Time & Date · Travel & Distance
Bearing & Heading Calculator
Find the compass bearing from one point to another (true and magnetic), the back bearing and the bearing on arrival — or work the other way: the destination reached by travelling a distance on a bearing.
Also listed inUnit Converters
Your inputs
Quick start — try a typical case
Your result Live
Bearing, Mumbai → Dubai
293.8° true (WNW)
293.8° magnetic with 0° declination
- Back Bearing (return direction)
- 113.8°
- Bearing on Arrival
- 287.1°
- Distance
- 1,936.8 km
- Ellipsoidal Initial Bearing (WGS-84)
- 293.68°
How this is calculated
θ = atan2(sin Δλ · cos φ₂, cos φ₁ · sin φ₂ − sin φ₁ · cos φ₂ · cos Δλ) · Magnetic = True − Declination (east positive)
- θ
- Initial great-circle bearing, clockwise from true north
- Declination
- Angle between true and magnetic north at your location
On a globe the direction to a far-away place changes as you travel along the shortest route, so the bearing when you set off differs from the bearing when you arrive. A magnetic compass points to magnetic north, so subtract the local declination (east positive) from a true bearing to get the compass reading.
Assumptions & sources
- Bearings are along the great circle on a sphere; the WGS-84 value is shown for comparison.
- Declination changes over time and place — use a current value for your location.
- 1Direct and Inverse Solutions of Geodesics on the Ellipsoid (Vincenty, 1975) — Survey Review
- 2World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS 84) — U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
- 3World Magnetic Model (WMM) — NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information & British Geological Survey
Calculator ID GEO-NAV-BEARING-001 · version 1.0.0
Common questions
What's the difference between true and magnetic bearing?
True bearings are measured from the geographic North Pole; a compass points to magnetic north. The difference is the declination, which depends on where you are.
What is a back bearing?
The direction you'd face to return to the start: the bearing plus (or minus) 180°.