Some spots on the map look far apart. But when you actually check the miles between them, it’s often just the water between them & the idea of crossing borders that makes these short distances seem farther. Here are ten of these places. Which of these would you have thought was much farther?
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Dover to Calais
People talk about crossing the English Channel like it’s a huge trek. However, it’s really just about 20 miles from England’s white cliffs to France’s gray ones, and on a clear morning, you can literally see trucks moving on the French coast. The ferry takes about an hour & a half. As such, you could be in another country before your coffee cools.
Spain to Morocco
Most maps make it look like Europe & Africa are worlds apart. Yet at the Strait of Gibraltar, they’re only around 8 miles apart, and you can take a ferry from Tarifa, Spain, to Tangier in about an hour. Some people even claim you can spot the Moroccan mountains on a clear day. It’s that close.
Key West to Cuba
The distance from Key West to Havana is about 90 miles south. While that sounds like a lot, it’s almost the same distance as driving from Miami to West Palm Beach. That’s approximately an hour’s flight. Essentially, that means you could do a day trip to Cuba from Florida.
Detroit and Windsor
Downtown Detroit looks like a whole different world from across the river, but Canada’s Windsor is barely a mile away. The tunnel connecting them runs just over 5,000 feet. It’s so short that if it were straight, you could jog it in ten minutes. The distance between the two skylines covers one river & a border that’s more mental than physical.
Staten Island and Manhattan
Sure, the ferry between Staten Island and Manhattan feels like you’re going on a mini escape. But it’s only about five miles from one dock to the other. The trip lasts roughly 25 minutes, which is just long enough for any commuters to take skyline photos & pretend they’re on a cruise. It’s free, too, which could be why it feels like a mini adventure.
Seattle to Bainbridge Island
Puget Sound makes everything look far, even though Bainbridge is practically in Seattle’s backyard. The ferry ride takes around 35 minutes from end to end. As soon as you leave the downtown skyline behind and eat a snack, you’ll soon be rolling off the boat into pine trees & coffee shops.
San Francisco to Oakland
For some reason, people still treat the East Bay like it’s hours away, despite the reality being that the Bay Bridge stretches about 8 miles. Ferries can make it across there in about 15–25 minutes. You could grab lunch in Oakland & be back in San Francisco before your parking meter expires.
Niagara Falls, NY to Canada
You can quite literally walk from the U.S. to Canada over the Rainbow Bridge in a couple of minutes. It’s approximately 1,450 feet long & is about 200 feet above the water. Most tourists stop halfway for selfies because they’re standing in two countries at once, although the journey itself is less of a trip abroad and more like walking down a long sidewalk.
Miami to Bimini
Whenever people talk about a Bahamas getaway from Florida, you probably imagine a long flight. However, Bimini’s barely 50 nautical miles from Florida. A fast ferry gets you there in about two hours, and it’s so close that on calm days, some people take private boats & make it before lunch.
Alaska and Russia
People picture Alaska as way off on its own. Yet Russia is practically right across the water. The Bering Strait narrows to about 55 miles, and between the two Diomede Islands, the gap shrinks to just 2.4 miles. Some locals in western Alaska joke that they can see tomorrow because Russia is across the International Date Line & visible on clear days.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
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