JoseFitani
✈️ Travel Planning

Travel Time Calculator

Estimate travel time between any two points for walking, cycling, driving, train and air travel.

This page explains how the travel time calculator works, the data and formulas behind it, and how to interpret the result. Average speeds are empirical guidelines: walking 5 km/h, cycling 18 km/h, city driving 30 km/h, highway driving 90 km/h, train 120 km/h, airplane 800 km/h. These values are accurate to within about 20% for typical trips. The tool is one of 329 free, open tools on JoseFitani for maps and geography. It runs in your browser with no sign-up needed. Use the search field or click the map to drop a pin - the tool uses great-circle distance divided by mode-specific average speeds and returns the result in seconds. Below you'll find a step-by-step guide, real use cases, the methodology, FAQs, and data sources.

Important notice

Travel times are estimates only and do not account for traffic, delays, or unexpected stops. Check official schedules and live traffic information before traveling.

Duration
1 h 7 min
Distance
100 km
62.1 mi
Average speed
90 km/h

How to use this tool

1
Enter your input

Type your query, paste coordinates, or click on the map. The tool uses great-circle distance divided by mode-specific average speeds to process your input locally in the browser.

2
View the result

The result appears instantly with the map showing your location. You can adjust by clicking elsewhere or searching a new place.

3
Copy or share

Click Copy to save to clipboard, or Share to send a direct link with the exact inputs.

What people use this tool for

Picking transport for a weekend trip

Travellers deciding between walking, cycling, driving, or the train for a day trip need all the options side by side. Seeing each mode's time on the same distance makes the trade-off explicit: the cheapest option that still fits the schedule usually wins.

Example: A student in Madrid compares walking, cycling, driving, and train times to Toledo and picks the train, which is only slightly pricier than driving but far faster.
Working backwards from a flight

Air travellers need to know when to leave for the airport, which means converting the drive into a departure time and adding buffers. Starting from the flight time and subtracting the journey plus check-in and security margins gives a leave-by time you can trust.

Example: A traveller in Chicago estimates 45 minutes driving to O'Hare, adds two hours for check-in and security, and sets a 6:30 AM departure for a 9:00 AM flight.
Promising realistic delivery windows

Small delivery businesses need to quote arrival times they can actually meet across town. Comparing cycle-courier and motorbike times for typical jobs lets them promise windows with slack built in instead of guessing and disappointing customers.

Example: A bakery in Nairobi compares bicycle and motorbike times for crosstown deliveries and sets its delivery promise on the slower figure plus a 15-minute buffer.
Fitting the school run into mornings

Parents juggling the morning routine need to know whether the school trip fits on foot or requires the car. A concrete walking-versus-driving comparison shows how much of the morning each option consumes, which settles the daily logistics argument.

Example: Parents in Sydney compare walking and driving times to school and conclude the 20-minute walk fits the routine on days without after-school activities.

How it's calculated

Travel time equals distance divided by average speed. Default speeds: walking 5 km/h, cycling 18 km/h, city driving 30 km/h, highway 90 km/h, train 120 km/h, airplane 800 km/h.

The calculation runs in your browser - no data is sent to our servers. Map tiles come from OpenStreetMap (ODbL license), geocoding uses Nominatim (1 request/second limit), and elevation uses the Open-Elevation API backed by SRTM data. All are free, open services.

All calculations use the WGS84 datum (EPSG:4326), the same as GPS. For other datums (NAD27, NAD83, ETRS89), a separate conversion is needed. The difference is typically under 1 metre - negligible for most uses but important for survey-grade work.

The formulas match those in professional GIS software (QGIS, ArcGIS, Global Mapper), just in a browser-friendly form. For sub-metre accuracy, use professional software with ellipsoidal calculations. Results are shown in multiple units: km and miles for distance, km²/m²/hectares/acres for area, metres and feet for elevation. Conversion factors are exact (1 mile = 1.609344 km), so the only error source is input precision.

Related tools and resources

For more tools in this category, explore the related tools listed below. Each tool includes full documentation, examples and FAQs. Explore related tools in our Travel category for complementary functionality. See the Tools index for all 329 tools, or read our blog for in-depth articles on geography and maps.

Frequently asked questions

Does this include stops?

No - add buffer time for stops, transfers and check-in.

What speeds does the calculator use for each mode?

It uses planning averages: walking 5 km/h, cycling 18 km/h, city driving 30 km/h, highway driving 90 km/h, train 120 km/h, and plane 800 km/h. These are deliberately middle-of-the-road figures. Your real speeds will vary with fitness, traffic, and the specific service, so treat outputs as estimates.

Why is city driving assumed to be only 30 km/h?

Because the average includes everything that slows a car down in town: traffic lights, congestion, junctions, and hunting for parking. A car's speedometer may show 50 km/h between lights, but the door-to-door average is far lower. In free-flowing traffic at quiet hours you will comfortably beat the estimate.

Does the train time include station waiting?

No. The train figure assumes continuous travel at 120 km/h and covers only the moving portion of the journey. Real trips add getting to the station, waiting for departure, interchanges, and slower regional sections. Add those separately for a fair door-to-door comparison with driving.

Does the plane time include airport formalities?

No, it covers airborne time only. Check-in, security, boarding, and baggage reclaim typically add 1.5 to 3 hours to a journey, more for international flights. For honest comparisons with trains, always add the airport overhead to the flight time.

Can I compare all transport modes at once?

Yes. Enter the distance once and read off the estimated time for each mode side by side. That single view is the point of the tool: it exposes at a glance whether the train beats the car, or whether cycling is nearly as fast as driving for a short urban hop.

Why does the train come out faster than the car here?

At a 120 km/h average with no traffic lights, trains win on medium distances where cars are stuck at a 30 to 90 km/h average. But the comparison is only fair door-to-door: add your travel time to and from the stations at both ends before declaring the train the winner.

Does the travel-time calculator need the internet?

Only if you search for place names to derive the distance. The time arithmetic for every transport mode runs locally in your browser. If you already know the distance, just enter it directly with no connection needed.

When would driving beat the train?

On short trips where getting to and from stations eats up the train's speed advantage, on routes served only by slow stopping trains, and where highways are fast and direct. Driving also wins when you are travelling as a group and splitting fuel costs, or carrying lots of luggage.

Data sources & methodology