How do I check if a place is in the 2027 path of totality?
Type your hotel's exact address into an interactive eclipse map — timeanddate.com's eclipse tool and Xavier Jubier's Google-based eclipse map both let you do this — rather than just checking the town. The path is only 258km wide, and in places like Aswan, Sousse and Almería the edge passes within a few miles of the town centre.
If your hotel is outside the path, you will not see totality no matter how close the number looks. A 99% eclipse is not a fainter version of the real thing — it's a completely different event, and no amount of coverage short of 100% gets you the corona.
This page checks specific destinations against the 2 August 2027 total solar eclipse path, so you can find out before you book rather than after. For everything else about this eclipse — UK partial times, what causes the six-minute duration, and how to watch safely — start with our complete 2027 solar eclipse guide.
Which famous destinations miss the 2027 path of totality?
The path runs from the Atlantic coast of Spain and Morocco, across Algeria, Tunisia and Libya, down the Nile Valley in Egypt, and out over the Red Sea to Saudi Arabia. Plenty of well-known holiday towns sit close to that line without actually being on it. The table below is sorted by how close each one gets — the top rows are the cruellest misses, within touching distance of totality and still getting nothing.
| Place | Max coverage | Totality? | Nearest fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Almería, Spain | ~100% | No — grazes the edge | Drive south-west along the coast |
| Aswan, Egypt | 99.9% | No — grazes the edge | Luxor, ~3 hrs north |
| Sousse, Tunisia | 99.9% | No — grazes the edge | El Jem, ~40 min south |
| Monastir, Tunisia | 99.9% | No — grazes the edge | El Jem, ~40 min south |
| Granada, Spain | 99% | No | Marbella, ~1.5 hrs south |
| Faro, Portugal | 99% | No | Vejer de la Frontera, ~2.5 hrs east |
| Rabat, Morocco | 99% | No | Chefchaouen or Tangier, 2–4 hrs north |
| Hurghada, Egypt | 98.5% | No | Marsa Alam, ~3.5 hrs south |
| Seville, Spain | 98% | No | Vejer or Tarifa, ~1.5 hrs south |
| Fez, Morocco | 98% | No | Chefchaouen or Tangier, 2–4 hrs north |
| Hammamet, Tunisia | 98% | No | El Jem, similar drive to Sousse |
| Córdoba, Spain | 97% | No | South toward Tarifa — further than from Seville |
| Casablanca, Morocco | 97% | No | Chefchaouen or Tangier, 2–4 hrs north |
| Tunis, Tunisia | 97% | No | El Jem or Sfax, ~2–3 hrs south |
| Malta | 97% | No | Not practical — fly to Sfax or Djerba instead |
| Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt | 96% | No | Not practical — fly to Luxor instead |
| Cairo & Giza, Egypt | 95% | No | Asyut or Bahariya, ~3–4 hrs south |
| Alicante, Spain | 95% | No | Not practical — the path is the far south coast |
| Alexandria, Egypt | 93% | No | Further than Cairo — fly to Luxor or Asyut |
| Lisbon, Portugal | 93% | No | South via the Algarve, then on to Vejer |
| Ibiza, Spain | 92% | No | Not practical from the island |
| Valencia, Spain | 90% | No | Not practical — the path is the far south coast |
| Palma de Mallorca, Spain | 89% | No | Not practical from the island |
| Marrakesh, Morocco | 89% | No — a long way out | Tangier, ~6 hrs north |
| Madrid, Spain | 86% | No | Not practical for a day trip — fly south instead |
| Agadir, Morocco | 84% | No | Further than Marrakesh — not realistic |
| Barcelona, Spain | 82% | No | Not practical — fly south instead |
| Porto, Portugal | 82% | No | A very long way south — not a realistic day trip |
| Athens, Greece | 78% | No | Not practical — the path passes far to the south |
| Rome, Italy | 75% | No | Not practical — Italy is nowhere near the track |
Maximum coverage calculated by WatchTheStars from the JPL DE421 ephemeris for each town's coordinates at sea level. A place a few miles from where you're staying can give a noticeably different figure — check your actual hotel address, not just the town centre.
Why isn't 99% good enough?
Because the 1% of the Sun still showing is thousands of times brighter than the corona. Your eyes and the sky around you have no way of telling the difference between 99% and a fairly overcast afternoon. You'll notice the light go a bit odd and a bit cool. That's it.
Inside the path, when the Moon finally covers that last sliver, the change is instant and total. The sky goes properly dark, the corona appears as a pale halo around the black disc of the Moon, bright stars and planets come out, and you get a strange glow around the whole horizon, like a sunset in every direction at once. None of that happens at 99%, 99.9% or even 99.99%. You either get all of it, or none of it — there's no partial version of totality.
