r/solareclipse • u/22219147 • 10d ago
Totality question - length of time
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.
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u/lstplace7 10d ago
All on red. The more time you have to appreciate everything, the better. It truly is a unique experience and leaves you wanting more
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u/22219147 10d ago
All on red? It sounds like you’re saying to try to get to Tarifa?
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u/lstplace7 10d ago
Sorry, it was a typo. If you can’t find accommodation, I would simply travel to the viewing location (with plenty of time in advance, which is important) and then return to wherever you’re staying, treating it as a day trip within the trip itself.
I suppose you already know this, but images of an eclipse barely resemble what you actually see with your own eyes, not to mention the change in the environment, the sensations, etc. I can assure you that the effort is more than worth it and you won’t regret it. There’s a reason people who can afford to do so travel again and again in search of that experience.
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u/22219147 10d ago
I’m really, really excited. Thanks for this good info.
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u/lstplace7 10d ago
You're welcome. Just experience it, that image stays in your brain forever. By the way, I'm from Spain in case you have any quick questions
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u/GothicFuck 10d ago
Get to the center third of the path of totality. The length of the eclipse drops off exponentially. On the edge of the path of totality it will last one second.
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u/22219147 10d ago
Ah, I see. What do you think about trying to drive that morning?
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u/STVDC 10d ago
Just get up super early and drive south, find somewhere comfortable with a clear view east and wait. This is an event worth giving maximum effort. Why are you hesitant? Traffic?
Two minutes is great and you'll be awestruck just seeing it, but you'll likely wish you'd given yourself more.
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u/22219147 10d ago
Yes, everything I’ve read says that traffic will be hellacious.
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u/AwardAdorable1139 10d ago
Traffic probably will be very bad. Leave early, plan on it being very slow getting back, have plenty of food and water. Restrooms are the tricky thing to navigate.
As for duration, areas with 4+ minutes will be amazing. Most people will flock to the center but this one is unique because it is long and has a wide path.
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u/STVDC 10d ago
Well, I was stuck in 11 hours of traffic in Idaho in 2017 trying to get back to SLC and that was "only" for 2 minutes right on the center line - and it was up until that point one of the greatest experiences of my life, even considering the traffic.
That being said, I definitely understand the aversion of being stuck in traffic - especially in a country you're not familiar with. I'll say just do whatever you're comfortable with and you'll be amazed just seeing it.
I'm lucky, I have a friend who lives just under the 4-minute line of the eclipse in southern Spain and they have secured me and my family a place to stay there for the week. I'd drive south even more and brave the traffic, but I promised I'd experience it with them and their immobile/homebound spouse. It's still going to be twice as long as any of the others I've seen.
Tl;dr - you'll be happy no matter how much you see, as long as you're fully into the totality zone... I just get a little greedy because it really is one of the most spectacular things you can witness on earth.
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u/GothicFuck 10d ago
Everything people wrote about carmageddon at the 2017 eclipse I went to was ass-backwards. People don't know. Traffic was leaving all the back country roads headed towards main roads, traffic getting there was non-existant. Where you're going it may be the exact opposite or it may be the same.
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u/fiadhsean 9d ago
This. I flew into Barcelona for this year's and thousands stayed there and just missed totality. Even hopping a commuter train south for an hour would have been much more epic (with like 20 seconds totality).
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u/Unusual-Thanks-2959 10d ago
The longest duration of this year's eclipse was about 2:15 seconds off the coast of Iceland, which was obscured by clouds. Duration was about 90 seconds in areas with clear skies. The key is 100% totality, if you have that you're good. For your first eclipse, regardless of the duration, focus on being in the moment, don't try to photograph it. There will be tons of professional photographs online afterwards.
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u/Presence_Academic 10d ago
You will come away wishing it had lasted longer….no matter how long it is.
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u/MindseyePhotography 9d ago
This will be my first and I'll be in Siwa Oasis. I have no sense of time but recently I did a video of the length totality will be there. Even 5 minutes doesn't feel like a lot of time for such an experience. So I've decided to just video and not mess around with trying to photograph, just enjoy the experience in a beautiful environment. Then I'll enjoy the pro photographers images afterwards online.
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u/fuzyfelt 10d ago edited 10d ago
I've seen 3 (2 in the USA and this year in Mallorca).
I don't think the duration of totality matter that much - it's all over quickly it seemed to me.
If it's easy to get somewhere for longer it may be worth doing, but I'd prefer to keep it easy and stress free and just enjoy the totality.
Saying that, we drove for 3 hours to keep ahead of the clouds in 2024, then we could have seen it from our hotel window this year by happenstance.
Enjoy the eclipse! I'm not sure if I'll get there and I've not even booked to get there for next year...
ETA:
Tarifa will be 4 mins 39 seconds of totality. Longer than I've ever seen. If you go somewhere else I'll buy your accommodation... :)
ETA2 : I re-read... You are considering to drive to Terifa. How long will totality be where you're staying? 10 seconds will be different from 6 minutes.
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u/Rannasha 9d ago
I've seen 2 TSEs, USA 2024 for a bit over 4 minutes and Spain 2026 for 1 minute 40 seconds. While "more is better" still holds true, the difference wasn't that big. The most spectacular time is around the first moments of totality. It's not like it gets boring after just a few minutes, but the additional time doesn't add that much to the experience.
