Best ways to travel in the Nether in Minecraft

The Nether is Minecraft's second dimension and is incredibly important. Players need to visit it at least once to actually reach the title's credits, as it's the only place to get blaze rods. Moreover, the dimension has a plethora of other niche uses. One of the strangest utility features of the Nether is its ability to essentially allow players to travel around the world quickly.

This is due to the fact that a single block traveled in that dimension equates to eight traveled in the overworld. This is why players would benefit from knowing the best ways currently available for quickly traversing this dangerous dimension.

Note: This article is subjective and reflects the writer's opinions.

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The best ways to traverse Minecraft's Nether dimension

Tunnel system

Basic Nether tunnels are the simplest form of safe Nether travel (Image via Mojang)

While it might be a bit basic, a simple tunnel system is a great way to move around the dimension. This method works best near the bedrock roof, as there are fewer large pools of lava in that place, along with fewer cracks and crevices.

Additionally, Minecraft's best enchantments for pickaxes, like Efficiency and Unbreaking, make it very easy to create such tunnel systems. This is due to the fact that a halfway decent pickaxe can instantly mine netherrack, meaning players can clear huge areas in next to no time.

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Ice trails

A basic ice Nether tunnel (Image via Mojang)

The Nether is the antithesis of the overworld in several ways. One of the most obvious is that lava has replaced water in lakes and oceans. Additionally, water can't naturally be placed in the dimension since it instantly evaporates.

The same doesn't apply to ice, though. This is useful, as ice paths are one of the best ways to move around the Nether. Players can dig out tunnel systems between portals to the overworld and lay down ice in them. Using a boat over it will allow them to travel much faster than they otherwise could without having to use any resources.

The worst part about setting up these ice tunnels is going out and finding an ice-filled biome to mine out. Make sure to take a pickaxe enchanted with Minecraft's Silk Touch enchantment, as that's necessary for actually collecting ice blocks.

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Elytra

A player flying through the Nether with an elytra (Image via Mojang)

Customizable elytra is among the best ways to travel, and not just in the Nether. Using firework rockets to literally fly around unbothered by elevation changes, terrain, or any of Minecraft's different structures gives players a type of freedom unmatched by any other traversal item. Make sure to put Unbreaking and Mending on it, however, to avoid having it break mid-flight.

The only downside to elytra is that it takes up the chest armor slot. This means that using it inherently leaves players less protected, which can be an issue in the Nether. Lava can deal incredibly high damage to players without Minecraft god armor, so careful flight is a necessity.

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Striders

There are also natural strider jockeys for players without saddles (Image via Mojang)

Striders are the most obvious way to get around in the Nether and were added to give players a way to traverse lava lakes before they acquire elytra. Gamers can put a saddle on a strider and dangle a warped fungus on a stick in front of it to lead it, similar to how carrots on a stick can lead saddled pigs around.

Minecraft also has naturally spawning strider jockeys, which players can hijack if they don't have a saddle to spare. Do keep in mind, however, that hitting a zombified piglin to get it off of a strider will cause it to enter Anger mode. It is one of a few different Minecraft mobs to have such a mode.

Striders are a nice and relatively safe way to traverse lava lakes, but having a potion of fire resistance ready just in case is always recommended to avoid losing items permanently in lava.

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The Nether roof

The start of a Nether roof travel hub (Image via Mojang)

Using the Nether's roof to travel is technically possible on both versions of the game but is only truly recommended for Java players. This is due to the fact that Bedrock users can't place blocks on the Nether's roof, making it impossible to create a new portal or break the bedrock to easily get down. This is one of the biggest differences between Minecraft Java and Bedrock.

However, for players on Java, using the Nether roof is an incredible way to travel. Since mobs can't spawn on bedrock, it's essentially impossible to encounter hostile entities when moving this way. This makes traveling thousands of blocks in the Nether simple, and then players can make a new portal and return to the overworld, tens of thousands of blocks away from spawn.