How Many Hours Ahead of the US is Turkey? Explaining the Time Zone Difference

Have you ever wanted to call or visit someone in Turkey but struggled to figure out the time difference? As an avid traveler and blogger, I understand how confusing it can be to coordinate plans across time zones. In this article, I’ll clearly explain how many hours Turkey is ahead of the US and other key details you need to know.

Turkey is 9 Hours Ahead of the Eastern US

The main piece of information to remember is that Turkey is 9 hours ahead of the eastern United States. So if it’s 3pm on Tuesday in New York, it’s already midnight early Wednesday morning in Istanbul.

This 9 hour time difference applies not just to New York but everywhere on the east coast from Maine down to Florida. It’s also the same for the Midwest states like Ohio and Illinois. Basically anywhere that falls within the Eastern Time Zone in the US.

Comparing Turkey to Other US Time Zones

Now if you’re coordinating with someone in the central, mountain or pacific time zones, the time difference with Turkey changes slightly.

• Central US: 10 hours behind Turkey
• Mountain US: 11 hours behind
• Pacific US: 12 hours behind

So for example, if it’s 9am on Thursday morning in Denver, Colorado, it’s already 7pm on Thursday evening in Ankara, Turkey.

The west coast has the biggest gap where a 6pm Tuesday evening call from Los Angeles would ring through at 3am Wednesday morning in Istanbul.

Turkey Does Not Observe Daylight Saving Time

Another key point is that Turkey does not observe daylight saving time. The US and most of Europe switch clocks ahead 1 hour in spring and back 1 hour in fall. But Turkey abolished DST in 2016 and stays on what we call Eastern European Summer Time all year round.

So in the spring and summer months, the US and Turkey time difference shrinks by 1 hour. Then it’s back to a 9 hour gap during our fall and winter.

Using Time Zone Conversion Tools

Trying to mentally calculate the time gaps across zones can get confusing. That’s why I always use handy online tools to help convert times.

My favorite is TravelMath’s time zone converter which lets you easily see the time in Turkey vs US cities.

You can also see a great interactive world time zone map at TimeAndDate.com showing Turkey and the US in different colors.

These sites even have meeting planners that recommend the best times for scheduling calls between the two countries based on overlapping business hours.

Tips for Calling or Visiting Turkey from the US

Armed with this knowledge of the 9+ hour time difference, here are some tips to make coordinating with Turkey easier:

• Morning is best for US calls to Turkey – Try between 10pm-2pm Eastern Time. This falls during the Turkish business day.

• Afternoon works for Turkey calls to the US – Turks should ring between 12am-8am their time to catch US workers.

• Avoid early morning calls – 6am in Turkey would be 9pm in New York which could wake someone up!

• Use scheduling apps – Build in the time difference on calendar invites or meeting tools like WorldTimeBuddy.

• Allow flexibility – Understand schedules may shift since business hours don’t fully overlap.

The Bottom Line

Hopefully this breakdown gives you a better grasp of the time zone difference between the US and Turkey. While it can be confusing, being aware of the 9+ hour gap and using converter tools allows you to easily coordinate plans.