How long does it take to cross your state or country?

[purplepoppy]

As a rough guide it takes 8-9hours to drive from the south coast of England to the Scottish border. It takes about 4 hours to drive from the south of Wales to the north and 2 hours to cross it east to west in the middle, a bit longer at the wider parts.
Scotland is roughly 6-7 hours top to bottom.

So forgetting distances, approximately how long would it take you to drive across your country or your state (assuming you stick to speed limits) and have you ever done it

Updates

+1 y

I'm surprised by how quickly people are saying you can cross America. I would have guessed a few weeks

[MrOracle]

I'm in California.

If I started in San Francisco, it would take around 4.5 hours (with no traffic) to reach Reno, Nevada (about 220 miles), and this is the narrowest portion of the state with an Interstate freeway (I-80) connecting major cities.

It would take 13 hours - assuming no traffic and averaging 70 MPH, with stops only for fuel - to drive from San Diego in the south (just north of Mexico) to the Oregon border on the north (roughly 820 miles), using Interstate 5, which is the fastest and most direct route.

For comparison, the state of California has roughly 65% more land mass than the entire UK.

California: 163,696 mi²

UK: 94,058 mi²

England: 50,301 mi²

Wales: 8,023 mi²

SF Bay Area: 6,900 mi²

The 9 counties that make up the San Francisco Bay Area

In order to not be slowed down by traffic, you'd need to pass through major metro areas between 10am-2pm, or between 7pm and 6am. Even with no traffic, it will take roughly 90 minutes to get through the Los Angeles area, so if you hit that area at 1pm, you won't have left the danger zone by 2pm, and you're going to be sitting in traffic for at least a portion of your transit of the area.

[MrOracle]

Re: your update: I've driven from the Bay Area to the East Coast in 4 days, but they were 12-14-hour days of driving, stopping only long enough to refuel and hit a DriveThru (we also had a cooler and made sandwiches). It's about 3000-3100 road miles to cross the country from east to west, so you need to do about 800 miles a day to get there in 4 days. That's pretty hard-core driving - most women aren't up for that, and neither are their bladders.

If you're only going to drive 8 hours a day, and you're going to stop every couple of hours for the bathroom and you're going to sit down in some restaurant to eat (which really means you're only driving about 6 hours a day), then you're going to need 8+ days to make the same trip.

[WindAtMyBack]

East-west in the US is at least four days of very hard driving. A week is a more comfortable pace, but still hard driving. If you actually want to take some breaks and see some things along the way, it can take two+ weeks.

I've driven across the most of the US dozens of times. The same thing happens every time. After driving for several hours it seems like I've been driving forever but I know I've barely started. It really gives you a good feel for just how big the country is, and in turn how big the world is.

I have not driven the entire length of the US in one trip, but I've driven 80-90% of it a bunch of times. My record is three days and it's hell driving that hard. I've done it in 3.5 days several times. Usually it's more like 5 days or longer.

North-south can be done in 1-2 days.

[WindAtMyBack]

"I'm surprised by how quickly people are saying you can cross America. I would have guessed a few weeks "

The Interstate system is pretty fast. If you average 65 MPH with stops, and drive 15 hours a day, you will cover 2925 miles in three days (4700 KM). That's most of the way across the US. 65 MPH is a pretty fast average. To do it you either have to be driving way over the speed limit, or be making almost no stops except to get gas.

A few weeks is a relaxed pace. That gives you time to stop and see/do a lot along the way. I've done road trips of 6-7 weeks, and that's long enough to make a round trip with lots of sight seeing.

By train, it takes 67 hours from Washington DC to LA. That includes 5-8 hours of layovers and several stops at cities along the way.

[Lost_in_the_Woods]

Texas is much bigger in person.

Virginia to Massachusetts took me like 8 hours today and that was with a 30 minute traffic jam.

VA to Florida takes like 11 hours but it helps that people in the south know how to drive.

But one day I woke up in Laredo and drove a full 11 hours on my 68mph speed limiter... and I was still in Texas. Just short of Texarkana.

