Boston to Montreal distance

Boston to Montreal by road

The fastest driving route is 308 miles (495 km) long and takes about 6 hr 15 min without stops or traffic. It runs mostly on I-89 (191 mi), I-93 (61.5 mi), and Highway 35 (25.0 mi).

Of the 308 mi, 256 mi are in the United States and 48.9 mi are in Canada. That’s an average of 49 mph (79 km/h). AAA recommends a break every two hours or 100 miles: with 3 stops of 20 minutes, the trip takes about 7 hr 15 min. The time is OSRM’s estimate with OpenStreetMap data: no traffic and speeds somewhat below the limits, so real trips can differ.

Straight-line distance and bearing

In a straight line, the shortest distance over the Earth’s surface, Boston and Montreal are 251 miles (405 km) apart. That’s the geodesic on the WGS84 ellipsoid, the distance “as the crow flies”.

The road is 22% longer: for every 100 miles in a straight line you drive 122. That’s a normal detour between two cities. Of the 16 US–Canada and US–Mexico driving pairs in this series, it ranks 6th for detour (the average is 22%).

From Boston, Montreal lies to the northwest (bearing 331°), and from Montreal, Boston lies to the southeast.

Halfway between Boston and Montreal

Halfway along the straight line, 126 miles (202 km) from each city, is the point 43.9408° N, 72.2904° W. It falls near Fairlee (Vermont, pop. 54), 7.3 mi away.

By road, the halfway point is 154 miles (248 km) from each city, near Bethel (Vermont, pop. 521), 5.0 mi away. The two midpoints are 16.4 mi apart: if you want to meet halfway, the one on the road is the useful one.

Time zone and flight

Boston and Montreal share the same time all year: both are on Eastern Time.

No flight time is given: under 500 km (311 miles) in a straight line, time at the airport outweighs time in the air.

The two cities

Boston has 672,973 people (Census Bureau estimate for 2025) and Montreal 1.8 million people (GeoNames).