Geo Countries
San Rafael, Cartago Province, Costa Rica – Costa Rica Flag

Current Date And Time In San Rafael, Costa Rica

Sunday, 26 July 2026
13:48:22 CST
Currency: Costa Rican Colón (CRC)
Timezone: UTC -06:00 (CST)
District: La Unión

📍 Cities Near To San Rafael


Find cities, states and countries closest to San Rafael in Cartago Province, Costa Rica with precise aerial distance in miles, kilometers and nautical miles, plus exact 16-point compass bearing and heading direction. This location intelligence data is used by logistics professionals, supply chain analysts, market researchers and field teams planning routes and coverage areas around San Rafael.

📍 San Rafael Geographic & Demographics Profile Summary

To assist regional market researchers, location intelligence professionals and logistics managers in strategic decision-making, we have compiled the key geographic and demographic attributes for San Rafael from our regional database:

State / RegionCartago Province
DistrictLa Unión
Total Population
Land Area
Population Density
Center Latitude9.9082° N
Center Longitude-83.9765° E
Elevation
UTC Time Zone-06:00
FlagCityDistanceDirection
Miles (mi)Kilometers (km)Nautical Miles (nm)HeadingSymbol
National Flag Of Alto Carmen Alto Carmen1 2 1
North (N)
National Flag Of Ángeles Ángeles8 13 7
Northwest (NW)
National Flag Of Barro Morado Barro Morado9 14 8
Southeast (SE)
National Flag Of Caballo Blanco Caballo Blanco6 10 5
Southeast (SE)
National Flag Of Calle Blancos Calle Blancos7 11 6
West-northwest (WNW)
National Flag Of Cartago Cartago5 8 4
Southeast (SE)
National Flag Of Concepción Concepción2 3 2
Northwest (NW)
National Flag Of Curridabat Curridabat4 7 4
West (W)
National Flag Of El Tejar El Tejar5 8 5
South-southeast (SSE)
National Flag Of Granadilla Granadilla3 5 3
West-northwest (WNW)
National Flag Of Guadalupe Guadalupe6 10 5
West-northwest (WNW)
National Flag Of Ipís Ipís5 8 4
Northwest (NW)
National Flag Of La Saca La Saca9 14 8
Northwest (NW)
National Flag Of Patarrá Patarrá4 7 4
West-southwest (WSW)
National Flag Of Purral Purral5 8 4
Northwest (NW)

🏳️ States Near To San Rafael


States and regions closest to Cartago Province (home state of San Rafael), with aerial distance and compass direction — useful for cross-state logistics routing, regional market-expansion research and strategic site selection.

FlagState/RegionDistanceDirection
Miles (mi)Kilometers (km)Nautical Miles (nm)HeadingSymbol
National Flag Of Alajuela Province Alajuela Province68 109 59
Northwest (NW)
National Flag Of Boaco Department Boaco Department227 365 197
North-northwest (NNW)
National Flag Of Bocas del Toro Province Bocas del Toro Province72 115 62
East-southeast (ESE)
National Flag Of Carazo Department Carazo Department220 354 191
Northwest (NW)
National Flag Of Chinandega Department Chinandega Department311 500 270
Northwest (NW)
National Flag Of Chiriquí Province Chiriquí Province119 192 104
Southeast (SE)
National Flag Of Choluteca Department Choluteca Department342 550 297
Northwest (NW)
National Flag Of Chontales Department Chontales Department193 311 168
North-northwest (NNW)
National Flag Of Coclé Coclé239 384 207
East-southeast (ESE)
National Flag Of Colón Colón250 402 217
East (E)

🌎 Countries Near To San Rafael


Countries bordering or closest to Costa Rica, with aerial distance and compass direction from San Rafael's home country — a quick reference for cross-border trade, travel planning and regional supply chain routing.

