What is the longest overland route in a straight line?

Imagine you start driving from one location on earth in a straight line. What’s the longest route you could take?

You can drive over mountains and cross rivers, but your route can’t go through a lake, sea or ocean.

From China to Portugal

In 2017, a Canadian map enthusiast found an answer. He believed you could start in the West African country of Liberia and drive to China in a straight line. Your car journey would cover 13,500 kilometres through eighteen countries. But this route was disqualified after it was found to cross the Dead Sea.

One year later, two scientists created a computer program that could calculate the longest route over land (and over sea). Their longest route began in China and crossed Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, Czechia, Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, France and Spain, ending in south-west Portugal. Total length? 11,241 kilometres.

Almost eight days

But how long would it take you? If you drove 60 kilometres an hour the whole time, without taking a break, you’d be at the wheel for almost eight days.

But you’ll need to slow down on some legs of the journey. And, of course, it’s always wise to take a break and catch some sleep. So, be prepared for quite a long journey!

Answered by Jean-Paul Keulen