When is Hawaii Time & Does Hawaii Participate in Daylight Saving?

While the rest of you will lose an hour of sleep and worry about setting your clocks to end Daylight Saving Time this weekend, Hawaii Time remains Hawaii Time and we always stay da same!

Since Hawaii is near the equator and the sun rises and sets about the same time all year round, changing our clocks is not really necessary…which is another wonderful thing about living in Hawaii!.

Most of the US sets their clocks to “spring forward” on the second Sunday in March at 2 a.m. (Europe changes at the end of March) but we in Hawaii stay the same. The rest of the US is ahead of Hawaii…I always remember it since “Hawaii Time” means laid back, we are lagging behind the rest of the US and Europe (but we don’t care; just don’t call us at 9 in the morning your time because you’ll wake us up!)

One of the reasons Daylight Saving was started was to save fuel and electricity and get people outdoors, but we don’t need any encouragement to get outside and be on Hawaii Time.

Hawaii Time…is layered. Hawaii Time not only means taking it easy but can also mean stuff is late or calls are missed for very bizarre reasons. We might go out for a surf or go watch the sunset and miss a text message. We prioritize being present and enjoying life above busy-ness and emptying our inbox.

A Eucalyptus tree might fall over a phone line and the alarm doesn’t go off. A fire might close the road and Fed Ex can’t make it over. We might stop to talk story with the neighbor and have a beer. A missed appointment or the construction worker who didn’t show up for work are all examples of Hawaii Time. Hawaii time is not always endearing but keep in mind we are on an island in the middle of the Pacific, so things take a while to get here. I would say Hawaii Time means, above all, being flexible and keeping perspective when things are late.

Hawaii does not participate in Daylight Saving Time, and the entire state is on Honolulu time, or HST (Hawaii Standard Time), all year around.