[Lost_in_the_Woods]

CDL drivers are limited to 11 hours a day. 600 miles is pretty good with a 66mph limiter. 700 is a lot. 800+ is only possible if you can speed or you are in the middle of the county with a fast truck.

[Lost_in_the_Woods]

But shit, you can drive for 3 hours in NYC and still see the place you started.

[WindAtMyBack]

@Lost_in_the_Woods
Yea, Texas is pretty big. I've driven through most of Texas but have never driven across the entire state in one go.

I think the longest trip was from Texarkana, down to Austen, then west through the hill country to Big Bend, then on to N Mexico. I made a lot of stops along the way though, so I don't know how long the actual driving time was.

[WindAtMyBack]

@Lost_in_the_Woods
I avoid driving in NYC like the plague. Same goes for any big city for that matter. That's even more true when I'm hypnotized from many hours on the road and suddenly I have to deal with all that traffic.

I want to get through cities as fast as I can, but they often have speed traps.

[Anonymous]

From NSW to Queensland first trip took around 10 hours

2nd trip took around 11 to 12 hours due to car sickness from the little boy. He had never experienced car sickness before but this one trip he did.

From NSW to Western Australia or from NSW to Northern Territory, it would probably take about 2 to 3 days.

From NSW to Canberra about 4 hours depending on where in NSW you live.

[melanieeeB]

Ehm the state... the shortes I know is like 20-25 min

The county, well vertically I guess like 11 hours?
I know it takes around 8 hours up to Hamburg (additional 1-2 hours until the border i guess) and 2 hours down to Switzerland from where I live
And horizontal maybe 5 hours? It takes 1 h to France and 4 h to Austria

[Lliam]

From the southern to the northern border of California it's about 15 or 16 hours.
From the coast to the eastern border of California, it's maybe 4 hours.
All this depends on your chosen route and traffic conditions.
In reality, it has taken me 10 hours to drive from the state Capital, Sacramento, in central California, to Los Angeles before when traffic was bad. But it's usually about 7 or 8 hours.

[bean2k21]

Dare County, NC is the eastern-most part of the state and was named for the first British dog that was born in the U. S. From there to Cherokee country in the Appalachian mountains is 550 miles and would take me about 2 weeks on horseback, although I would probably be killed when I got there.

[Vegasrunner]

Probably About 8 hours to cross the state from South to North. The Americans that you're referring to are East Coasters who live in much smaller states. It takes close to 15 Hours to drive through all of California and Proably another 6 each to drive south to North through Oregon and Washington.

[TroyDT]

All by car:

I've driven solo from New London, Connecticut on the Atlantic to my house in Newport Beach on the Pacific in under three days.

From here to the Arizona border is about 3.5 hours.

From here to the Mexican border is under two hours without traffic.

From here to the Oregon border is about 14 hours.

From here to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada takes around 22 hours if I follow the speed limit.

[godfatherfan]

If you start at the bottom of Michigan, drive straight up I75 to the Mackinac Bridge, then across the UP to Wisconsin, it would take you 9-11 hours. It is about a 6-7 hr drive through the lower peninsula, and 3 or 4 hrs across the UP. But that is mostly due to crappy roads up there.

[SaoirseS]

I live on the Easternmost side of the state (Kansas), and it takes me six hours to drive to the far western side and into Colorado. Oklahoma is about four hours to the South. Two hours to the north is the corner of Iowa and Nebraska.

[xJeremyx]

By driving, you could probably cross Singapore (not including its' surrounding islands) from East to West within two hours. By public transport, within 3 hours.

Its shorter from North to South.

Yes, Singapore is just that small.

[Texaskid1]

You can cross the US from New York to California in maybe 4 days or less but only if you are go on very little sleep and lots of coffee. I would not recommend it though.

I have driven from El Paso, TX to Houston and that was about 15 hours - but I was in a truck so those are slower.

