One of the considerations and requirements of living on the U.S. Mexican border has to be understanding the Time Zones and how they affect both countries. Especially if you do business or commute to work from one side of the border to the other.
I have been involved in the International Insurance industry since 1989, specializing in Mexico, which makes it doubly important to know the Time Zones in Mexico. Additionally, living in El Paso Texas, we are the only major city in the State of Texas that is on the Mountain Time Zone and not the Central Time Zone. We need to know these zones because we deal with numerous offices, agencies, and of course customers throughout Mexico, including Mexico City.
There are three (3) Time Zones in Mexico as compared to the U.S. four (4) time zones in the continental U.S. The majority population lives in Mexico City and Merida locals, and is the same time as our Central Time Zone in the U.S.
The next time zone begins North of Puerto Vallarta, but does not include Puerto Vallarta. It does include the very popular Mazatlan, and Baja Sur (Sur meaning South). This area represents a major play ground for Americans and Canadians, especially those who enjoy the warmth of the beautiful Pacific and Sea of Cortez. Major cities in this Time Zone are Loreto, La Paz and the extremely popular Los Cabos.
Closer to home, our home, is the State of Chihuahua and includes the city of Chihuahua, as well as Ciudad Juarez, that sits next to El Paso Texas. This large area, usually described as the Texas of Mexico, is located in the Mountain Time Zone (one hour between U.S. Central and Pacific Time Zones)
Baja Norte (North) uses the same time as California, Pacific Time, while the entire State of Sonora (located in Northern Mexico, directly East of Baja Norte and bordering Arizona) does not participate in changing their clocks at any time during the year.
We hope this helps you in your Mexico travels. If you have any questions concerning this or anything else regarding travel into Mexico. Please let us know, we will do our best to assist you.
For all of your Mexico Tourist Auto, Homeowners, Motorcycles, Boats and International Health Insurance needs, please call us at 1-800-434-3966 OR Email us at ici@mxici.com or visit us at mxici.com to issue your own policy. We appreciate your business!