Madrid to Faro distance

Madrid to Faro by road

The fastest driving route is 722 km (449 mi) long and takes about 7 hr 50 min without stops or traffic. It runs mostly on the A-5 (332 km), the A-66 (181 km), and the A-49 (133 km).

Of the 722 km, 662 km are in Spain and 59.9 km are in Portugal. That’s an average of 92 km/h (57 mph). Spain’s traffic authority (DGT) recommends a break every two hours or 200 km: with 3 stops of 20 minutes, the trip takes about 8 hr 50 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, Madrid and Faro are 527 km (328 mi) apart. That’s the geodesic on the WGS84 ellipsoid, the distance “as the crow flies”.

The road is 37% longer: for every 100 km in a straight line you drive 137. That’s a big detour: the fastest route strays quite far from the straight line. Of the 34 Spain–Europe driving pairs in this series, it ranks 10th for detour (the average is 31%).

From Madrid, Faro lies to the southwest (bearing 226°), and from Faro, Madrid lies to the northeast. The straight line reaches Faro on a bearing of 223°: on a sphere the bearing keeps changing along the way, which is why the shortest route looks slightly curved on a flat map.

Halfway between Madrid and Faro

Halfway along the straight line, 264 km (164 mi) from each city, is the point 38.7383° N, 5.8598° W. It falls near Valle de la Serena (Badajoz, pop. 1,075), 6.6 km away. The nearest town of 20,000 people or more is Don Benito (Badajoz, pop. 37,986), 24.0 km away.

By road, the halfway point is 361 km (224 mi) from each city, in Torremejía (Badajoz, pop. 2,238). The nearest town of 20,000 people or more is Almendralejo (Badajoz, pop. 34,587), 10.6 km away. The two midpoints are 45.6 km apart: if you want to meet halfway, the one on the road is the useful one.

Time difference and flight

Faro is 1 hour behind Madrid all year (Western European Time versus Central European Time): when it’s 12:00 in Madrid, it’s 11:00 in Faro.

A direct flight would take about 1 hr 10 min. That’s an estimate: 30 minutes for takeoff, climb, descent and landing, plus the 527 km straight line at 800 km/h (about 497 mph), a typical airliner cruising speed. Real schedules depend on wind, routing and airports, and not every pair has a direct flight.

The two cities

Madrid has 3.5 million people (INE population register, January 1, 2025) and Faro 70,347 people (GeoNames).