FlagCountryDistanceDirection
Miles (mi)Kilometers (km)Nautical Miles (nm)HeadingSymbol
National Flag Of Aruba Aruba954 1,535 828
East-northeast (ENE)
National Flag Of Belize Belize605 973 525
North-northwest (NNW)
National Flag Of Cayman Islands Cayman Islands682 1,097 592
North-northeast (NNE)
National Flag Of Colombia Colombia740 1,191 643
East-southeast (ESE)
National Flag Of Cuba Cuba905 1,456 786
North-northeast (NNE)
National Flag Of Curacao Curacao1,015 1,634 882
East (E)
National Flag Of Dominican Republic Dominican Republic1,101 1,771 956
Northeast (NE)
National Flag Of Ecuador Ecuador887 1,428 770
South-southeast (SSE)
National Flag Of El Salvador El Salvador446 718 387
Northwest (NW)
National Flag Of Guatemala Guatemala603 971 524
Northwest (NW)

📊 Nearby Cities – Population & Distance Comparison

Compare population and aerial distance of cities geographically closest to San Rafael. This regional snapshot supports market sizing, site selection, logistics zone planning and cross-city business analysis in Cartago Province, Costa Rica.

CityStatePopulationDistance (km)Direction
San Rafael (You)Cartago Province
Tres RíosCartago Province10,4301.3W
Alto CarmenCartago Province1.9N
San DiegoCartago Province16,9912.9WSW
ConcepciónCartago Province14,0003.4NW
GranadillaSan José12,6835.4WNW
QuircotCartago Province5.7ESE
CurridabatSan José34,5866.5W
PatarráSan José23,9837.2WSW
SabanillaSan José13,2517.6NW
TobosiCartago Province4,0607.8S

🏆 Cartago Province City Rankings

How does San Rafael rank within Cartago Province? The top 10 cities by population, land area and density are listed below — useful for regional benchmarking, investment prioritization and market-entry decisions. Cities where San Rafael appears are highlighted with ⭐.

👥 Most Populous Cities

CityPopulation
Paraíso39,702
Turrialba28,955
Cartago26,594
San Diego16,991
Concepción14,000
Tres Ríos10,430
Cot6,784
Orosi4,350
Tobosi4,060
Tucurrique2,697

📏 Largest Cities by Area

CityArea (km²)
Orosi376.54
Pejibaye173.20
La Suiza160.93
Turrialba56.63
Capellades34.39
Tucurrique33.50
Tobosi20.06
Paraíso18.29
Cot14.86
Tierra Blanca12.80

🏙 Most Densely Populated

CityDensity/km²
Cartago6,582.67
Tres Ríos4,574.56
Concepción3,693.93
Paraíso2,170.69
San Diego2,102.85
Turrialba511.30
Cot456.53
Tobosi202.39
Tucurrique80.51
Capellades28.87
✈️ Nearest Airport
Tobías Bolaños International Airport
IATA: SYQ
19 km (12 mi) from San Rafael
States By Alphabets
Compass Directions Rose
N (North)
0° or 360° - Directly facing the North Pole
NNE (North-Northeast)
22.5° - Direction midway between North and Northeast
NE (Northeast)
45° - Direction midway between North and East
ENE (East-Northeast)
67.5° - Direction midway between Northeast and East
E (East)
90° - Directly facing sunrise
ESE (East-Southeast)
112.5° - Direction midway between East and Southeast
SE (Southeast)
135° - Direction midway between East and South
SSE (South-Southeast)
157.5° - Direction midway between Southeast and South
S (South)
180° - Directly facing the South Pole
SSW (South-Southwest)
202.5° - Direction midway between South and Southwest
SW (Southwest)
225° - Direction midway between South and West
WSW (West-Southwest)
247.5° - Direction midway between Southwest and West
W (West)
270° - Directly facing sunset
WNW (West-Northwest)
292.5° - Direction midway between West and Northwest
NW (Northwest)
315° - Direction midway between West and North
NNW (North-Northwest)
337.5° - Direction midway between Northwest and North

🧭 How Close Is Everything to San Rafael? A Distance & Direction Primer

📍 Where San Rafael Sits on the Map

San Rafael sits inside Cartago Province, Costa Rica. Every distance on this page is a straight-line Great Circle (haversine) measurement — the shortest path a plane or signal would take between two GPS points, not the longer road-and-turns route a driver would actually cover. View the nearby cities, nearby states or nearby countries tables above.

