Jet lag when you fly to Alexandria

Alexandria is on Africa/Cairo. How much jet lag you get depends entirely on where you start — how many time zones you cross, and in which direction. Travelling east is the harder direction. Shift your bedtime earlier for several days beforehand and seek bright morning light on arrival.

Jet lag to Alexandria by departure city

From Time zones Direction Distance Flight (approx.) Recovery
Los Angeles 10 → east 12,029 km 15 hours ~10 days
New York City 7 → east 8,842 km 11 hours ~7 days
Sydney 7 ← west 14,579 km 18 hours ~5 days
Tokyo 6 ← west 9,579 km 12 hours ~4 days
São Paulo 6 → east 10,164 km 12½ hours ~6 days
Singapore 5 ← west 8,409 km 10½ hours ~3 days
Mumbai 3 ← west 4,499 km 6 hours ~2 days
London 2 → east 3,332 km 4½ hours ~2 days
Paris 1 → east 3,030 km 4½ hours ~1 day
Dubai 1 ← west 2,575 km 4 hours ~1 day
Johannesburg 1 → east 6,386 km 8½ hours ~1 day

Distances are great-circle; flight times are rough nonstop estimates. Recovery uses ~1 day per zone east, faster west.

Beating jet lag in Alexandria

Jet lag happens because your body clock stays on home time for a while after you land. The bigger the offset between Alexandria and where you flew from, the longer it takes to catch up — roughly a day for each time zone when you travel east, and somewhat faster when you travel west, because it is easier to stay up late than to force yourself to sleep early.

A few days before you fly, nudge your sleep schedule toward Alexandria time — earlier if you are heading east, later if west. On arrival, get outside: daylight is the strongest signal for resetting your clock. Morning light helps after an eastward trip; evening light helps after a westward one. To see the exact current offset, check the current time in Alexandria.

Frequently asked questions

How bad is jet lag flying to Alexandria?
It depends where you start. From Los Angeles you cross 10 time zones travelling east, which typically takes about 10 days to shake off. From cities in a similar longitude to Alexandria there is little or no jet lag at all.
Is jet lag worse flying east or west to Alexandria?
Flying east — where you lose hours and have to fall asleep earlier — is generally harder than flying west, for the same number of time zones. The table above marks the direction of each route so you know which kind of adjustment to expect.
How long does it take to get over jet lag in Alexandria?
A common rule of thumb is one day of recovery per time zone crossed when heading east, and a little faster heading west. Bright light at the right time of day and adjusting your sleep before you fly both speed it up.

See also: current time in Alexandria · time zones in Egypt · all jet lag guides