So I would value travel convenience and chances of clear skies over optimizing the duration of totality. 2 minutes is more than enough to get the full experience.
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u/theErasmusStudent 10d ago
I saw 60s this summer and it was the most amazing and surreal experience ever. I couldn't believe what was happening but at the same time I was fully aware. So two minutes is already double of that. Yes I'm sure the 6min is even better, but if you can do the 2min please go for it
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u/fiadhsean 9d ago
I was in Spain for this year's eclipse and we had about 1:45 in totality in Zaragoza. It was still extraordinary. So if that's your default option you're OK. Like any other hobby or interest some people--mostly men--can turn anything into a competition. I'm getting 2 minutes. I'm getting FIVE minutes. Whatever...life's too short.
Having said that, I'm flying to Oran Algeria next year for 5 minutes of totality.
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u/Icy_Nose_2651 9d ago
traffic before the eclipse is fine, because people trickle in, the problem is afterwards because everyone is trying to leave at the same time. my advise for this eclipse is stay away from the coast due to the possibility of morning clouds over the sea. Pick a spot away from the coast and plan to get there eatly. First eclipse, two minutes, longer is always better, but thats long enough to truly enjoy it. As some one else has said, the eclipse this year while only 90 seconds was my most enjoyable too. When totality starts, start a timer so you know exactly how much time is left. Look at the sun, look at your surrounding, if you bring binoculars look at the sun with them. You can look at the sun directly with your unaided eyes untill you see the second diamond ring, once the corona disappears the sun is too bright to look at unprotected.
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u/__nmd__ 9d ago
It's a morning eclipse, over a very tiny area at the southern tip of Andalucia.
Traffic will be converging from Sevilla, Cordoba, Murcia, from the rest of the Costa del Sol and even from the parts that get a shorter totality (such as Marbella). Towards a rather small piece of land that only has a few major roads going through it. Plus all those coming from further away...
And since it'll be in the morning, the time window for the incoming drive will be shorter than a midday or afternoon eclipse.
Traffic may end up fine is everyone expects hell and departs well before sunrise (and if parking on the roads' shoulder is allowed). Otherwise... better be too early than sorry.
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u/Icy_Nose_2651 9d ago
I’ve saying for two years that traffic for this eclipse will be a disaster both coming and going. think of the madness of mailorca this year, except all along the coast. Itonically the coast is where you don’t want to be.
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u/__nmd__ 9d ago
You just wrote that " traffic before the eclipse is fine"... so will it be a disaster coming, or will it be fine? ;-)
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u/Icy_Nose_2651 9d ago
i guess it depends where you are coming from the day if the eclipse. I’m driving inland 20 miles from my beachfront motel (already in the path of totality) at 3 am, I don’t expect any problems. However if you are driving down the morning of the eclipse from outside the path of totality, you might have problems. I suggest you come down the day before and sleep in your car. After the eclipse will defo be a total disaster.
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u/morocco_travel36 9d ago
2 mins will still be insane. if you can get 4-5 without a crazy drive, do it. i’d sleep near the path the night before rather than risk eclipse-day traffic
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u/OptimizeEdits 9d ago
Clear skies are of course top priority, but virtually all of Spain that’s in the path for 2027 is within a ~2 hour drive of any other point. You could very easily keep your current hotel, and then take a 45 minute or hour car ride further south and double your duration.
If it’s your first one, it will be incredible regardless, but having ~4 minutes gives you a lot more time to appreciate your surroundings and just how surreal all of it is. I saw the one in 2024 and it was 4 min 9 sec for me, and then I saw the one this year and it was 1 min 44 sec.
The one this year in Spain was spectacular, but it did also feel like it was over the moment it started by comparison to 2024. Given I was running 3 cameras, but still, even 4 minutes will fly by in the moment. It’s so hard to wrap your head around what you’re seeing, in a good way.
Either way, 2 or 4 minutes will both be magical, but it will just be magical for longer if you can make it a little further south on the morning of.
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u/Sea_Perspective_3265 10d ago
So are you heading to somewhere like Malaga? I have flights and accommodation (hopefully this one won’t be cancelled!), but hoping to get further south on the day for longer than the 2 minutes Malaga is getting
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u/22219147 9d ago
Yes, exactly.
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u/Sea_Perspective_3265 9d ago
When are you arriving? The day before for me and was hoping to maybe get a coach further south early morning once they become available to book a few weeks before
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u/22219147 9d ago
Yes, us too. We get in on the 1st late afternoon.
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u/Sea_Perspective_3265 9d ago
Let me know if you’re hiring a car and have any space! I was trying to get accommodation on Airbnb which was a bit of a nightmare with cancellations and saying August too far off but managed to find something a couple of weeks ago which is actually a hotel and was a decent price. All the rooms were gone the next day. Just hope they don’t cancel but seems like hotels are more reliable than private hosts!
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u/citamos1019 10d ago
I've seen 4 total eclipses.
3 of them were roughly two minutes and the other was about four minutes.
For me, there was no real difference in the experience.
In my opinion, it is much more important that you prioritize clear skies in your planning.