📏 Reading the Distance Figures

  • Miles (mi): the everyday unit in the US, UK and most aviation cockpits
  • Kilometers (km): the metric standard used almost everywhere else, including most freight and shipping paperwork
  • Nautical Miles (nm): the unit ships and aircraft actually navigate by
  • Compass Bearing: the 16-point heading from San Rafael to each place listed — see the distance tables above

🚚 Putting This Data to Work

  • Route Planning: Build delivery loops or sales-visit circuits starting from San Rafael outward to the closest towns first
  • New-Market Scouting: Spot the nearest untapped urban centers before committing to a regional expansion
  • Freight Estimating: Get a fast first read on road, rail or air distances before requesting an actual freight quote
  • Warehouse Placement: Weigh a few candidate hub locations by how close each sits to San Rafael and its neighbors
  • Side-by-Side Comparison: Stack San Rafael against nearby cities on population and land area — see population & area comparison and Cartago Province city rankings

🌎 Beyond San Rafael: States & Countries Nearby

Scroll down and this page also ranks the states closest to San Rafael and the countries closest to San Rafael by the same straight-line measurement. For the complete national picture, see every country bordering or near Costa Rica. Handy for cross-border import/export planning, scouting a new travel corridor or lining up emergency logistics across North America.

🧭 Making Sense of the Compass Bearing

Next to every distance sits a compass heading from San Rafael, plotted on the 16-point rose (N, NNE, NE, ENE, E, ESE, SE, SSE, S, SSW, SW, WSW, W, WNW, NW, NNW). The rotating arrow marks the bearing angle (0°–360°, where 0°/360° is due north) — see it in action in the cities, states and countries tables above. It's the same reference pilots, sailors and long-haul truckers use to picture the layout around San Rafael at a glance.

🎯 For Travelers Passing Through San Rafael

If you're stringing together stops in Cartago Province, the neighboring cities table above doubles as a rough day-trip planner from San Rafael — shortest hops first. Pair it with the population and area data to gauge which nearby stop is worth the detour.

🔎 Related City & Country Tools

🗺 San Rafael MapView the San Rafael map with GPS coordinates for precise location planning.
✈️ San Rafael Travel GuideCheck the travel standards guide before you head toward any of the places listed above.
🏳️ Cartago Province OverviewExplore the Cartago Province state profile and its full list of cities for regional market analysis.
🏳️ Costa Rica Country DataGet complete Costa Rica data including population, area, currency and timezone.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions – Distances From San Rafael

Which cities are closest to San Rafael?

See the Cities Near To San Rafael table above, ranked nearest first with distance in miles, kilometers and nautical miles plus a compass bearing for each. Want the bigger picture? The nearest states and nearest countries tables sit further down this page, or compare every city in Cartago Province by population and density.

How is the distance from San Rafael to nearby places calculated?

Every figure on this page is a Great Circle (haversine) distance — a straight aerial line between the GPS center of San Rafael and the GPS center of the other place, not a driving distance. It's the same math airlines use to estimate flight paths. View the San Rafael map for the exact coordinates behind these numbers.

Is the distance shown a straight line or an actual driving distance?

It's a straight line — the shortest possible path between two points on Earth's surface, ignoring roads, terrain and detours. Actual driving distance from San Rafael will almost always run longer, sometimes significantly, depending on the road network. Treat the figures here as a quick planning benchmark, not a substitute for a live route from a mapping or navigation app.

What does the compass direction next to each city mean?

It's the bearing from San Rafael to that place, plotted on a 16-point compass rose. The rotating arrow marks the degree bearing (0°–360°), where 0°/360° is due north, 90° east, 180° south and 270° west. See it applied in the cities, states and countries tables above.

How do businesses use this proximity data around San Rafael?

Distribution planners use it to pick warehouse or hub sites within easy reach of San Rafael. Sales and field teams use it to sequence visits by drive distance instead of guessing. Market researchers use it to scope out the next-closest town before greenlighting an expansion. See the population & area comparison and Cartago Province city rankings above to size up each candidate.

✈️ What is the nearest airport to San Rafael?

The nearest airport with scheduled service to San Rafael is Tobías Bolaños International Airport (SYQ), about 19 km (12 mi) away. See the Nearest Airport card for more.