me2sea: Find the Nearest Sea and the Nearest Beach
me2sea answers a simple question: where is the nearest sea? Allow the tool to use your location or enter any place, and it shows the closest coastal towns on a map, with the name of the sea and the distance in kilometres.
How to use me2sea
- Click Use My Location and allow your browser to share your position, or type a town or address into the field and press Enter.
- The map zooms to show your position and the three nearest coastal towns. The list below the map names each town, its country, the sea it lies on and the distance.
- Show Route draws the driving route to a town on the map. Show More adds up to ten further coastal towns to the list.
What the result shows
Each entry names a coastal town rather than a stretch of open water, because a town is a place you can actually travel to. The distance is measured as the crow flies from your position or the entered place. The route shown after clicking Show Route is the road distance, which is usually longer. Beaches are not listed separately; the nearest coastal town is where to start looking for one.
Data and privacy
- Your position is read only after you click Use My Location and is used for the search on this page.
- Place search, map and routes come from Google Maps. The place you enter, or your position, is passed to Google for that purpose. The map itself is loaded from Google when the page opens, so Google receives your IP address as on any page that embeds Google Maps.
- Coastal data comes from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). The tool loads it from minoka.de and keeps a copy in your browser.
- minoka.de stores neither your position nor the places you enter.
Ideas for extending me2sea are welcome. Send them via the contact form.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Does me2sea need access to my location?
Only if you click “Use My Location”. Your browser then asks for permission. If you prefer not to share your position, type a town or address into the field and press Enter; the result is the same.
Which data does me2sea use?
The coastal places come from GeoNames and are published under the CC BY 4.0 licence. Map, place search and routes come from Google Maps, so the place you enter or your position is passed to Google for that purpose. minoka.de stores neither.
What does “Show Route” do?
It draws the driving route from your position or the entered place to the selected coastal town on the map. The route comes from the Google Maps directions service.
