Update to this post

I read all the comments. Maybe I was too naive to think "we'll figure it out as we go" for a country like Egypt. It was starting to sound too risky. I took some actions after that post, found a travel agent, booked a private drive to Luxor. I tried contacting my Luxor Airbnb host to make sure we were still good but I got ghosted. A lot of comments said there's a risk they might cancel and that's what I was most afraid of - no place to stay in a city like Luxor with accommodation and travel cost sky rocketing. When I didn't get any response from the host I just had this sinking feeling that they'll cancel or something will go wrong.

ON TOP OF THAT I'm not a US citizen (legal resident tho) so I would've had to send my passport away to the Egyptian consulate and reviews for that were also not looking good.

All in all bad vibes. I cancelled everything. Took a little penalty ln the flights but nothing I can't recover from. I don't know if that was a rushed decision and I got influenced by the people on the Internet or if it was a wise decision to cut my losses while I'm at it. Time will tell, or it won't. Road not taken I suppose.

Anyway, update is that we're now going on a cruise. Yes, it'll be a little more expensive but can't put a price on peace of mind at this point. I have not researched it well enough yet but it says they'll steer the ship in the path of totality soooo 🤷‍♀️

I've been very lucky to have totality right in my "backyard" a couple times in my life. This is my first attempt to actually put in any effort to go see it. Hope it goes well 🤞

Thanks all!

The 2024 total solar eclipse was the closest thing I've ever had to a religious experience. Couldn't stop thinking about it for months afterwords. Since then I've been obsessed with observing the night sky and have been lucky enough to see a number of celestial events including a deep partial lunar eclipse and northern lights. I was also right on the edge of the 2026 eclipse path and while it was only about 20% coverage, it was still quite amazing to see.

After 2024, I looked up where future totalities would occur and saw there's one scheduled for Australia in 2028, which is perfect because I've always wanted to check the place out. During coverage of 2026 eclipse, however, I learned that the one next year will last as long as 6 minutes and decided I absolutely have to see "the eclipse of the century."

Well, today I decided to sit down and plan out my trip thinking I should start early since this would be my first time traveling outside North America, but it seems I'm actually an idiot and way late because the rest of you had your trips planned out months ago, some even as early as last year. I don't get it, what if something goes awry in your lives and you need to cancel? Won't you lose all your money? I've only ever been on trips that needs a week or two of planning ahead (by which I mean requesting work for time off), so this is all new to me.

Well, anyway, at this point I'm wondering what my options are at this point. Egypt was my first choice, but it's apparently a rough trip if you aren't an experienced traveler (though I think I could handle myself well-enough). Morocco is an option, but some say it might be overcast. Cruises are all sold out (and I'd prefer to be on land, anyway). There's still Saudi Arabia (Jeddah), though I've read there's a possibility of haze or sandstorms, not to mention a number of other reasons to avoid the place.

I'm not a millionaire, but I'm ready to spend money for this. Can I just fly into Jeddah or Luxor for a day or two and fly right out?

Booked a Hotel in Sfax as soon as they were available; thought to myself, "lucky me", in the city in the path of the eclipse, with not so many hotels available (all were gone in two days after bookings were open). I managed to get a place for myself for 3 nights.

Well, today I received a BS message

"We regret to inform you that due to an unexpected double-booking error, we will be fully booked and unable to accommodate your stay from the 31st of July until the 3rd of August, 2027. We kindly request that you submit a cancellation request through your Expedia account so a full refund can be issued immediately. We sincerely apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding."

ie "we think we can get much more than you paid".

As much as I think they're lying, I still think it would be too risky to wait till August only to find out they don't hold the room for me, even if I started a dispute on Hotels.com (that's where I made the booking).

Funny, I thought hotels are a much more reliable option than ABNBs, but it turns out that's not the case.

Probably will book Jeddah in that case.

I’m all booked with an Airbnb in Cadiz, but I’m a little paranoid. Any of the hotels in that area require full payment upon making the reservation, but with the Airbnb, I was able to just reserve it and don’t have to pay anything until like a couple of weeks before I arrive. It’s my first time using Airbnb, so I’m a little paranoid about this and worried that for some reason, they’ll find a way to cancel my reservation and resell it for higher price. Anyone have any Airbnb/eclipse experiences to reassure me?

Hi guys, I'm traveling from Chicago to Cairo well over a week before the totality but can't figure out a way to get to Luxor in an affordable way. The flight tickets round trip are running about 1200USD Cairo-Luxor-Cairo which is INSANE. How are non-rich people doing this trip? We've never been to Egypt before.

