Though, in effect, an American colony (the technical term being "unincorporated territory"), Puerto Rico is located in the northeastern Caribbean Sea --a two-hour flight from central Florida --and has much to offer as an exotic and attractive alternative holiday destination. A flight from Los Angeles, Calif., to the Puerto Rican capital of San Juan, a journey of 3,379 miles, takes approximately seven and a half hours; not too far to travel to experience a culture vastly different than that of the United States.
California, on America's West Coast, is the third largest state after Alaska and Texas and has the highest population of any of the 50 states. Because of its location, it goes by Pacific Standard Time, meaning that it is eight hours behind Greenwich Mean Time - seven during Daylight Savings Time.
This time zone covers other western states, such as Oregon and Nevada, as well as parts of Canada and Mexico's Baja California peninsula. Pacific Standard Time is three hours behind Eastern Standard Time and an hour behind Central Standard Time.
The predominantly Spanish-speaking island of Puerto Rico lies to the south east of Florida in the northeastern Caribbean Sea, and, as such, finds itself on Atlantic Standard Time. Other areas that fall under this time zone include: Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island in Canada; Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic; and Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad and Tobago.
Atlantic Standard Time is four hours behind Greenwich Mean Time and therefore four hours ahead of Pacific Standard Time. So although a flight to San Juan from Los Angeles may only take seven hours, you will find yourself four hours ahead upon arrival. The areas that use daylight saving time are only three hours behind Greenwich Mean Time. As Puerto Rico does not use daylight saving time, this rule does not apply and the country remains four hours behind.
