diff --git a/Core/include/Acts/Propagator/Navigator.hpp b/Core/include/Acts/Propagator/Navigator.hpp
index 221963d0020..fc20ef34608 100644
--- a/Core/include/Acts/Propagator/Navigator.hpp
+++ b/Core/include/Acts/Propagator/Navigator.hpp
@@ -604,7 +604,32 @@ class Navigator {
     // Request the compatible surfaces
     state.navSurfaces = currentLayer->compatibleSurfaces(
         state.options.geoContext, position, direction, navOpts);
-    std::ranges::sort(state.navSurfaces, SurfaceIntersection::pathLengthOrder);
+    // Sort the surfaces by path length.
+    // Special care is taken for the external surfaces which should always come
+    // first, so they are preferred to be targeted and hit first.
+    std::ranges::sort(
+        state.navSurfaces, [&state, &navOpts](const SurfaceIntersection& a,
+                                              const SurfaceIntersection& b) {
+          // Prefer to sort by path length. We assume surfaces are at the same
+          // distance if the difference is smaller than the tolerance.
+          if (std::abs(a.pathLength() - b.pathLength()) >
+              state.options.surfaceTolerance) {
+            return SurfaceIntersection::pathLengthOrder(a, b);
+          }
+          // If the path length is practically the same, sort by geometry. First
+          // we check if one of the surfaces is external.
+          bool aIsExternal = rangeContainsValue(navOpts.externalSurfaces,
+                                                a.object()->geometryId());
+          bool bIsExternal = rangeContainsValue(navOpts.externalSurfaces,
+                                                b.object()->geometryId());
+          if (aIsExternal == bIsExternal) {
+            // If both are external or both are not external, sort by geometry
+            // identifier
+            return a.object()->geometryId() < b.object()->geometryId();
+          }
+          // If only one is external, it should come first
+          return aIsExternal;
+        });
 
     // Print surface information
     if (logger().doPrint(Logging::VERBOSE)) {