Iceland and Greenland are quite close: the shortest distance between their coasts is about 292 km (around 181 miles), while the distance between the central parts of the two lands is roughly 1,200 km (around 750 miles).

Basic distance overview

  • Closest point coastā€‘toā€‘coast: about 292 km / 181 miles.
  • Centerā€‘toā€‘center distance: about 1,211 km / 752 miles.
  • Flight time between the two (typical commercial jet): roughly 1 hour 20 minutesā€“1 hour 30 minutes.

Why ranges differ

  • ā€œHow far is Iceland from Greenlandā€ can mean:
    • Distance between the nearest coasts (the small gap in the North Atlantic).
* Distance between the **geographical centers** of each country, which is much larger.
  • Maps often make Greenland look much larger and farther due to projection distortion, but in reality the countries sit fairly close together in the North Atlantic.

Travel perspective

  • A small aircraft or boat crossing at the narrowest gap covers only a couple of hundred kilometers, similar to a short regional hop.
  • A regular air route between main population centers (for example, Icelandā€™s capital region toward western Greenland) is comparable in time to many short European flights.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.