As millions of Spaniards make plans for the first total solar eclipse anywhere on the planet for two years, The Independent has found that return air fares from the UK to the region have soared above £400 – while the cheapest hotel rooms in the key city, Burgos, are topping £500 per night.
A couple making a two-night break in the city from London could easily spend over £2,000 on travel and accommodation alone.
The astronomical phenomenon will sweep across northwestern Europe in peak summer. It will appear as a total solar eclipse only on the relatively narrow band known as the “path of totality”.
On 12 August 2026, the track of the moon blotting out the sun:
- Starts in the high Arctic
- Traverses south just inland from the east coast of Greenland
- Clips a far northwest corner of Iceland
- Crosses the North Atlantic west of Ireland
- Sweeps over northern Spain
- Ends at the Balearic Islands at sunset
The UK’s top eclipse expert, Dr John Mason, told The Independent’s daily travel podcast that clear skies are unlikely in the northern portion of the path of totality: “Cloud cover across the North Atlantic at that time of year is pretty dreadful.”
But the fjord system known as Scoresby Sound in Greenland is one exception. Dr Mason, who has been leading eclipse tours for over three decades, said: “The air coming off of the frozen ice cap down into Scoresby Sound generally means that that is a little pocket of clarity in that whole area of cloud.”
There are better prospects in Spain – but it will be early evening before the eclipse track makes landfall on mainland Europe.
“The sun is less than 10 degrees high at totality,” Dr Mason said. “That is unfortunately low, because you've got a very long path through the atmosphere. Although you may have a completely clear sky overhead, you could have cloud somewhere along that line of sight, because it's a long path through the atmosphere.
“You just can't really tell what's going to happen. The weather in Spain in August can be very variable.”
On the same date in 2025, heavy cloud and thunderstorms filled the skies of northern Spain.
Dr Mason is much sought after by travel firms as a tour leader; Queen guitarist Sir Brian May is among his celebrity clients.
The astronomer will be leading his 2026 trip on behalf of New Scientist. It will be based in the northern Spanish city of Burgos. But, he said: “We're not observing from Burgos itself, we're going up on some high ground to the the west of Burgos.”
If the skies remain clear, a bonus awaits astronomical tourists, Dr Mason says: “That night, 12 August, is the maximum of the annual Perseid meteor shower. There will be no bright moonlight, which often spoils the show. So if we have a clear night after the eclipse, and the eclipse is late on anyway, then we will be out observing the Perseid meteors that night to the early hours of the morning of the 13th.”
Many British people are travelling by air or sea to the north coast of Spain, particularly Bilbao and Santander.
“The problem is: all along the northern coast of Spain is quite cloudy in the late afternoon,” Dr Mason said.
The cheapest flights from the UK to Bilbao on 11 August and back on 13 August are around £400. Airport transfers and rail travel to and from Burgos will add at least another £50 per person. On booking.com, there is only one room remaining for a two-night stay under £1,000: the Hotel Asador Versus for £972. The only other options range from £1,082 to £1,792.
Dr Mason said: “As always happens, the prices are very much inflated around that time.” A two-night city break Burgos could easily top £2,000 for a couple flying from London.
Some eclipse tourists are flying into Madrid then travelling by coach to the path of totality – and back during the night. But if the weather forecast is favourable, there could be road congestion as Spanish people converge on the eclipse track.
Viewers in much of northwest Europe will, if skies are clear, witness a partial eclipse. The US National Solar Observatory warns: "During totality, you may view the sun without proper eye protection, such as solar glasses. But during all other phases of the eclipse, you should only look at the sun when your eyes are protected.”
The following summer (2 August 2027), the southern tip of mainland Spain is in the path of totality for an eclipse that will sweep across North Africa and the Arabian peninsula: going east from the Strait of Gibraltar, it will encompass Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, the northeastern-most corner of Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
Read more: Solar eclipse 2026: A traveller’s guide to the best places to be when the light goes out
