\/maktub\/assets\/images\/transparent.gif\" data-lazy=\"true\" data-src=\"https:\/\/travel-4-fun.com\/canaries\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2024\/04\/time-2-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"what time in canaries\" class=\"wp-image-2262\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Time on the Canaries is a somewhat abstract concept, and it flows much slower here. The photo shows the trail to Nogales Beach on La Palma Island.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Very important:<\/p>\n<cite>If you&#8217;re not used to changing your clocks, be careful, especially if you have a ferry or flight during those dates. There have been cases where tourists missed their transport due to clock changings.<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"General_information_about_time_on_the_Canaries\"><\/span>General information about time on the Canaries<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Very brief:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In Spain, the siesta is very popular, with most establishments, shops, and even offices closing for about 3 hours during the day. However, on the Canaries, the siesta isn&#8217;t as popular or widespread as in mainland Spain. It definitely won&#8217;t interfere with your vacation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Canaries are for early birds. Everything opens early and closes early. Even wine tastings at wineries are usually over by 3 pm. If you arrive at such a place around 4-5 pm, everything will likely be closed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel-4-fun.com\/canaries\/wp-content\/themes\/maktub\/assets\/images\/transparent.gif\" data-lazy=\"true\" data-src=\"https:\/\/travel-4-fun.com\/canaries\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2024\/04\/time-3.jpg\" alt=\"time in the canary islands\" class=\"wp-image-2263\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Spar store hours: 8:30 am to 8:30 pm, closed on Sundays. By 9 pm, everything is usually closed, and you won&#8217;t find anything to buy. Larger supermarkets may still be open, but not everywhere.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It&#8217;s important to understand that each island has its own administration. Identical stores in the same retail chain can have completely different opening hours. Often, unless they&#8217;re big stores in major resorts, Sundays are off. When you arrive at your resort, check the opening hours of the establishments you&#8217;re interested in to avoid surprises later. All about <a href=\"https:\/\/travel-4-fun.com\/canaries\/shopping-in-the-canary-islands\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"1510\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">stores, markets, and shopping in the Canaries<\/a>, as well as Tax Free refunds.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"About_the_Locals_Attitude_Towards_Time\"><\/span>About the Locals&#8217; Attitude Towards Time<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The two most important words in every Spaniard&#8217;s life speak volumes for themselves. You&#8217;ll hear them quite often: <em>Ma\u00f1ana <\/em>and <em>Tranquila<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>Ma\u00f1ana <\/em>&#8211; translates to &#8220;tomorrow.&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Tranquila <\/em>&#8211; an expressive phrase that means &#8220;relax,&#8221; &#8220;calm down,&#8221; &#8220;don&#8217;t worry,&#8221; everything&#8217;s fine, and life is beautiful.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Everything about <a href=\"https:\/\/travel-4-fun.com\/canaries\/language-in-the-canary-islands\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"4427\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">language on the Canaries<\/a> for tourists, minimal vocabulary, whether they know English, and many useful facts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel-4-fun.com\/canaries\/wp-content\/themes\/maktub\/assets\/images\/transparent.gif\" data-lazy=\"true\" data-src=\"https:\/\/travel-4-fun.com\/canaries\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2024\/04\/time-4.jpg\" alt=\"canary time zone\" class=\"wp-image-2264\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The photo was taken in mainland Spain, not on the Canaries, but the essence, I think, is clear: tired &#8211; lie down and rest. One of the main local rules.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>To me personally, Spanish <em>ma\u00f1ana <\/em>and <em>tranquila <\/em>remind me of the Zanzibar saying &#8220;<em>Hakuna Matata<\/em>,&#8221; the meaning and principle are the same: why do it <em>today <\/em>when you can do it <em>tomorrow<\/em>. Or: you&#8217;ve come again <em>today<\/em>? We&#8217;ve told you numerous times &#8211; come <em>tomorrow<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In some cases, Spanish <em>ma\u00f1ana <\/em>can also mean &#8211; <em>never<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Important note:<\/p>\n<cite>In addition to this aspect of the locals&#8217; mentality, there are over 14 million tourists per year on the Canary Islands, for 2 million residents. There are plenty of tourists year-round, and it&#8217;s just packed during the season, with everyone needing a car, a tour, and so on. To the locals&#8217; relaxed attitude adds a large influx of tourists, so they end up not getting everything done, service quality drops, and agreements aren&#8217;t always met. But overall, if you agree on something with the locals in advance, they keep their promises and agreements, albeit not always promptly.<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Always book everything (accommodation, car, tour) in advance, don&#8217;t wait until the last minute. If you leave it until the last moment, you&#8217;ll create a bunch of problems for yourself. All about the <a href=\"https:\/\/travel-4-fun.com\/canaries\/weather-in-the-canary-islands\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"105\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">season on the Canaries<\/a>: when there are the most tourists, and when it&#8217;s best to visit the islands.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>About the <a href=\"https:\/\/travel-4-fun.com\/canaries\/population-of-the-canary-islands\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"740\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">population of the Canary Islands<\/a>, about the Guanches and Canarians, about interesting features, read in the article via the link.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In conclusion: the time on the Canary Islands is always 1 hour less than Central European Time. And remember the two main Spanish words, Ma\u00f1ana and Tranquila, you can insert them in any order in any conversation :). And time on the Canaries flows slower than at home, but you&#8217;ll quickly get used to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-white-background-color has-background\"><strong>Useful links to help you plan your dream trip to Canary Islands<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul style=\"background-color:#f9f9fe\" class=\"wp-block-list has-background\">\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Car Rental<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/localrent.tp.st\/26O58LtP\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">LocalRent<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/discovercars.tp.st\/GOi5XV2Z\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">DiscoverCars<\/a> &#8211; the most popular car rental platforms.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Accommodation<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/booking.tp.st\/sR62wvot\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/booking.tp.st\/sR62wvot\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Booking.com<\/a> &#8211; the largest accommodation booking platform.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Budget-friendly <strong>vacation packages<\/strong> to Spain and Canary Islands: <a href=\"https:\/\/expedia.tp.st\/XL3TQ5er\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Expedia<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Tours and activities<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/getyourguide.tp.st\/Dk5xur77\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">GetYourGuide<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/viator.tp.st\/sjSxVcN1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Viator<\/a> &#8211; hundreds of offers, whales and dolphins, entrance tickets with discounts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>eSIM<\/strong> and internet: <a href=\"https:\/\/airalo.tp.st\/H5QxZVji\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Airalo<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Time in Canaries: a short but handy article for those planning a vacation here on the Canary Islands, covering the time aspect. I&#8217;ll not only&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2243,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-useful"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/travel-4-fun.com\/canaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/travel-4-fun.com\/canaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/travel-4-fun.com\/canaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travel-4-fun.com\/canaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travel-4-fun.com\/canaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2242"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/travel-4-fun.com\/canaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2242\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4771,"href":"https:\/\/travel-4-fun.com\/canaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2242\/revisions\/4771"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travel-4-fun.com\/canaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/travel-4-fun.com\/canaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travel-4-fun.com\/canaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travel-4-fun.com\/canaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}