Useful Utilities

Distance Calculator

Great-circle and estimated road distance between two cities in kilometres and miles, plus door-to-door travel hours by car, train or plane at fixed average speeds.

Fill in the values and calculate

From city*
To city*
Distance basisTrip time and headline figures follow the basis you pick; the table shows bothDefault Driving estimate (road factor)
Travel byDefault Car (90 km/h average)

The form sends itself back to this page — results print below, computed on the server.

No results yet: fill the form above and press Calculate.

About Distance Calculator

The straight line is the haversine of the two cities' built-in coordinates: central angle times the mean earth radius of 6371 km, which is what an airline's shortest great-circle route follows.

The road estimate multiplies that line by a detour factor chosen by corridor length: 1.28 below 500 km, 1.16 up to 3000 km, 1.09 beyond, because long hauls follow great circles more closely than short city hops. Travel hours are distance divided by fixed averages (car 90, train 120, plane 850 km/h), with 45 minutes of ground time added to any flight.

Distances are between each city's tabulated centre point, so driving minutes are an order-of-magnitude plan, not a route or a timetable: traffic, ferries and borders are not modelled.

Questions about Distance Calculator

How is the road distance estimated?

By multiplying the straight line by a detour factor: 1.28 under 500 km, 1.16 up to 3000 km, 1.09 beyond. Short hops wind around obstacles more than long-haul routes do.

Are the travel hours real schedules?

No. They are distance divided by fixed averages — car 90, train 120, plane 850 km/h — with 45 minutes of airport ground time added to flights.

Which cities can I choose?

The built-in city list, the same one the time zone tools use; anything else is out of scope.

Is the straight-line distance how planes actually fly?

It is the shortest great-circle route, which flights approach but rarely match: winds and air corridors push real routes longer.

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