Where to Watch the 2027 Total Solar Eclipse: Spain, Morocco, Tunisia or Egypt?

Where to watch the total solar eclipse of 2 August 2027: 20 places on the path of totality compared by length of totality, sun height and average August cloud cover – from Tarifa and Tangier to Djerba, Luxor and Jeddah.

  • Twenty places on the path of totality, compared by length of totality, the sun's height and how cloudy August usually is there. Computed from NASA's orbital data and NASA POWER's climate record.

Three places worth a look

  • Clearest sky: Sohag (Egypt): 7 % average August cloud cover and 6 min 22 s of totality. The odds of a clear sky are the best of all twenty places.
  • Longest totality in Europe: Tarifa (Spain): 4 min 39 s of totality with the sun 38° high. 20 % average August cloud cover, and no sea crossing needed.
  • Clearest sky outside Egypt: Djerba (Tunisia): 14 % average August cloud cover and 4 min 42 s of totality.

All twenty places side by side

  • Sorted by the column you pick. Times are local time at the place; the cloud figure is the average for August, not a forecast.
  • Cadiz (Spain): Totality 2 min 54 s, Greatest eclipse 10:46, Sun height 37°, August cloud 25 %
  • Tarifa (Spain): Totality 4 min 39 s, Greatest eclipse 10:47, Sun height 38°, August cloud 20 %
  • Gibraltar (Gibraltar): Totality 4 min 27 s, Greatest eclipse 10:47, Sun height 38°, August cloud 20 %
  • Estepona (Spain): Totality 3 min 37 s, Greatest eclipse 10:48, Sun height 39°, August cloud 20 %
  • Marbella (Spain): Totality 3 min 17 s, Greatest eclipse 10:48, Sun height 39°, August cloud 23 %
  • Malaga (Spain): Totality 1 min 50 s, Greatest eclipse 10:49, Sun height 39°, August cloud 23 %
  • Ceuta (Spain): Totality 4 min 48 s, Greatest eclipse 10:47, Sun height 38°, August cloud 22 %
  • Melilla (Spain): Totality 4 min 34 s, Greatest eclipse 10:50, Sun height 41°, August cloud 36 %
  • Tangier (Morocco): Totality 4 min 51 s, Greatest eclipse 09:47, Sun height 38°, August cloud 22 %
  • Chefchaouen (Morocco): Totality 4 min 13 s, Greatest eclipse 09:47, Sun height 39°, August cloud 22 %
  • Al Hoceima (Morocco): Totality 4 min 26 s, Greatest eclipse 09:49, Sun height 40°, August cloud 40 %
  • Oran (Algeria): Totality 5 min 08 s, Greatest eclipse 09:53, Sun height 43°, August cloud 27 %
  • Djerba (Tunisia): Totality 4 min 42 s, Greatest eclipse 10:12, Sun height 57°, August cloud 14 %
  • Gabès (Tunisia): Totality 4 min 06 s, Greatest eclipse 10:10, Sun height 56°, August cloud 14 %
  • Sfax (Tunisia): Totality 5 min 39 s, Greatest eclipse 10:11, Sun height 56°, August cloud 20 %
  • Sohag (Egypt): Totality 6 min 22 s, Greatest eclipse 13:01, Sun height 81°, August cloud 7 %
  • Luxor (Egypt): Totality 6 min 21 s, Greatest eclipse 13:05, Sun height 82°, August cloud 9 %
  • Marsa Alam (Egypt): Totality 5 min 28 s, Greatest eclipse 13:10, Sun height 81°, August cloud 12 %
  • Jeddah (Saudi Arabia): Totality 5 min 58 s, Greatest eclipse 13:25, Sun height 76°, August cloud 36 %
  • Abha (Saudi Arabia): Totality 6 min 03 s, Greatest eclipse 13:37, Sun height 71°, August cloud 60 %

Country by country

  • Spain and Gibraltar: The path crosses the coast of Andalusia from Cádiz to Málaga, with the sun about 38° high in the morning. Totality is longest at the Strait of Gibraltar (4 min 39 s at Tarifa) and shortest towards Málaga (1 min 50 s). Cloud cover in August averages 20 % at Tarifa. Mainland Europe is the easiest option from most of the continent.
  • Morocco: Tangier and Tétouan, just across the strait, get 4 min 51 s of totality, an hour earlier on the clock than Spain because Morocco's clocks are an hour behind in August. Tangier and the Rif town of Chefchaouen average 22 % cloud in August; Al Hoceima and the Mediterranean coast further east are cloudier, about 40 %.
  • Algeria and Tunisia: Totality crosses the Mediterranean coast of Algeria and then Tunisia, where the south is the clearer part: Djerba and Gabès average 14 % cloud in August, and Djerba gets 4 min 42 s of totality with the sun about 57° high. Check your government's travel advice for Algeria before planning.
  • Egypt: Upper Egypt has the clearest August skies of the whole path – 9 % average cloud at Luxor – and the longest totality over land: 6 min 21 s at Luxor, with the sun about 82° high. The price is the heat: August is the hottest month there, and viewing spots in the Nile valley need shade and water.
  • Saudi Arabia: Jeddah on the Red Sea gets 5 min 58 s of totality with 36 % average cloud. The highlands in the south-west, such as Abha (6 min 03 s of totality), have a summer cloud season: 60 % average cloud makes them the cloudiest of the twenty.

About the cloud figure

  • The cloud figure is the average cloud amount for August from NASA POWER's climate record (2001–2025), on a grid of about one degree (roughly 100 kilometres). It says how cloudy the month usually is, not what the sky will do on 2 August 2027, and a coastal place can be better or worse than its grid square. Closer to the date, check a weather forecast and be ready to drive a few hours to a clear sky.
  • Cloud data: NASA POWER (NASA Langley Research Center), free to use with credit. Rounded to whole percent.

Questions about where to watch

  • Where is the best place to watch the 2027 eclipse? On climate alone, the clearest sky of the twenty places is Sohag: 7 % average August cloud and 6 min 22 s of totality. On the European mainland, Tarifa has the longest totality (4 min 39 s, 20 % cloud). Which is best for you depends on how far you will travel and how much you mind the August heat.
  • Is Spain or Egypt better for the eclipse? Egypt wins on the numbers: less cloud, a higher sun and a much longer totality (6 min 22 s against 4 min 39 s in Tarifa). Spain wins on convenience: it is in Europe, hotels and roads are familiar, and the sun is still 38° high in the morning.
  • Does the cloud figure tell me the weather on 2 August 2027? No. It is the average for the whole month of August over 2001–2025. It shows where cloud is rare and where it is common, but only a forecast a few days before can tell you about the day itself.
  • Why does totality last longer in Egypt than in Spain? The point of greatest eclipse lies near Luxor. There the sun stands high, the moon's shadow falls almost straight down and crosses the ground more slowly, so totality lasts up to 6 min 23 s. In Spain the shadow falls at a slant and moves faster.
  • Why are some places on the path left out? Libya, Yemen and Somalia lie on the path too, but we do not list them as destinations: check your government's travel advice before thinking about them. Mecca is left out because it is closed to non-Muslims.
  • How high will the sun be, and does it matter? In southern Spain the sun stands about 38° high at the greatest eclipse, in Egypt about 82°. A higher sun means that houses, trees and hills rarely block the view, but even at 38° you only need a clear horizon to the south-east.