Opposite Side Of The World
The opposite side of the world is the location directly across the Earth from a given place, passing through the planet’s centre. In geography, this point is known as the antipode. Enter any city or location below to instantly find what lies on the opposite side of the world — including the antipodal coordinates, hemisphere, and nearby land or ocean. Results are calculated using precise geographic formulas and displayed instantly.
What's on the Opposite Side of the World?
Type any city and see what sits on the exact opposite side of the Earth — the point you'd surface at if you dug straight down through the planet's core.
Antipodal coordinates
Straight through the Earth
12,742 kmThe full diameter of the planet — crust, mantle and core — lies between these two points.Across the surface
~20,015 kmHalf of Earth's circumference. Your antipode is the farthest anywhere can possibly be from you.Local time there
Seasons
What's down there
What does "the opposite side of the world" actually mean?
The exact opposite point on Earth from any location is called its antipode — the place you would reach if you drilled a perfectly straight tunnel down through the planet's core and out the other side. Mathematically it's simple: flip the latitude to the other hemisphere, and shift the longitude by 180°. London at 51.5°N 0.1°W has its antipode at 51.5°S 179.9°E, in the Southern Ocean near New Zealand's aptly named Antipodes Islands.
Your antipode is, by definition, the farthest place on Earth from where you're standing — about 20,015 km across the surface, or 12,742 km straight through the middle. No destination can be further. Whichever direction you flew, you couldn't get further away.
No, you wouldn't dig to China
The most famous "opposite side of the world" belief is also wrong. From almost anywhere in the United States or Europe, digging straight down lands you in the Indian Ocean, not China. China's true antipodes lie in South America — Beijing sits nearly opposite Argentina's Bahía Blanca, and Shanghai close to opposite Buenos Aires. The "dig to China" myth survives because it's charming, not because it's true.
In fact, most digging ends wet. Earth's surface is 71% ocean, and the continents happen to be arranged so that land rarely faces land: only around 15% of the world's land area has dry land at its antipode. The Pacific Ocean alone swallows the opposite points of most of Africa, Europe and Asia. If your antipode is on land, you're in genuinely rare company — most of those lucky pairings link South America with East and Southeast Asia, or New Zealand with Spain and Portugal.
| Pair | The story |
|---|---|
| Christchurch, NZ ↔ A Coruña, Spain | The classic near-perfect city pair — two coastal cities staring at each other through the planet.Try it: Christchurch |
| Wellington, NZ ↔ Alaejos, Spain | New Zealand's capital surfaces in rural Castile — the whole country of NZ is roughly opposite Spain and Portugal.Try it: Wellington |
| Beijing, China ↔ Bahía Blanca, Argentina | The real answer to "dig to China": you'd have to start in Argentina.Try it: Beijing |
| Santiago, Chile ↔ Xi'an, China | Chile's capital comes out near China's ancient capital — one of the great big-city near-pairs.Try it: Santiago |
| Hong Kong ↔ Jujuy, Argentina | Chek Lap Kok's runways sit opposite the Andean altiplano at 3,500 m — see our Hong Kong airport explorer. |
| Singapore ↔ Ecuadorian Amazon | One of Earth's densest cities is exactly opposite near-roadless rainforest — see the Changi explorer. |
| Honolulu, USA ↔ northern Botswana | Hawaii is one of the few US places with a land antipode — it surfaces near the Okavango.Try it: Honolulu |
| London, UK ↔ Antipodes Islands, NZ | Uninhabited islands named in the 1800s precisely because they sit opposite Greenwich — see the Heathrow explorer. |
What is on the opposite side of the world from me?
For most people, ocean. Earth is 71% water and the continents rarely face each other, so only around 15% of land has land at its antipode. Type your city into the finder above to see your exact opposite point, its coordinates, and what's actually there.
If I dig straight down, will I reach China?
Only if you start in parts of Argentina or Chile. From the United States you'd surface in the Indian Ocean; from most of Europe, the South Pacific. China's antipodes lie across South America — the "dig to China" idea is a myth from the wrong hemisphere.
How is the opposite point on Earth calculated?
Flip the latitude's hemisphere and shift the longitude by 180 degrees. A city at 40°N 74°W has its antipode at 40°S 106°E. The tool above does this instantly for any location and shows both points on side-by-side maps.
How far away is the opposite side of the world?
Always the same: about 20,015 km across the surface (half Earth's circumference) or 12,742 km straight through the centre. Your antipode is the single farthest place on the planet from you — nowhere is more "away".
Which cities are exactly opposite each other?
Near-perfect pairs include Christchurch–A Coruña, Wellington–Alaejos (Spain), Beijing–Bahía Blanca (Argentina) and Santiago–Xi'an. New Zealand opposite Spain, and East Asia opposite South America, account for most of the world's true city pairs.
Is the weather opposite on the other side of the world?
The seasons are — antipodes always sit in opposite hemispheres, so summer at one end is winter at the other, and local time differs by roughly twelve hours. Near the equator the seasonal contrast fades, but the day–night flip remains.
The Opposite Side of the World finder by Antipode.com calculates true geographic antipodes for any point on Earth, with maps, coordinates, distance and local-time context. Explore the My Antipode 3D globe finder, our airport route explorers, or put your own coordinates on a custom map product.
ANTIPODE FAQ
Is the opposite side of the world the same as an antipode?
Yes — but the term “opposite side of the world” is more commonly used in everyday language, while “antipode” is the precise geographic term. This page focuses on the real-world question people ask most often: what actually lies on the other side of the planet from a given place.
Why does the opposite side of the world usually land in the ocean?
Because Earth’s land is unevenly distributed. Large landmasses cluster in the Northern Hemisphere, while the Pacific Ocean covers much of the planet’s opposite surface. As a result, most exact opposite points fall in open water rather than on land.
Can the opposite side of the world change over time?
No — the opposite point of a location is fixed by Earth’s geometry. While continents move slowly due to plate tectonics over millions of years, the opposite side of the world does not change on any human timescale.
Why do some places have land on the opposite side while others don’t?
It depends on where the original location sits relative to oceans and continents. Places near large landmasses sometimes have land-based antipodes, while locations surrounded by water almost always point to ocean on the opposite side.
Does the opposite side of the world experience the same time of day?
No. The opposite side of the world is always approximately 12 hours ahead or behind in solar time. When it’s daytime at one location, it’s typically night on the opposite side of the planet.
Is the opposite side of the world always in a different hemisphere?
Yes. Any opposite point will be in the opposite Northern/Southern Hemisphere and also switch between Eastern and Western Hemispheres. This is a geometric certainty when crossing Earth’s centre.
Can I fly directly to the opposite side of the world?
Not in a straight line. Aircraft follow curved great-circle routes and must navigate airspace, weather, and geography. Even when two locations are close to being opposites, flights are rarely direct and often require multiple connections.
Why does the opposite side sometimes show islands instead of continents?
Islands often appear because they are scattered across ocean basins. While continents rarely align as true opposites, small islands can sit very close to exact antipodal points.
Is the “opposite side of the world” always the farthest possible place?
Yes — the opposite point represents the maximum possible distance between two locations on Earth, roughly 20,015 kilometres (12,430 miles) along Earth’s diameter.
