Updated October 2026
Bangkok uses Indochina Time (ICT), UTC+7, throughout the year. Thailand does not change its clocks for daylight saving. To see the time in Bangkok right now, open your phone’s Clock app, add Bangkok to World Clock and read that city’s clock.
Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket and the rest of Thailand have the same time. Domestic flights require no time-zone adjustment. Both Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports also use Bangkok time; there is no separate airport time zone. The same rule applies wherever you travel within Thailand.
Setting a Bangkok clock on your phone
I keep Bangkok beside my home city in the built-in Clock app. Both fit on the same screen, making it easy to check the hour at home before a call.
- On an iPhone: open Clock, tap World Clock, tap the add button and search for Bangkok. Add your home city too.
- In Google Clock on Android: open Clock, select World clock, tap Add and search for Bangkok. Other Android clock apps may put the city list or add button somewhere different.
Adding a world clock does not change the phone’s main time zone. After landing, check that the main clock agrees with the Bangkok clock before setting an alarm for an early flight.
On an iPhone, the automatic setting is under Settings → General → Date & Time. The phone needs an internet connection, and Setting Time Zone under Privacy & Security → Location Services → System Services lets it use your location. On Android, check both automatic date and time and automatic time zone in the date-and-time settings; the menu names vary by device.
If the main clock still shows home time, select Bangkok manually in the time-zone setting. Some devices list it as Asia/Bangkok or show GMT+07:00. Keep your home city in World Clock so you can still check it without changing the main clock back.
The time difference from home
Bangkok stays on UTC+7, but a country that changes its clocks will move closer to or farther from Bangkok by an hour. Today’s difference can be wrong for next month’s booking.
These are the differences for common departure and connection cities:
- London: Bangkok is 7 hours ahead during Greenwich Mean Time and 6 hours ahead during British Summer Time.
- Paris: Bangkok is 6 hours ahead during Central European Time and 5 hours ahead during Central European Summer Time.
- New York: Bangkok is 12 hours ahead during Eastern Standard Time and 11 hours ahead during Eastern Daylight Time.
- Los Angeles: Bangkok is 15 hours ahead during Pacific Standard Time and 14 hours ahead during Pacific Daylight Time.
- Mumbai and New Delhi: Bangkok is 1 hour 30 minutes ahead throughout the year.
- Singapore: Bangkok is 1 hour behind throughout the year.
- Tokyo: Bangkok is 2 hours behind throughout the year.
- Sydney: Bangkok is 3 hours behind during Australian Eastern Standard Time and 4 hours behind during Australian Eastern Daylight Time. Other Australian cities can follow different rules.
For an October 2026 trip, Sydney moves its clocks forward on 4 October, London moves its clocks back on 25 October, and New York and Los Angeles move theirs back on 1 November. Bangkok’s clock does not change on any of those dates.
For example, noon in London on 20 October 2026 is 18:00 in Bangkok. Noon in London on 27 October is 19:00 in Bangkok. A weekly call kept at the same London time therefore falls an hour later in the Bangkok evening.
The date matters when calling North America: 08:00 in Bangkok on 20 October 2026 is 21:00 in New York on 19 October. For a future appointment, use a time-zone converter that lets you select both cities and the date, rather than reading today’s world clocks.
After midnight: which date should I book?
Flight itineraries normally show departure in the departure airport’s local time and arrival in the destination airport’s local time. A Bangkok departure marked 00:30 is already Bangkok time. Do not add another seven hours to it. For an international flight, subtracting the two printed clock times also may not give the flight duration, because the airports can be in different time zones.
00:00 is midnight at the start of a date; 12:00 is noon. In the 12-hour system, those are 12:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. respectively. Writing travel arrangements in 24-hour format avoids that a.m./p.m. ambiguity.
A flight departing Bangkok at 00:30 on Tuesday, 20 October 2026 leaves half an hour after Monday night ends. Plan the journey to the airport and check-in for the evening of Monday, 19 October, allowing the time required by that airline. Waiting until Tuesday evening means missing the flight by almost a day.
The hotel date needs the same attention. For access to a room at 01:00 on 20 October, book the night of 19 October and tell the hotel explicitly about the arrival after midnight on the 20th. Get that late arrival confirmed so the room is held. A reservation starting on 20 October usually begins with that day’s afternoon check-in, not at the first minute after midnight.
For an airport pickup, give the driver the flight number, airport, arrival date and local arrival time. Allow for the gap between landing and reaching the pickup point: getting off the aircraft, passing any arrival checks and collecting bags all take time.
Understanding Thai time expressions
Thai conversation uses words for different parts of the day. That changes how an hour is said, not the time zone. Song thum (สองทุ่ม) means 20:00, or 8 p.m.; tee song (ตีสอง) means 02:00, or 2 a.m. The word around the number matters.
Ask for the time in digits when arranging a pickup, particularly if only the number was clear in conversation. A message such as “20 October, 20:00 Bangkok time, hotel lobby” confirms the date, hour and meeting point.