Chasing the Sun: A Guide to Eclipse Travel

It was a hot, cloudless morning in August—until suddenly, it wasn’t. At 11:48 a.m., twilight descended. The temperature dropped by several noticeable degrees. Chattering birds were replaced by a symphony of crickets. It seemed like the evening blue hour had arrived. My inner photographer wanted to take portraits of my friends in the soft light, but my eyes were drawn skyward.

It wasn’t as black as night, but the sky was a deep blue, like the mesopelagic ocean or the horizon just after sunset. Venus and a few bright stars shone faintly. Where the sun had been, there was a deep black orb—the dark side of the moon—and around it, wispy light blue tendrils of the sun’s grasping corona.

For two minutes and forty seconds, a quiet stillness fell over my fellow observers. We could comprehend why ancient peoples viewed similar disappearances of the sun as divine portents. Eventually, a red and yellow glow developed on one side of the disk, and just as suddenly, it was over. Light flashed forth, and the sounds of the summer day resumed as if nothing exceptional had happened.

I, however, was changed forever.

Viewing a solar eclipse had been a goal since childhood, but after experiencing one, I knew that one would never be enough. I had joined the ranks of the umbraphiles—eclipse-chasers, literally, “shadow lovers.”

2024 Eclipse, taken with cell phone camera with eclipse glasses as a filter Photo: Cara Siera

Eclipse Chasing Tips

Solar eclipses can be deeply moving, metaphysical experiences, no matter the circumstances. Increasingly, people are traveling great distances, even around the world, to experience one. But a cloudy day or endless traffic might cast a shadow—pun intended—on the event. Especially if you’re traveling to view an eclipse, advance planning is essential.

Get Your Glasses Early

Eclipse glasses are the only special equipment you’ll need for this celestial phenomenon. Most are made out of cardboard fitted with flexible resin lenses infused with carbon particles, making them about 100,000 times darker than ordinary sunglasses. Such glasses are essential for protecting your eyes as you view the partial phases of the eclipse, before and after totality.

Eclipse glasses typically cost only a few dollars per pair, and they tend to pop up everywhere before a big eclipse event. But because the glasses are so vital, don’t wait until the last minute to obtain yours—local vendors might sell out, or supply chain issues might delay an online order. Purchase your glasses as soon as you decide to observe an event.

I keep a stash of eclipse glasses tucked inside my favorite astronomy book—enough for myself, my cameras, and to share with others. Yes, your camera needs one, too, if you’re going to take partial eclipse pictures—otherwise, you could damage delicate sensors inside. Hanging onto your glasses from one event to another makes this eco-tourism activity even more sustainable.

Choose Your Viewing Location

When solar eclipses occur, only a narrow band called the path of totality will see the total eclipse. The path is usually about 115 miles wide; outside of it, viewers may see a partial eclipse to varying degrees.

You can access maps for specific eclipses, made available by the National Solar Observatory, NASA, and organizations like EclipseWise. You can see which locations are closest to you, but that’s not the only thing to consider.

The duration of totality is also important. For example, the edge of the path of totality for the April 8, 2024 total eclipse was just over an hour’s drive from my hometown. But totality would last only 1 minute, 46 seconds there. Locations closer to the center of the path would enjoy a totality lasting just over four minutes—a long time for a total eclipse. So, I decided to make the nearly three-hour drive.

Once you know where you’ll travel to view the eclipse, you must choose where you’ll view it from—that is, where will you be standing?

Cities and even small towns may have free or ticketed events that will ensure an obstruction-free view. Sports stadiums may sell seats, for example, or parks and fairgrounds may host eclipse-themed festivals. This can be a good option if you’re not very familiar with the area.

I prefer a bit more solitude to revel in this meditative moment. For the 2024 eclipse, I chose a location I’d been before—the parking lot of a house of worship in a small town. I didn’t remember any large trees nearby, but I checked satellite imagery on Google Maps to be certain.

Large parking lots (think Walmart) can be decent, if public, locations, as there won’t be tall structures nearby. You can also look for rental houses without large trees on the property, or hotels with accessible rooftops. Remember, eclipses attract a lot of tourists, so try to book your accommodations as soon as they are available for the needed dates.

Viewing the 2024 eclipse with friends and family Photo: Cara Siera

Set an Alarm

From start to finish, eclipses often last about 2.5 hours, but the main show—totality—may be anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes. It’s important to double-check the timing of the event, especially if you’re traveling, heeding any time changes as well. What is more, you’ll enjoy looking at the preceding partial eclipse through your eclipse glasses as the anticipation builds.

And if you don’t want to miss it, set an alarm. I’ve spoken to more than one person who slept right through it!

I’ve also found it helpful to have a timer ready, set a few seconds short of the length of the eclipse. For example, I started a four-minute timer for the 2024 eclipse as soon as totality began. It went off about two seconds before the sun blazed from behind the moon, reminding us to have our eclipse glasses at the ready.

Watch Even if There’s Cloud Cover

On October 14, 2023, a “ring of fire” eclipse swept across the Western United States, with a partial eclipse visible across much of North, South, and Central America. It was a cloudy, rainy day at my location, but I decided to bring my eclipse glasses with me anyway.

I was rewarded for this choice. I was able to locate the sun when it peeked through a thin spot in the clouds, and my colleagues passed around my glasses so they could all catch a glimpse.

Finally, totality produces interesting effects even if you can’t see the sun itself. You’ll notice the change in temperature, twilight skies, flowers closing, and altered animal behavior.

Take Off Your Glasses

In the months leading up to the Great American Eclipse in 2017, media outlets diligently educated viewers on the necessity of eclipse glasses and the dangers of staring directly at the sun. But it was with anguish that I learned that one viewer hadn’t removed her glasses during totality. “I was afraid to!” she said. But, alas, she had missed the best part, when sun and moon converge into one mystical, glowing body that you can view with your own eyes.

Stay ‘Til Tomorrow

Above, we discussed renting accommodations with backyards ideal for viewing. Staying within walking distance of your viewing location is ideal for another reason—traffic is terrible following an eclipse. Why?

Totality can attract thousands, even tens of thousands, of tourists, and the infrastructure surrounding small towns on the path isn’t designed to handle that kind of volume. Drivers can become distracted during the eclipse, leading to an increase in traffic incidents and slowdowns. Finally, many people leave the area as soon as the eclipse is over, creating a mass exodus reminiscent of a hurricane evacuation route.

In 2024, I underestimated this phenomenon, as my previous viewings had been closer to home. Traffic crept along the interstate, but it was the worst when we stopped at Metropolis, Illinois, for a short break. At the nearest gas station, dozens of people waited in line for the restroom. We moved on to the McDonald’s down the street—the line was shorter there, but the plumbing had succumbed to overuse. The half-mile stint back to the interstate took over half an hour. In total, the two-hour-and-forty-minute drive unfurled across nearly eight hours.

I vowed then to always stay over at least one night after viewing an eclipse. This provides relief from traffic congestion and an opportunity to get to know the area better.

The Next Eclipse

Since 2017, the United States has enjoyed an unusual profusion of total solar eclipses. But if you want to view another eclipse domestically, you’ll have to wait a while—2044-2045, to be exact.

If twenty years is too long, eclipses will take place over Iceland and Spain, northern Africa, Australia, and South Africa and Australia in 2026, 2027, 2028, and 2030, respectively. Time has compiled this list of total solar eclipses for the next 50 years. I’ll see you there.

Click here for discounted accommodations in Iceland — the next eclipse destination coming in 2026!