Introduction
This free travel distance calculator tells you how far it is between any two places in the world. Just type in where you start and where you want to go, and the tool does the rest. It gives you the straight-line distance and the road distance in miles, kilometers, nautical miles, feet, and meters.
You can pick from three travel modes: driving, walking, or cycling. Each gives an estimated travel time over the same driving-route distance, at that mode's average speed. The calculator also shows a route map, an elevation profile, the compass bearing from start to end, and the geographic midpoint between both locations.
Every result includes a step-by-step breakdown of the math behind it. The tool uses the haversine formula, which measures the shortest path over the curved surface of the Earth. This makes it useful for students, travelers, pilots, and anyone who needs to calculate distance between two cities, airports, landmarks, or addresses quickly and accurately.
How to Use Our Travel Distance Calculator
Enter two locations below to find the straight-line distance, road distance, travel time, bearing, midpoint, and elevation between them. The calculator also shows a route map and a step-by-step breakdown of how the distance is found.
Transport Mode: Pick how you plan to travel. Choose Driving, Walking, or Cycling. This changes the estimated travel time. The distance is the driving route for every mode, so walking and cycling times do not follow footpaths or cycle routes.
From (Origin): Type the place where your trip starts. You can enter a city and state, a street address, a ZIP code, an airport code, or a landmark. A list of suggestions will appear as you type. Click one or press Enter to select it.
To (Destination): Type the place where your trip ends. Just like the origin field, you can use a city name, address, ZIP code, airport code, or landmark. Pick a suggestion from the list or press Enter.
Swap: Click the Swap button to switch your origin and destination with one click.
Calculate Distance: Press the Calculate Distance button to see your results. The tool will show distances in miles, kilometers, nautical miles, feet, and meters for both the straight-line path and the road route. You will also see estimated travel time, compass bearing, geographic midpoint, an interactive route map, and an elevation profile chart.
How to Calculate the Distance Between Two Places
A travel distance calculator helps you find how far apart two locations are. You can use it to measure the distance between cities, airports, landmarks, or any two points on Earth. It gives you results in miles, kilometers, nautical miles, feet, and meters so you can pick the unit that works best for you.
Straight-Line Distance vs. Road Distance
There are two main ways to measure distance between two places. Straight-line distance (also called "as the crow flies") is the shortest path between two points on the globe. It follows the curve of the Earth in a line called a great circle, the shortest distance along the surface between two points.1 Our flight time calculator relies on the same great-circle math to estimate airborne duration. Road distance here is the length of the driving route, and the walking and cycling times use that same distance. Until the routing service answers, the road distance shown is the straight-line distance multiplied by 1.3. Road distance is always longer than straight-line distance because roads curve, turn, and go around obstacles like mountains and lakes.
The Haversine Formula
To find the straight-line distance between two places, this calculator uses the haversine formula. This math formula takes the latitude and longitude of each location and calculates the distance along the surface of a sphere. It is a formula of spherical trigonometry.1 Earth is not a perfect sphere, but the haversine formula is accurate enough for almost all everyday uses. The formula also calculates a geographic midpoint between your two locations, which can be useful for finding a meeting spot halfway between two cities.
Bearing and Direction
Along with distance, it helps to know the bearing, the compass direction you would face when heading from one place to the other. Bearing is measured in degrees from 0° to 360°, where 0° is due north, 90° is east, 180° is south, and 270° is west. Knowing the bearing tells you which general direction your destination is from your starting point. Pilots also factor in wind when navigating headings, which is where a crosswind calculator becomes essential for safe flight planning.
Estimated Travel Time
Travel time depends on your mode of transport. A car on a highway moves much faster than a person walking or riding a bike. Driving time comes from the routing service when it answers, or from an average of 80 km/h (about 50 mph) when it does not. Walking time uses 5 km/h (about 3 mph) and cycling time uses 16 km/h (about 10 mph). Real travel time can be longer due to traffic, weather, road conditions, or rest stops.
Why Distance Calculations Matter
Knowing the distance between two places is useful for planning road trips, estimating fuel costs, booking flights, or simply satisfying your curiosity. Air and sea travel measure distance in nautical miles.2 Trucking and shipping companies use road distance to price deliveries. Even hikers and cyclists use distance and elevation data to plan safe, enjoyable routes.