JetSetAuthority

Route · Trans-Pacific

YVR Vancouver ⇄ SYD Sydney

Vancouver International Airport (Canada) and Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport (Australia): great-circle distance, estimated scheduled flight time each way, time difference and jet lag.

Distance12,501 km7,768 mi6,750 nautical miles
YVR → SYD15 h 50 minestimated block time
SYD → YVR14 h 40 minestimated block time
Clock change+18 hSydney vs Vancouver, today
Great-circle route from Vancouver (YVR) to Sydney (SYD)YVRVancouverSYDSydney
The shortest path over the Earth’s surface (great circle), drawn on a Natural Earth projection. Real flight paths bend around weather, winds and closed airspace.

Flight time each way

YVR → SYD

15 h 50 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 243° (WSW).

Leave Vancouver Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Sydney Sun 8 Nov, 19:50 local +1 day.

SYD → YVR

14 h 40 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 45° (NE).

Leave Sydney Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Vancouver Sat 7 Nov, 06:40 local.

SYD-bound flights are the slower direction by about 70 minutes in our estimate: the route runs mostly east–west through latitudes where the prevailing westerly winds at cruise height are strong, so heading east rides a tailwind and heading west fights a headwind. How we estimate it.

Distance

Great-circle distance12,501 km · 7,768 mi · 6,750 nmi
Initial heading243° (WSW) from YVR; 45° (NE) from SYD
Farthest from the equator49.2°N
Crossesthe equator and the 180th meridian (International Date Line area)
Share of the longest possible trip62% of the 20,015 km to the far side of the Earth

Time zones and jet lag

YVRAmerica/Vancouver — UTC−7 now; UTC−8 standard time, UTC−7 during daylight saving time
SYDAustralia/Sydney — UTC+11 now; UTC+10 standard time, UTC+11 during daylight saving time
DifferenceSydney is 18 hours ahead of Vancouver today; +19 h in January and +17 h in July because daylight saving time starts and ends on different dates (or not at all).

Jet lag, flying YVR → SYD. The clock change is 18 hours, but to your body that is a shift of 6 hours the other way. Your body clock has to move 6 hours later, like a westward trip. A common rule of thumb is that the body clock adjusts by roughly one time zone a day, so expect up to about 6 days to fully adjust. Shifting later (as here) is usually the easier direction; evening daylight at the destination helps. Flying the other way, the shift is reversed.

General information, not medical advice.

The two airports

YVR Vancouver International AirportVancouver, Canada · longest runway 11,500 ft3,505 m SYD Sydney Kingsford Smith International AirportSydney, Australia · longest runway 12,999 ft3,962 m

More routes from YVR and SYD

YYCYVR Calgary – Vancouver 687 km427 mi · 1 h 55 min YYZYVR Toronto – Vancouver 3,346 km2,079 mi · 5 h 15 min YVRNRT Vancouver – Tokyo 7,503 km4,662 mi · 10 h 20 min YVRHND Vancouver – Tokyo 7,558 km4,697 mi · 10 h 25 min YVRICN Vancouver – Seoul 8,200 km5,095 mi · 11 h YVRHKG Vancouver – Hong Kong 10,269 km6,381 mi · 13 h 30 min SYDCBR Sydney – Canberra 236 km147 mi · 1 h 20 min SYDCHC Sydney – Christchurch 2,126 km1,321 mi · 3 h 15 min SYDMNL Sydney – Manila 6,263 km3,892 mi · 8 h 20 min HNLSYD Honolulu – Sydney 8,170 km5,077 mi · 10 h 35 min SFOSYD San Francisco – Sydney 11,950 km7,425 mi · 15 h 10 min LHRSYD London – Sydney 17,021 km10,576 mi · 19 h 30 min

Routes of a similar length

JFKTPE New York – Taipei 12,545 km7,795 mi · 15 h 35 min YYZHKG Toronto – Hong Kong 12,548 km7,797 mi · 15 h 35 min LAXMEL Los Angeles – Melbourne 12,758 km7,928 mi · 16 h 10 min DXBGRU Dubai – São Paulo 12,217 km7,591 mi · 15 h 20 min

Need a different pair? The flight-time calculator works for any two of 3,245 airports. Not covered: which airlines fly this route, schedules, fares and live status — that data is proprietary and we don’t guess it.

Photos on airport pages are credited there. Estimates are rounded to 5 minutes; typical error about 13 minutes (validation).