Time in Thailand: what time is it in Bangkok right now?

Thailand time zone: ICT, UTC+7

The short version: one zone, one offset, no clock changes.

Thailand runs on Indochina Time, shortened to ICT, which is exactly 7 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC+7). Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos use the same offset, so crossing into those countries does not change your watch.

Thailand does not use daylight saving time. Close to the equator, day length barely changes through the year, so there is no reason to move the clocks. The only thing that shifts is the gap with countries that do change their clocks, like the UK, the US and most of Europe.

Time in Bangkok, Phuket, Koh Samui and Chiang Mai

Same country, same time. Everywhere.

Thailand stretches about 1,650 km from north to south, but there is only one time zone. When it is 9 am in Bangkok, it is 9 am in Chiang Mai, on the beaches of Phuket and on Koh Samui, Koh Phangan or Koh Tao. You never need to reset your phone during a trip inside the country.

Time difference with the UK, US, Europe and Australia

The gap changes twice a year, but only because your country changes its clocks.

In the UK and the EU, clocks go forward on the last Sunday of March and back on the last Sunday of October. In 2026 that means 29 March and 25 October; in 2027, 28 March and 31 October. In the US and Canada, clocks change on the second Sunday of March and the first Sunday of November (1 November 2026, then 14 March 2027).

Flight time and the "arrive the next day" effect

The clock jumps forward while you are in the air.

Direct flights from London to Bangkok take around 11.5 to 12 hours. From the US there are usually no nonstop flights, so count 17 to 22 hours with one connection in Asia or the Middle East. From Sydney, a direct flight is about 9 hours.

Because Thailand is ahead of Europe and the Americas, you land much later on the clock than your flight time suggests, usually the next day. Coming home, it works the other way: you gain back the hours and often land the same morning you left.

How to beat jet lag in Thailand

Flying east is harder, because you lose hours.

From Europe or North America you fly east, so your day gets shorter and your body clock has to go to bed earlier than it wants to. Most people need a few days to feel normal again. The good news: Thailand's steady sunrise at around 6 am is a great reset button.

• Set your watch to Thai time when you board and eat and sleep on that schedule
• On a night flight, sleep as much as you can: eye mask, earplugs, no coffee
• On arrival day, stay outside in daylight and go to bed around 9 or 10 pm local time
• If you must nap, keep it to 20 or 30 minutes before 3 pm
• Drink plenty of water: heat and dry cabin air make jet lag feel worse
• Plan an easy first day, like a river boat in Bangkok or a lazy beach afternoon

• A long afternoon sleep on day one
• Heavy drinking on the plane or the first evening
• Booking an early morning tour or domestic flight for the day after you land

Best time to call home from Thailand

Find the overlap before you dial.

For work calls with Europe, Thailand's late afternoon and evening line up with the European morning and afternoon. With the US, the only comfortable overlap is your Thai morning and their previous evening.

Opening hours in Thailand

Typical times, which vary by place and by owner.

The late-night zones currently include parts of Bangkok, Pattaya, Patong in Phuket, Chiang Mai and Chaweng on Koh Samui. Alcohol rules have changed several times recently, so treat these hours as a guide.

The Thai six-hour clock: mong, bai, thum and ti

The fun one. Thais often tell time in four blocks of six hours.

Official timetables, tickets and TV use the 24-hour clock. But in everyday speech, many Thais use a traditional system that splits the day into four parts. Legend has it the words come from the sounds of old time signals: mong is the gong heard in daytime, thum is the drum at night, and ti means to strike.

Buddhist calendar: 2026 is 2569 in Thailand

The year on your receipt is not a typo.

Thailand officially counts years in the Buddhist Era (BE), which is 543 years ahead of the Gregorian calendar. 2026 is 2569 BE and 2027 will be 2570 BE. The months and days are the same as in the West, and the year starts on 1 January.

• You will see BE years on receipts, bank slips, official Thai documents and many train or bus tickets
• Expiry dates on food and medicine often use a short BE year: "69" means 2569, so 2026
• Online forms for foreigners, visas and flight bookings normally use the Gregorian year

Sunrise and sunset in Thailand

Days are close to 12 hours all year.

The earliest sunrise in Bangkok is around 5:50 am in late May and early June, the latest around 6:45 am in January. Sunset ranges from about 5:50 pm in November to about 6:50 pm in July. In Phuket and Chiang Mai, both further west, sunrise and sunset come roughly 5 to 15 minutes later than in Bangkok.