Is Cairo in the path of totality?
No. Cairo and Giza reach about 95% coverage at maximum eclipse, around 12:55 local time, and see no totality. It's the most searched question about this eclipse for a reason — Cairo is where most Egypt trips start, and it's easy to assume the pyramids will be part of the show. They won't be. For that, you need to head south to Asyut or Bahariya Oasis, three to four hours' drive away, both covered with duration and access notes in our guide to where to watch the 2027 eclipse.
Is Seville in the path?
No. Seville reaches about 98% coverage at 10:47 local time and misses totality too. Granada (99%) and Almería (close to 100%) are just as tantalisingly close and just as firmly outside. The fix from Seville is straightforward: Vejer de la Frontera or Tarifa, both well inside the path, are about an hour and a half south by road.
Which resorts are safe bets inside the path?
These places are comfortably inside the path rather than clinging to its edge, so a small error in your exact position won't cost you totality. Durations are for the town itself.
| Place | Totality |
|---|---|
| Tarifa, Spain | 4m 41s |
| Gibraltar (Europa Point) | 4m 32s |
| Vejer de la Frontera, Spain | 4m 08s |
| Marbella, Spain | 3m 20s |
| Cádiz, Spain | 2m 57s |
| Málaga, Spain | 1m 56s |
| Tangier, Morocco | 4m 52s |
| Chefchaouen, Morocco | 4m 15s |
| Sfax, Tunisia | 5m 42s |
| Djerba, Tunisia | 4m 44s |
| El Jem, Tunisia | 4m 26s |
| Luxor, Egypt | 6m 23s |
| Bahariya Oasis, Egypt | 6m 20s |
| Asyut, Egypt | 6m 08s |
| Marsa Alam, Egypt | 5m 30s |
| Jeddah, Saudi Arabia | 6m 00s |
Notice how the Spanish numbers drop away fast toward Málaga — that's the northern edge of the path making itself felt over a fairly short distance. Egypt and Tunisia have far more breathing room, which is part of why they're worth the longer trip. For the full regional breakdown, including weather odds and current travel advice for each country, see our where-to-watch guide.
Pack certified filters wherever you end up
Kit we've tested and reviewed in full
This part does not change whichever side of the line your hotel falls on. Outside the path you'll be looking through a filter the whole time. Inside it, you still need one for the hour of partial phases either side of totality. Buy now and pack it in hand luggage.
Baader Solar Eclipse Observing Glasses
The one thing every visitor needs, whether you end up watching a partial eclipse from Cairo or six minutes of totality from Luxor. ISO 12312-2 certified, and safe for direct viewing throughout the partial phases.
Astro Essentials Solar Eclipse Glasses (2-pack)
Buy more than one pair. You will end up handing spares to family, other guests at the hotel, or the person who turns up on the day with nothing at all.
Baader AstroSolar Telescope Filter (ASTF)
For anyone bringing binoculars or a small scope. Fits over the front for the partial stages, and only comes off if your hotel is far enough inside the path to see totality.
Affiliate links: you pay the same price — we earn a small commission that helps keep WatchTheStars free.
How do I check an exact address?
Use an interactive eclipse map and search your hotel's address rather than the town it's in. Timeanddate.com's eclipse map lets you click any point on Earth and get exact local circumstances, including whether you're inside or outside the path. Xavier Jubier's interactive Google Maps-based eclipse tool does the same thing with satellite imagery underneath, which makes it easier to see exactly which street or beach the shadow's edge crosses.
The one rule worth remembering: being near the centre line beats being just inside the edge, by a wide margin. Duration collapses fast as you approach the limit — Tarifa gets 4 minutes 41 seconds while Cádiz, barely 30 miles away, gets only 2 minutes 57 seconds because it sits much closer to the path's northern boundary. If your map check shows you're inside the path but close to a limit line, treat it the same as being outside it and have a backup plan for the morning.
During totality, keep an eye out for Venus shining brightly near the eclipsed Sun. And once the eclipse is over, it's worth checking our astronomy events calendar before you head home — the Perseid meteor shower peaks just ten days later, on 12–13 August, and North African and southern Spanish skies are properly dark. If you're curious what a much smaller eclipse looks like from home first, our write-up of the partial eclipse the UK saw in August 2026 is a useful preview — and a good reminder of why a genuine totality experience is worth the travel. You can also check tonight's stargazing conditions from home any time you want a preview of what clear, dark skies actually look like.