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Minecraft worlds are immense playgrounds made up of millions of blocks. Because they are so large, exploring on foot can be slow and tiring, especially as your stamina runs out often. Thankfully, there are many ways to move around more quickly, and since the 1.21.11 Mounts of Mayhem update, even more options have been added.
Transport in Minecraft falls into two categories: mobs that you can ride and craftable vehicles or items. Here’s a rundown of all the options, where to find them, and their pros and cons to help you travel more efficiently.
Horses, Donkeys, and Mules
You can find a variety of land animals that serve as mounts. These mobs can be equipped with a saddle or harness, allowing you to ride them. Horses, donkeys, and mules work similarly, but each has unique traits.
To ride one, you must tame it first — hold an empty hand, click to mount, and the animal will buck you off initially. Keep doing this until hearts appear, which means it’s tamed. Once tamed, you can saddle it and breed two of the same kind to create a new one, but mules cannot be bred.
Horses, donkeys, and mules naturally spawn in plains, savannahs, and meadows, with donkeys also in meadows. Mules only result from breeding horses and donkeys and do not naturally spawn. Their stats, like speed and health, are based on their parents plus some randomness, with improvement through breeding.
Differences mainly look-wise, as mules combine horse and donkey features, while horses come in many appearances. All these animals require a two-block space to move, can be led or ridden, and are affected by speed potions.
| Mount | Speed | Health | Jump Height | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Horse | 0.1125 – 0.3375 (avg 0.225) | 7-15 hearts (avg 11.5) | 1.25-5 blocks (avg 2.5) | Can use horse armor |
| Zombie Horse | 0.2 (static) | 12 hearts | 1.25-5 blocks | Burns in sun if unarmored, healed by harming potions |
| Skeleton Horse | 0.2 (static) | 12 hearts | 1-5 blocks | Cannot be bred or armored, can breathe underwater |
| Donkey | 0.1125 – 0.3375 (avg 0.225) | 7-15 hearts | 1.25-5 blocks | Can carry chests with 15 inventory slots |
| Mule | 0.1125 – 0.3375 (avg 0.225) | 7-15 hearts | 1.25-5 blocks | Can carry chests, not breedable |
Camels
Camels spawn in deserts and desert villages. They are passive animals that you can tame and ride with a saddle. They can be ridden by up to two players, and have a static health of 15 hearts.
While slower than other mounts—walking at about the same speed as a player—they can sprint, which doubles their speed temporarily. Every 2.75 seconds, they can dash forward 12 blocks and one block upward. They cannot jump but can step up 1.5 blocks naturally.
A key advantage is their height, which prevents most melee mobs, like zombies and piglins, from hitting you while you’re on a camel. However, mobs that jump, like spiders and slimes, can still reach you.
Pigs and Striders
Pigs are common in overworld biomes like taiga, badlands, savannah, and jungles. They spawn naturally and can be mounted with a saddle. To guide them, use a carrot on a stick. Pigs can walk through shallow water and reach speeds of up to 5.2 blocks per second. They have five hearts of health and can be led through one-block gaps.
Striders are found only in the Nether, typically floating over lava lakes with air blocks above. They can be saddled and fed warped fungi or a stick with a fungus to be led. They are fastest on lava, moving around four blocks per second, and can also survive on land—though they turn purple and look sad. They can walk over one-block steps and automatically step up small gaps.
Happy Ghasts
Added in the Chase The Skies update, happy ghasts are cheerful versions of the nether mobs that can be tamed and ridden in the overworld. They are slow, moving just above walking speed, but are very useful because they fly and can traverse obstacles easily.
You can leash a happy ghast, attach mobs, boats, or chest boats to it using leads. This setup allows long-distance transportation of mobs or items.
How to spawn a happy ghast:
Use a dried ghast, found near nether fossils in soul sand valleys. Bring it to the overworld, leave it in water for 20 minutes until it turns into a ghastling, which then grows into a happy ghast. Feeding snowballs speeds up this process.
Flying and riding:
A happy ghast will follow a player holding a harness, which can be equipped similarly to a saddle. Up to four players can ride it, but control is handled by the first to mount. If riders dismount, the ghast stops moving. An unharnessed ghast can also be used as a floating platform.
Nautilus
Nautilus are water-dwelling neutrals that can be tamed and ridden. They protect their rider from drowning, are immune to poison, and can move in all ocean biomes. They spawn in small groups and follow players holding fish or buckets of fish, but only if fed a pufferfish.
Once tamed, you can equip them with nautilus armor or a saddle. They have seven hearts and provide the “Breath of the Nautilus” effect, which pauses your oxygen bar. They move at about 6.5 blocks per second and can dash like camels. However, moving them onto land drastically reduces their speed, and they will take suffocation damage if out of water.
Vehicles
There are three main vehicle types: minecarts, boats, and rafts.
Minecarts are versatile but require rails for movement. They run on different types of rails: regular rails move solely based on gravity, while powered rails boost speed. Only the basic minecart is used for player travel. Others serve specific purposes, such as transporting items or providing momentum.
| Type | Recipe | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Minecart | 5 iron ingots in a U shape | Transport players or mobs |
| Minecart with Chest | Chest + minecart | Carry items (up to 15 stacks) |
| Minecart with Furnace | Furnace + minecart | Propels itself or other minecarts |
| Minecart with Hopper | Hopper + minecart | Collects dropped items |
| Minecart with TNT | TNT + minecart | Explodes when damaged |
Minecarts are mainly useful for short trips, like moving up and down mineshafts or between buildings.
Boats can be crafted with five wood planks arranged in a U shape. They are mainly used to travel across water, with speeds varying based on the surface—8 blocks/sec in water, but much faster on ice or packed ice. Boats can carry two players or mobs, and you can add a chest to store items. They cannot be rowed uphill but can safely ferry players off cliffs or across large lakes without fall damage. Bamboo boats, or rafts, work the same but have a slightly different look without edges.





