DID YOU KNOW A TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE IS COMING? HERE’S HOW TO SEE IT.
On Aug. 12, parts of Greenland, Iceland, Spain and Portugal will experience the thrill of daytime darkness. Here’s where you can witness the cosmic spectacle.
When this year’s total solar eclipse darkens sunlit skies on Aug. 12, its path will pass over some breathtaking sites — including parts of Iceland, Portugal, Spain and remote eastern Greenland.
It will extend some 5,133 miles from the top of the Earth to the Mediterranean Sea, where spectators will enjoy an extraordinary sunset eclipse.If you’re planning to travel for a glimpse of totality, make sure to think about the weather: Iceland tends to be overcast, while Spain is likely to be clear but sultry. Two-thirds of this eclipse’s path falls over the ocean, so you may want to consider a cruise.
Here are some options for experiencing this year’s brush with daytime darkness.
Iceland
Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital, is in the direct path of a total eclipse for the first time since 1433. Unfortunately, it is off the centerline, so it will get only about a minute of sweet, sweet darkness.
But totality will last a little over two minutes on the Westfjords and the Snaefellsnes Peninsulas, a few hours’ drive north of Reykjavik.
In and around the village of Hellissandur, near the tip of Snaefellsnes, Iceland Eclipse 2026 is serving up five days of arts and science programming with performances by musicians like Reggie Watts, Berlioz and Imogen Heap, who will appear as Him Gone Ape. There will also be talks with astronauts, scientists and the filmmaker Darren Aronofsky. Tickets to the festival start at $888. On-site accommodations ranging from tent sites and R.V. lots to premium glamping cost extra, as do affiliated side trips like an acoustic concert in a lava cave, a helicopter ride to a glacial volcano and a kayaking tour of the nearby fjords.
Closer to Reykjavik, Björk is greeting the eclipse with Echolalia, a one-day festival featuring D.J. sets from her and Arca as well as performances from Sideproject, Ronja and more artists to be announced. The event will take place at a sculpture park in Hafnarfjordur, about seven and a half miles southwest of the capital, where attendees will enjoy 1 minute 4 seconds of darkness. Tickets start at about 15,000 kronur, or roughly $120, and include admission to Björk’s exhibition at the National Gallery of Iceland and a pair of commemorative eclipse glasses.
Spain
The path of totality runs across the Iberian Peninsula from the northwest coast to the Balearic Islands of Majorca and Ibiza, and includes a sliver of northeastern Portugal.
If a mountain rave is your thing, there are two options close to the centerline. The Iberia Eclipse Festival is hosting five days of “sound, art and ceremony” on four stages — Sun, Sky, Moon and Earth — near Vinuesa, about halfway between Madrid and Bilbao. There, you’ll be in the dark for 1 minute 42 seconds. Tickets start at 240 euros, about $278, which includes basic camping.
A little closer to Madrid, in the ski town of La Pinilla, where totality will last a little over a minute and a half, the Astral Plane festival offers three days of art installations, wellness workshops and house, techno and trance sets on three stages, including one on a mountaintop. Admission starts at €175; camping and glamping accommodations cost extra.
León, Palencia and Burgos are among the best-positioned cities in Spain, with all three spending about 1 minute 45 seconds in the dark. Zaragoza, one of Spain’s largest cities, is in totality for about a minute and a half. The same goes for the island of Majorca, where the centerline cuts right through the island’s capital, Palma. It’s a prime spot because there, the eclipse will occur as the sun sets over the sea, and on an island your odds of getting a good sightline are favorable. If you choose to remain inland, seek high ground because the sun will be low on the horizon.
On the Water
Numerous ships are charting courses for the zone of totality, and many still have availability.
If money is no object, Ponant is offering a 14-day excursion, starting at $18,021 per person, that sails around the Svalbard archipelago of Norway, before heading to Greenland and northwestern Iceland. The husband-and-wife European Space Agency astronauts Jean-Pierre and Claudie Haigneré will be on board to give lectures on space and eclipses.
The Queen Mary 2 will add Norway and Iceland to its trans-Atlantic itinerary during a two-week crossing from Southampton, England, to New York that starts on Aug. 4. Double-occupancy cabins begin at $8,438.
Celebrity Cruises’ Apex is taking a southward tack for the eclipse, heading out on Aug. 1 for a 15-day round trip from Southampton to Barcelona, with stops in places like Majorca, Lisbon and La Coruña, Spain, which is in the path of totality. Rooms start at about $3,200 per person.
How to Go
Consult an eclipse map and book now, nailing down as many details as possible. Several experiences have already sold out, while others, like the festival in Hellissandur, are nearly full.
Give yourself plenty of time to get to your ideal spot for the big day, or better yet, book your stay as close as possible to that spot, because getting around will be challenging both before and after the eclipse. If you would rather just offload all this planning to an expert, guided trips from Sirius Travel, Tours of Distinction and others are still available.
Above all, remember that Mother Nature is fickle. In 2024 for the North American eclipse, the weather was expected to be good in Texas and bad in Maine, but the opposite turned out to be true. Go somewhere you love or have always wanted to visit. That way, if the clouds spoil your view, you can console yourself with an otherwise satisfying vacation.
Finally, take heart: There will be total solar eclipses in 2027 (North Africa) and 2028 (Australia), so if you miss this one, you can always catch the next one.