Minecraft worlds span millions of blocks. And while you’re unlikely to cover those distances, you’ve probably explored or even built a few thousand blocks in every direction. That’s why moving quickly is important to get from A to B and to discover many different corners of your world. But what’s actually the single fastest way to travel? Today we’re looking at the ten best options, some easier and others much more demanding. And remember that in the Nether you can travel even faster to connect the different stations across your map.
10. Riding a camel: fast and safe over land
Camels may seem slow at first glance, but they can cover 8 blocks per second. They also have a forward dash, perfect for crossing ravines or rivers. Dromedaries can carry two players at once and protect you from attacks by monsters. Camels are a great choice if you want to travel over land and enjoy the view.
9. Minecart on powered rail: rail transport in Minecraft
Minecarts are Minecraft’s oldest means of transport and are by no means the fastest way to get around any more. Still, they can be fun to experiment with. We looked at them in our item transport guide (Minecraft: Item transport systems with and without Redstone) . Amusingly, a minecart on powered rails is as fast as a camel, i.e. 8 blocks per second. However, the setup with all the rails and Redstone eats more resources, so it’s not always worth it.
8. Boots with Soul Speed: pace on soul sand
Soul Speed is an enchantment you can only find in bastions in the Nether or obtain by bartering with piglins. It comes in three levels, with level 3 giving you a speed of just over 9 blocks per second. You need to run over soul sand or soul soil for it to work. Your boots will lose durability constantly while you run, so they won’t last forever and can break on the way. With Unbreaking 3 on netherite boots you could run more than 17,000 blocks, which is a decent distance.
7. Sprint-jumping in a 2-block tunnel: faster mining highway
Your own legs can carry you far if you set things up right. You may have noticed some players combine sprinting with jumping. That’s already a bit faster than plain sprinting. It gets better when your jump is clipped by a 2-block ceiling. So if you sprint and jump in a corridor with a 2-block ceiling height, you can reach up to 9.7 blocks per second. This is especially worthwhile in mine shafts you’ve dug out. With ice underfoot you can go even faster.
6. Breeding the fastest horse: up to 14 blocks per second
Horses in Minecraft can have different attributes. Their health, jump height and speed vary. So not every horse is equally fast, which makes finding and breeding different horses a great side activity. The average speed of a horse is 9.5 blocks per second, but with some luck and a few attempts you can get one that can cover more than 14 blocks per second. These horses are highly sought after and a brilliant way to travel long distances.
5. Throwing ender pearls properly: teleport tricks
Ender pearls are often forgotten as a means of transport, yet they can save you from tight spots or make tricky terrain easier to cross. How fast they are depends on how you throw the pearl. They always teleport you to the block where the pearl lands. The best technique is to throw the pearl 15 degrees above the horizon. You can read this value on the F3 debug screen if you like. With perfect execution you can cover around 23 blocks per second.
4. Boat on ice and blue ice: the fastest Overworld highway
Boats have gone from one of the most annoying to one of the best transport methods in Minecraft. After their controls were reworked, they’re now extremely practical and can be used not only on water. Normally, they’re as fast as camels and minecarts, i.e. 8 blocks per second. Their true potential appears on ice. Use ice or packed ice to make your boat faster and cover long distances. This lets you reach up to 40 blocks per second. Faster still is blue ice, with which you can hit over 72 blocks per second. This method is popular for Nether highways; you can read more in our article (How to Build a Nether Hub: Travel Faster in the Minecraft World) .
3. Perfect flight with the Elytra: rockets and the dive
For many players, the Elytra is the best way to travel, as it’s very practical and lets you fly over long distances. Combined with firework rockets you can cover about 33 blocks per second. Elytra flight is gliding. You become faster when you fly downwards. You can use this mechanic to build speed. The best angle is a 90-degree dive, which lets you reach up to 78 blocks per second.
2. Swimming with dolphins and enchantments: underwater tunnel
Underwater you can go even faster. Several effects stack to make you extremely quick. Putting everything together, you can reach up to 144 blocks per second here. Underwater tunnels are therefore a viable method of travel, though the setup is much more demanding.
The mechanics include:
- Dolphin’s Grace
- the Depth Strider III enchantment
- the Soul Speed III enchantment plus a layer of soul soil
- a Potion of Swiftness
1. Elytra + trident with Riptide: record speed in the rain
By far the fastest way to travel is combining an Elytra with a trident enchanted with Riptide III. You can’t always use it, because it has to be raining. When it is raining and you’ve met these requirements, you’ll cover more than 300 blocks per second. The speed can increase further, but at high values the game often can’t keep up. Use this technique with care, especially on weaker PCs.
Conclusion: The fastest ways to travel in Minecraft
Minecraft offers many methods to get from one place to another quickly. Whether animals like camels and horses or enchantments like Soul Speed and Riptide, the options are varied. It’s worth trying different choices to see what makes sense in your own world.
Play together with friends on your own Minecraft server, which you can rent from us right away. Then you can test these travel methods and race each other.
