Bearing & Distance Calculator (Latitude/Longitude)

Enter the latitude and longitude of two points to calculate the great-circle distance (via the Haversine formula) and the initial bearing (angle from true north) from the first point to the second.

Tips

  • The bearing shown is the initial bearing — the direction a compass would point at the starting location. On long routes, the heading gradually changes along the great-circle path, so it differs from the bearing on arrival.
  • The back bearing (from the destination toward the starting point) is not simply 180° opposite the forward bearing. Because the Earth is a sphere, this difference grows larger the more the two points differ in longitude.
  • Enter coordinates in decimal degrees (for example, Tokyo Station is 35.6812, 139.7671). Convert degrees/minutes/seconds to decimal first if needed.
  • Use a negative latitude for the Southern Hemisphere and a negative longitude for locations west of the prime meridian.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes in principle — bearing is measured clockwise from true north. A magnetic compass points to magnetic north, which differs slightly from true north (magnetic declination), but as an "angle from north on a map" the concept is the same.

The great-circle distance calculated here is the shortest possible path on Earth's surface, but real flight routes often deviate from it due to jet streams, restricted airspace, and air traffic control, and the Earth isn't a perfect sphere — so actual flight distances can differ by tens to a few hundred kilometers.

Because the Earth is a sphere, the shortest path between two points (the great-circle route) appears as a curve on a flat map (such as a Mercator projection). Following that curve means the heading changes continuously along the way, so the bearing at departure differs from the bearing on arrival. A route that holds a constant bearing (a rhumb line) is usually longer than the great-circle route.

Right-click a location on Google Maps (or long-press on mobile) and the decimal latitude/longitude will be shown — copy those values into this tool.
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Side Note — Why the "shortest path" doesn't look like a straight line

Draw a straight line between Tokyo and New York on a Mercator world map, and it looks almost due east. But the actual shortest route (the great-circle path) arcs far to the north, passing over Alaska and northern Canada. That's a direct consequence of map projection: squashing a sphere onto a flat map always distorts area, angle, or distance somewhere — you can't have all three at once.

Airlines flying from Tokyo to New York sometimes fly close to this great-circle route, since the shortest path on a sphere is often shorter than the straight line on a flat map — a meaningful fuel saving. In practice, though, strong westerly jet streams over the North Atlantic and airspace or air-traffic-control constraints mean the actual flight path never matches the textbook great circle exactly.

The concept of bearing was especially critical to navigation and surveying before GPS existed. "Celestial navigation" — measuring the altitude of stars like Polaris or the sun with a sextant, checking direction with a magnetic compass, and calculating the bearing and distance to a destination — was the basic method ships used to determine their position from the Age of Exploration all the way until GPS became practical in the late 20th century.

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