Murcia to Cartagena distance

Murcia to Cartagena by road

The fastest driving route is 53.7 km (33.4 mi) long and takes about 44 min without stops or traffic. It runs mostly on the A-30 (41.8 km) and the MU-33 (8.8 km).

The whole route stays in the Region of Murcia. That’s an average of 74 km/h (46 mph), and at under two hours you can do it without stopping. 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, Murcia and Cartagena are 44.3 km (27.6 mi) apart. That’s the geodesic on the WGS84 ellipsoid, the distance “as the crow flies”.

The road is 21% longer: for every 100 km in a straight line you drive 121. That’s a normal detour between two cities. Of the 120 Spanish driving pairs in this series, it ranks 72nd for detour (the average is 24%).

From Murcia, Cartagena lies to the south (bearing 163°), and from Cartagena, Murcia lies to the north.

Halfway between Murcia and Cartagena

Halfway along the straight line, 22.2 km (13.8 mi) from each city, is the point 37.7922° N, 1.0574° W. It falls near Torre Pacheco (Murcia, pop. 41,479), 10.7 km away.

By road, the halfway point is 26.8 km (16.7 mi) from each city, near Fuente Álamo de Murcia (Murcia, pop. 19,171), 10.7 km away. The nearest town of 20,000 people or more is Torre Pacheco (Murcia, pop. 41,479), 12.0 km away. The two midpoints almost coincide (1.9 km apart), because the road doesn’t stray far from the straight line.

The two cities

Murcia sits at 42 m (138 ft) and Cartagena at 5 m (16 ft), 37 m (121 ft) lower.

Murcia has 479,405 people and Cartagena 220,704 people (INE population register, January 1, 2025).