# What is the furthest north, south, east and west you've ever been? (By Longitude please.) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 21, 2026, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-furthest-north-south-east-and-west-youve-ever-been-by-longitude-please/1028653 "2026-03-21T13:51:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-furthest-north-south-east-and-west-youve-ever-been-by-longitude-please/1028653/1 "2026-03-21T13:51:08Z")
We do this from time to time here on the ‘Dope, and it’s a slow day at work, so… **Furthest North:** London, England, UK 51°30’26” North. I’m not prepared to say what specific spot in London was the furthest north, so I just went with London generically. **Furthest South:** Some rainforest within half an hour’s drive on San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA 18°24’23” North. That’s the latitude Google gives me for San Juan generally and not the specific place where I went ziplining. **Furthest East:** Tokyo, Japan 139.7° East. Again, I don’t know specifically where in Tokyo. **Furthest West:** San Francisco, California, USA 122.4° West, I don’t know specifically where (doubtless Alcatraz Island). Note that being on a plane in the air doesn’t count, else much of this list would be “somewhere near the North Pole” for a lot of Dopers. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-furthest-north-south-east-and-west-youve-ever-been-by-longitude-please/1028653/2 "2026-03-21T13:54:05Z")
North-Niagara Falls South-Florida West-Utah East-NY City ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-furthest-north-south-east-and-west-youve-ever-been-by-longitude-please/1028653/3 "2026-03-21T14:01:55Z")
**North** : Eidfjord, Norway (69.5 N) **South** : Balneario Camboriu, Brazil (27.0 S) **East** : Narita Airport, Japan (140.4 E) **West** : Waimea, United States (159.7 W) ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-furthest-north-south-east-and-west-youve-ever-been-by-longitude-please/1028653/4 "2026-03-21T14:05:15Z")
East - Japan, but I went west to get there. West - Hawaii, if you don’t count being in a plane flying west towards Japan. South - the southern tip of Panama North - Seattle, I think? ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-furthest-north-south-east-and-west-youve-ever-been-by-longitude-please/1028653/5 "2026-03-21T14:13:51Z")
My first thought was “relative to what”? I forgot that you can actually use cardinal directions with lng/lat… so relative to [Null Island](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Null_Island), I guess? - North: Nome, Alaska - West: Nome, Alaska - East: Tokyo, Japan - South: Cape Town, South Africa ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-furthest-north-south-east-and-west-youve-ever-been-by-longitude-please/1028653/6 "2026-03-21T14:14:26Z")
**North:** Trondheim, Norway (64.4 N) **South:** Rotorua, NZ (-38.1 S) **East:** Rotorua, NZ (176.3 E) **West:** Kaua’i, HI (-159.6 W) ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-furthest-north-south-east-and-west-youve-ever-been-by-longitude-please/1028653/7 "2026-03-21T14:16:45Z")
Let’s see (I’m too lazy to look up the coordinates, but I’m quite sure about these places): North - The island of Rügen, belonging to Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany East - The Greek island of Rhodes, just short of the Turkish coast South - Hammamet, Tunisia West - The Canary island of Fuerteventura, belonging to Spain ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-furthest-north-south-east-and-west-youve-ever-been-by-longitude-please/1028653/8 "2026-03-21T14:19:51Z")
**West** : We sailed to just off the coast of Ethiopia but did not go ashore. It looks like Bangkok was the furthest west I was on land, Singapore & Pattaya Beach just behind it. **North** : It appears to be Lossiemouth, Scotland on my Honeymoon. We did 17 days driving around Scotland and staying at B&Bs. It the next few years we should get to Iceland. **East** : It looks like Toulouse, France edges out London and anywhere in Scotland. Hopefully in the next few years, the west coast of Italia. **South** : On land it looks like Singapore, at sea, somewhere in the Indian or Pacific Ocean. We sadly did not go to Australia. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-furthest-north-south-east-and-west-youve-ever-been-by-longitude-please/1028653/9 "2026-03-21T14:27:53Z")
**North**. Scottish Highlands, probably Loch Ness **South**. Cancun Mexico **East**. Seoul Korea **West**. San Francisco CA ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-furthest-north-south-east-and-west-youve-ever-been-by-longitude-please/1028653/10 "2026-03-21T14:30:11Z")
Are you using a different Prime Meridian from the rest of us? According to my map, Toulouse is west of Singapore and Bangkok. Also, Ethiopia is land-locked, therefore has no coast. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-furthest-north-south-east-and-west-youve-ever-been-by-longitude-please/1028653/11 "2026-03-21T14:30:50Z")