[Redstang88]

For the province you’re looking at about 10 hours east-west not counting the island, south-north is well over 20. Crossing the country is like 70-80 hours if you truly go coast to coast. And going all the way north is impossible, roads only go about halfway

[KostasKouvalis]

Theoretically, assuming you didn't stop for food or sleep, and didn't experience any traffic delays, you could make it from Los Angeles to New York in just under 48 hours.

However, considering you'd most likely need to stop for food, gas, restroom and sleep and also taking into account traffic delays, 3 days minimum is a more realistic number.

[KostasKouvalis]

Update: did you read my rationale? We have an extensive highway network, hun and most of our country is flat

[AviatorTom]

Across the widest part of my US state takes about 4 hours, across the entire country (say, Boston to Los Angeles) would take about 3 days, assuming minimal rest stops.

[Jamesshinobi]

i was born in Hartford connecticut USA. it takes 2 hours tops to cross that state. my parents divorced and i was raised 1 block outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA. it take 12 hours to drive across Pennsylvannia and 4 hours to drive to my brothers that still live in Connecticut. i moved to Houston Texas, USA. it takes 18 hours to cross the state and 24 hours to drive to my home in Philadelpia Pennsylvania and 2 days and 4 hours to drive to my brothers.

[jennifer_bloom]

There is a border crossing less than 2 hours away by car but sometimes they block you from passing

[Anonymous]

From where I went to film school in Nacogdoches, Tx (central E Texas) to El Paso (westernmost point in Tx) it's 12 hrs. Ironically enough it's only another 12 to get to the ocean in LA, California, 3 states away.

[CaptainOverthink]

Sweden by car, non-stop driving.
North - south:
~11 hours.
East - West:
~4 hours.

[Pudsmucker]

From New York City to Los Angeles takes 40 hours of driving time by automobile. 6 hours of flying Non-Stop. From Mexico to the Canadian border is approximately 40 hours of driving time.

[goaded]

7 hours east-west (729km) which is an average of over 100km/h (62mph) 10 hours north-south (1,032km), ditto.

I expect that's reasonable car speeds, there will be sections without any speed limit.

[Zolly99999]

Where I live in Canada it take 4 hours from my house to the border of Quebec and 24 hours to the border of Manitoba. To drive from ocean to ocean in Canada would take about a week.

[20yearsolder]

45 hours from the East Coast to the west coast of the United States

[andreasderjuengere]

I run my own country.

To cross it, it takes half a minute if I walk.

[Nintendo-64]

About 20 hours.

[Havthrills]

State, about 2 hours. The state that I grew up in, it took 14 hours to drive across.

[Havthrills]

Driving straight through USA while switching drivers, took us about 40 hours. But that's about 4 hours from the coasts. Driving alone, having to stop for sleep, will take 3 or 4 days depending on the driver.

[msc545]

California - about 16 hours from San Diego to the Oregon border

About 10 hours from Nevada to the coast in the West.

[Anonymous]

To cross the US, it would take 45 hours, or six 8-hour days.

To cross my state, Texas, alone, it would take 14 to 16 hours.

[exitseven]

It takes me 3 hours to drive across the state and probably 3 days to drive across the country

[exitseven]

RE:Update. I drove non stop halfway across the country. I did it in 30 hours so 60 hours to do the whole thing but I doubt i could stay awake that long.

[Fromdusktilldawn]

I live in Luxembourg lol, so between 1h-1h20min

[zagor]

From where I live near the coast, it takes about 3 hours to get to Mexico, probably 16 to get to Canada, and at least 3 days to get to the East Coast.

[Iron_Man]

About close to 12 hours driving until we get to Georgia

[shortster]

Driving it takes about 4 hours to cross my state. Never driven from one end of the country to the other. But I think that it is about 48 hours nonstop to cross east to west; and about 24 hours north to south.

[FunkyMonkee]

It depends on your mode of transport. Driving, to go from the bottom to the top, nearly 3 hours, from end to end, just over 6 hours.

[TacosRAwesome]

Technically could cross from south most point to north most point in about 45 minutes but realistically it's closer to 2hrs.

