Chasing the Longest Possible Sunset by Car: Science, Strategy, and the Real Limits
- Oct 27, 2025
- 2 min read
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Ever wondered if you could make a sunset last longer just by driving west? Turns out, there’s real science behind this classic road-trip daydream. If you define “sunset” as the few minutes between when the sun touches the horizon and when it disappears completely behind an unobstructed horizon—not a hill or building—then where and how you drive can make a surprisingly big difference. Most equatorial sunsets are over in just two minutes, but move further north and you’ll stretch those lingering golden rays to nearly five. But can you dramatically extend a sunset from the driver’s seat if you stick to paved roads and obey the speed limit?
Starting with basics: at the poles, the Earth’s rotation makes “keeping up with the sun” surprisingly easy. Theoretically, at either pole, a sunset can last for hours (or not happen at all during certain seasons), but paved roads are non-existent so car travel there is out. The farthest north you can really road-trip is Svalbard, Norway. Up there, the longest recorded sunset by car is just under one hour because roads are so short you can’t actually keep pace with the sun’s descent—your wheels just won’t let you.
Driving west elsewhere on Earth sounds promising, but you’d need to hit speeds more akin to a jet than a sedan—roughly half the speed of sound in Norway—just to match the sun’s apparent movement. Instead, the real sunset-extending trick is counterintuitive: pick a spot above the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia on a day when the sun barely dips below the horizon. Park your car until the sun first kisses the horizon, then drive north to stay just ahead of the daylight line as long as possible, and finally, u-turn and head south into night. This strategy—on the right roads—can get you about 95 glorious minutes of sunset, nearly 40 minutes longer than the best Norway can offer if you only drive west.