South: 10.23 N near Tamarindo, Costa Rica North: 64.94 N, just above Fairbanks Alaska East: 6.58 E, Aalten, Netherlands West: -150.12 W, Talkeetna, Alaska ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-furthest-north-south-east-and-west-youve-ever-been-by-longitude-please/1028653/12 "2026-03-21T14:34:49Z")
I was going by the direction we took to travel. As to Ethiopia, it was not land-locked when I was on West Pac. Eritrea broke off in 1993. No idea what port we where going to. I was in for the part of the 80s. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-furthest-north-south-east-and-west-youve-ever-been-by-longitude-please/1028653/13 "2026-03-21T14:39:17Z")
I see. I think the OP was asking for the most extreme lats and longs according to the map, not distance traveled in a certain direction. What would yours be by that standard? ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-furthest-north-south-east-and-west-youve-ever-been-by-longitude-please/1028653/14 "2026-03-21T14:41:25Z")
From the US West Coast: North - Alta, Norway South - Quepos, Costa Rica West - Osaka, Japan East - St. Petersburg, Russia If we are dividing the globe at the International Date Line… East -Tokyo, Japan West - Oahu, Hawaii ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-furthest-north-south-east-and-west-youve-ever-been-by-longitude-please/1028653/15 "2026-03-21T14:43:33Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > What would yours be by that standard? I think you just have to exchange East and West in @What_Exit’s post, then you have it. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-furthest-north-south-east-and-west-youve-ever-been-by-longitude-please/1028653/16 "2026-03-21T14:45:26Z")
North: Sapporo, Japan East: Sapporo also appears to edge out Tokyo (without looking it up), as does Sendai South: Puerto Vallarta, Mexico West: West shore, maybe Waianae, Oahu, Hawaii ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-furthest-north-south-east-and-west-youve-ever-been-by-longitude-please/1028653/17 "2026-03-21T14:58:00Z")
Pretty far, but some just recently despite a long era spent traveling smaller ranges. - **N** : Last year I went on an arctic Norway cruise that was supposed to land as far north as Tromsø @~ +69.6 +18.9. For weather, we never made it that far north and instead turned back at Trondheim @~ +63.4 +10.4. At Tromsø we’d have broken the Arctic circle. At Trondheim we did not. Missed it by ~3 degrees. Arrgh! My previous record was a bit north of Anchorage Alaska @~ +61.6, -149.1 - **E** : Gisbourne New Zealand @~ -38.6 +178.0 - **S** : Until recently had been Christchurch New Zealand @~ -43.5 +172.6. But I just got back from Antarctica, so scored going ashore in Neko Harbor @~ -64.8 -62.6. Missed the Antarctic circle by ~3 degrees. Double Arrgh! - **W** : Kauai Hawaii @~ +22.0 -159.6. I’d also visited some islands in the western hemisphere South Pacific, but Hawaii is surprisingly farther west than they are. Other than touring North mainland Alaska and along the Aleutian islands I don’t think I can break my North, West, or East records. Could go to Tromsø by air or land to break the North record, but with Alaska being a three-fer that probably won’t happen. Getting farther South is gonna be tough too. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-furthest-north-south-east-and-west-youve-ever-been-by-longitude-please/1028653/18 "2026-03-21T15:01:35Z")
How arbitrary and senseless, but by that standard. Somewhere on Oahu, Hawaii let’s go with 21.58 by -158.16 **West** Sasebo, Japan is probably my **East** then. 33.16 by 129.73 narrowly beating out Busan, S. Korea 35.05 by 128.96 and Subic Bay, Philippines 14.80 by 120.28. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-furthest-north-south-east-and-west-youve-ever-been-by-longitude-please/1028653/19 "2026-03-21T15:01:45Z")
North: Somewhere in Ireland. Probably Knock, or so? South: Matamoros, Mexico East: The coast of Maine West: Somewhere in Washington State, near Seattle > [@commasense](#): > > I see. I think the OP was asking for the most extreme lats and longs according to the map, not distance traveled in a certain direction. What would yours be by that standard? If that’s the standard, and @What_Exit got to Ethiopia by going west, then he must have crossed the 180º longitude line at some point, which would therefore be both his easternmost and westernmost points. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-furthest-north-south-east-and-west-youve-ever-been-by-longitude-please/1028653/20 "2026-03-21T15:04:55Z")
Hmmm. IMO lat/longs seem the only sensible standard for the question as asked. “How far from home / birthplace have you been?” is an interesting question too, but is IMO a different question with a completely different emphasis. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-furthest-north-south-east-and-west-youve-ever-been-by-longitude-please/1028653.md?page=2)