Distance from Cape Town to Rome

The great-circle distance between Cape Town, South Africa and Rome, Italy is 8,452 km (5,252 mi · 4,564 nmi) — the shortest possible route over the Earth's surface, the path aircraft approximately follow.

The numbers
Great-circle distance
8,452 km · 5,252 mi · 4,564 nmi
Initial bearing Cape Town → Rome
355° (N)
Initial bearing Rome → Cape Town
175° (S)
Nonstop flight (rough estimate)
≈ 10 h 36 min
Time zones
Cape Town UTC+02:00 · Rome UTC+02:00 (+0 h)
Sunrise gap today
23 min — the sun rises earlier in Cape Town

Flight time is a cruise-speed approximation (no routing/wind); driving distance depends on roads and is typically 20–40% longer than great-circle.

The two cities
Cape Town
-33.9258, 18.4232
Sunrise / sunset today
04:36 UTC / 16:44 UTC
Rome
41.8919, 12.5113
Sunrise / sunset today
04:59 UTC / 17:08 UTC

Open in the distance calculator Find the halfway point

Distances here are straight-line (great-circle). Road routes typically run 1.2–1.4× longer — here's why, with the visual.