[MikeInHawaii]

It took five days to drive from Frederick, Maryland to Anchorage, Alaska, and that was driving 16 hours a day and hauling.

[Indiana123]

I don't know for sure but by car and through the middle it would take about 1/1,5 week at least but i could be wrong. (Byron bay - steep point western Australia)

[AngelOfLight258]

Ooh I gotta visit Australia soon but it's such a big country. It's so hard to figure out what parts I want to see.

[Indiana123]

@AngelOfLight258 Take at least like 4 weeks to see the east coast. There is much more to see but you'd need a 4wd and more time to explore the remote areas of the Australia. The size and remoteness of the outback is a spectacular experience.

[JaxiCats]

Depends are we going vertically, horizontally or diagonally?

[Dargil]

State: 5.5 hours by car.

Country: 1 day 17 hours by car

[AndrésC64]

It would take about 3 hours to drive across my state, Michigan, and about 6 and 1/2 hours to drive north to south.

[genericname85]

state: 2hours.

country: 6 hours east to west, 10 hours north to south.

[driven159]

going from north to south about ten of more hours east to west maybe 3 to 6 hours depends what part you are crossing

[MrTaboo]

From Maine to San Diego California 2 days 2 hours.

But from Key west Florida to Prudhoe Bay Alaska, 90 hr.

[Filthy_Immigrant]

probably half an hour. I live in the smallest state in the US

[boobliker]

on foot 3 to 4 days but by car maybe two and a half hours at 90mph

[joeldalton]

My state... probably 3-4 hours. The country - quite a bit.

[Blueeyes81]

My state about 10 hours east to west. 4 hours north to south.

[Jamie05rhs]

Anywhere from 2 hours to 9 hours, depending on where you cross.

[kellytheman]

I have head 4 hours vertically or 6 hours horizontally.

[CuriousMufuxka]

About an hour. 45 mins the way I drive though.

[nawtee_me]

East to west across my state is about 4 hours and north to south maybe 8 hours.

[dailyoctopus94]

State? About eight hours east-west, six hours north-south. Country? About five days alone.

[Agape93]

Depends on how you go about it. 5 to 8 hours

[Andres77]

Four full days of 16 hour driving

[Andres77]

@purplepoppy
We have a really good highway system.
Miami to Minnesota is 36 hours.
Another 36 hours to Washington state.
Just add break times. Or alternate drivers and go non stop

[Wise4myage]

State, a few hours.
Country, four days.

[Anonymous]

I’m from South Wales too so what you said lmao

[legalboxers]

20 mins in all directions

[Phoenix98]

Roughly 17 hours to drive across my state.

[Anonymous]

Around 40 hours, I have been told.

[Likes2drive]

Took me around 4 days, it’s 3,000 miles across

[Likes2drive]

It’s 48 hours if I don’t stop driving but I stopped every 12 hours

[EaterPeter]

24 - 48 hours of continues driving 🚗

[justFriend]

Im from Türkiye. About 19 hours :)

[andreasderjuengere]

The Russian air force will only need 20 minutes :D

[justFriend]

@andreasderjuengere yes i know killer russia? what are you doing in Ukraine?

[andreasderjuengere]

Me? I'm not close at all - and I can't like what's going on there... on both sides.

[justFriend]

@andreasderjuengere oo good for you.. people is die

[andreasderjuengere]

... and I feel disgusted about it. Believe me. We all only want a home, people who love us, and some food. There's REALLY no need to kill each other because of the question which flags are flying around my home place.

[justFriend]

@andreasderjuengere Im Turk. i think people is not bad. politicians is bad.. Because nobody want to war for money or land.. am i right?

[andreasderjuengere]

I think like you think, I guess. Myself, I live in a country far away from where I was born. The people around me are just... people. It does not matter what passport they have. Many of them are nice - a few aren't.

[justFriend]

@andreasderjuengere yes we are right:)

[jimmy2]

more like 20 in Texas

[eagle1951]

probably 3 maybe 4 hours east to west