Say you plan a trip to Rome from your desk at home and type "Colosseum, 10:00". You mean 10:00 in Rome. A trip's time zone makes sure that is what everyone sees, whether they are in Rome, on the bus or at home.
How times are shown
Every event time is shown on the trip's clock. If your phone or computer is on a different clock, the schedule says so at the top, for example "Times are Rome time". Parents at home see the same "Rome time" labels on their child's trip page, so nobody has to do the math.
A trip with no time zone set shows each event in each person's own zone. That is fine for a trip that stays in your home time zone, but not for one that travels.
Setting the time zone
- New trips: the form suggests a time zone from the destination. If the destination is unclear (two places with the same name, or two countries), it asks you to confirm before saving.
- Existing trips: open Trip settings › Time zone and choose Set time zone. Search for a city or country.
- Organizers of an upcoming trip with no time zone see a reminder on the schedule: Set this trip's time zone.
Only the owner and co-organizers can set or change it.
Changing it when events already exist
When the trip already has events, you choose what happens to their times:
- Keep the times as typed: 10:00 stays 10:00, now on the new clock. Choose this when the schedule was typed for the place you are going.
- Keep the same moments: each event shows whatever time it is in the new zone. Choose this when the times were already right and only the label is wrong.
Then Check each event. The list shows every event's time now and after the change. Tick Leave as it is for any event that should stay on its current clock. Travel, and anything on or before the departure day, is ticked for you, because the bus to the airport and the flight out are usually on home time. If the schedule changes while you are looking, you are asked to check the list again before saving.
Events that have their own time zone, flights with an arrival time zone and events from a subscribed calendar are never changed.
Events in another time zone
On an event's form, choose Different time zone to put just that event on another clock, such as a stop on the way. For a flight or other travel event, Arrives in a different time zone lets you enter the landing time on the destination's clock. A 6:00 PM departure from Philadelphia and an 8:00 AM arrival in Rome both show correctly.
The trip calendar subscription carries the time zones too, so events land at the right time in Google Calendar or Apple Calendar.