Update

Hello, my husband and two young children (seven and ten) are looking at traveling to Tunisia for next year’s eclipse. I’m not seeing much accommodation available in Sfax. Does anyone have recommendations for towns to stay in and/or specific accommodation? We traveled to Dallas for the 2024 eclipse and are now hooked :)

I know it's still what, 9 months away... but I'm just a litttttle bit nervous. I have flights to Jeddah from Kuala Lumpur, and hotels booked. Muslim and was considering a little Umrah trip too.

If so, any tips?

Hi! I built a free map that shows where the sun and moon are at any moment, and it turned out to be most fun for eclipses.

Here's next year's total eclipse, already set up. Press fast-forward at the top to watch the shadow sweep from the Atlantic over Gibraltar, Tunisia and Luxor:

https://timeflies.today/?center=[6.90097,39.2717]&zoom=1.96&observer=[11.08064,35.50788]&t=20270802T090246Z

On accuracy: for the 12 August 2026 eclipse I checked Burgos against NASA, and totality came out within about 10 seconds. If any of you watched it from Spain, I'd love to hear if it matches what you saw.

Free, no account, no ads. Feedback very welcome, especially from people planning 2027 trips!

This is a crop of a larger composite: an on-site panorama calibrated on computed solar positions, with distant peaks as reference points.

The full image is on my site, along with the whole story, from preparation and the 3,000 km road trip to the observation and image processing: chasingmoonshadow.com

Would love to meet some eclipse chasers in the NYC area to plan for 2027. I saw totality from Vermont in 2024 and got hooked. Ready for a new adventure!

Hi! I tried searching the subreddit for this question, so please forgive me if this has been answered elsewhere.

We have booked flights to Spain for the 2027 eclipse. So far, where we’ve been able to book lodging is in the parts of the path that have a shorter period of totality. I can’t find anything near Tarifa, for example.

We aren’t eclipse chasers - this will be our first time to see totality. We are really looking forward to it, but we aren’t sure if we will feel we missed out if we only see two minutes of totality versus four or five. We are very hesitant to try to drive anywhere that morning.

I’d love to get opinions from those of you who really know this stuff. If we see two minutes, will we still be awestruck? Should I keep trying to find lodging closer to Tarifa? Should we get up in the middle of the night and drive?

Grateful for any guidance you can offer.

It would be great if we got together, share plans, etc.

One of the coolest parts I never considered about an eclipse right before sunset is the once in a lifetime sight of watching a crescent sunset... truly remarkable experience

Glad I booked! Really looking forward to it. Anyone else excited? It’s gonna be a full ship!

Ive tried to do some reasearch myslef but I cant find much(I probably wasnt looking in the right places). What are your plans for the eclipse?

Ready to view my 3rd solar eclipse within the path of totality. I'm not a fan of the Africa/Middle East trip, so I'm hoping for a great cruise recommendation.

This a composite of several photos of the 2026 eclipse from Haro in Spain, taken with a Canon 550D with a tripod and EF 70-300mm zoom. The landscape was taken with a Pixel 8, and the post-prod was made with GIMP.

I know I'm quite late.

Last week I started trying to book a place to stay for the eclipse next summer and literally 99% of the town is already booked including airbnbs and hotels!Anyone else planning to watch from here?

Came across this video on Instagram from @ mamajess_viola and thought people here might appreciate it:

The sun and the moon once loved each other, but because of time and distance, they were never meant to meet. So the universe created the eclipse. And maybe that is why eclipses feel so powerful and emotional, because it is a rare moment where the sun and the moon could finally meet, even if only for a little while. And they remind us that there is no such thing as impossible love because

It's like 5 weeks ago and I still notice that bright outdoor sun feels much brighter then before :(

Just want to urge everyone don't risk your eyes. It's just not worth it.

If I could turn back time I'd never look longer then a split second, even with 'certified' glasses. Well, honestly, I'd not look at all.

To my fellow British eclipse chasers, I'm pleased to say that flights from London to Tangier have now been released and are bookable for the dates around the eclipse. These are with Air Arabia (flying out of London Gatwick) and Ryanair (flying from London Stansted).

I found mine last night on Air Arabia's website, and when I came to book them this morning the the price had already gone up! When I was selecting my seats, I saw there were already a handful of seats taken, suggesting that other totality seekers are doing the same and booking even this early.

Maybe there'll be planes full of us!