The solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, is going to be a big deal, expecting to draw anywhere from 1 to 4 million people to the path of totality for the event. The profound experience is not one to underestimate—AFAR contributor Jeff Greenwald describes the spectacle: “For some, it’s a scientific epiphany; for others, a spiritual catharsis. But nobody who’s seen one ever forgets the experience.”
With this year’s total solar eclipse being the last visible from the contiguous USA until August 2044, hotel rooms along the eclipse’s path in cities like San Antonio, Texas, and Niagara Falls are already filling up. But if you’re not one of the 31 million Americans living inside the path of totality, tour operators across the continent are offering customized experiences for those eager to see it.
Ready to go all out for the celestial event? Here are four tour operators that will plan your ultimate solar eclipse getaway.
(All listed prices are based on double occupancy.)
1. Intrepid’s 16-day tour of New Mexico and Texas
- Dates: March 26, 2024 – April 10, 2024
- Notable locations: Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico; Alpine, Fredericksburg, and San Antonio, Texas
- Length: 16 days
- Price: From $8,790 per person
- Book now: USA Total Solar Eclipse 2024
If you want to spend a couple of weeks immersed in the natural skies and landscapes of New Mexico and Texas, consider this 16-day trip by Intrepid Travel. The adventure starts in Albuquerque, where visitors tour through New Mexico’s Museum of Natural History and Science (the museum’s planetarium will of course be a stop) and visit an astronomical radio observatory. Stops in Santa Fe, Alamogordo, and Las Cruces whisk travelers away from the big city to darker skies, including those of White Sands National Park.
The trip concludes in San Antonio, where you’ll be able to see the eclipse. For any space questions that inevitably arise: U.K.-based astronomy lecturer Dr. John Mason, who has more than 30 years of experience leading overseas expeditions to observe phenomena like annular and total solar eclipses, will accompany the tour the whole time.
Hot Springs National Park covers more than 5,000 acres.
Photo by Bram Reusen/Shutterstock
2. Arkansas total solar eclipse tour by Sunrise Tours
- Dates: April 6–10, 2024
- Notable locations: Atlus, Hot Springs National Park, and Fort Smith, Arkansas
- Length: 5 days
- Price: From $1,389 per person
- Book now: Arkansas Total Solar Eclipse
The 2024 eclipse’s path of totality includes part of the Ozarks, and Missouri-based Sunrise Tours offers the opportunity to learn about the region through its Total Solar Eclipse tour in Arkansas. The five-day trip includes a stop at Ozark Folk Center State Park, which spotlights Ozark artists by featuring a craft village full of pottery, copper jewelry, and other handmade goods. Tour participants will also get to take a dip in Hot Springs National Park.
The main event takes place by the Ozark Mountains in Atlus, Arkansas—with totality lasting about 3 minutes—followed by two days exploring Fort Smith, a town bordering Oklahoma that was a major military post during the country’s frontier era.
The eclipse sailing will be aboard the Koningsdam, which can accommodate 2,650 guests.
Courtesy of Holland America Line
3. Holland America’s 22-Day Solar Eclipse Cruise
- Dates: April 5–27, 2024
- Notable locations: San Diego, California; Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; Honolulu, Hawai‘i; British Columbia, Canada
- Length: 22 days
- Price: From $1,499 per person
- Book now: 22-Day Solar Eclipse & Circle Hawai’i
Areas along the path of totality are expected to get crowded come April 8—that is, if you’re on land. Holland America’s 22-day cruise offers the rare opportunity to witness a solar eclipse at sea, all while sailing waters near the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Departing from Cabo San Lucas, the 2,650-person Koningsdam cruise ship takes passengers off the coast of Mexico to see the solar eclipse. But that’s just day four. The itinerary packs in stops in Mexico and Hawai‘i before ending in British Columbia, where passengers disembark in Vancouver. Plus, guests will have the opportunity to attend special lectures by University of California San Diego astronomy and astrophysics professor Adam Burgasser to better understand the eclipse and create their own eclipse viewers (special eyewear that lets you directly view the sun without damaging your eyes).
Holland America is offering another 2024 solar eclipse cruise, a 14-day itinerary aboard the 1,432-passenger Zaandam that will take passengers round-trip from San Diego with eight stops in Mexico. The particular cruise is currently sold out, but cabins may become available later if there are cancellations.
A full trip on the Chepe Express covers more than 200 miles.
Photo by dba duplessis/Shutterstock
4. Mexico’s Copper Canyon Total Solar Eclipse Tour from TravelQuest International
- Dates: March 29 – April 9, 2024
- Notable locations: Copper Canyon, Chihuahua, and Torreón, Coahuilan
- Length: 12 days
- Price: From $6,980 per person
- Book now: Mexico’s Copper Canyon Total Solar Eclipse
This tour by TravelQuest International emphasizes the natural beauty found in northwestern Mexico, packing in an excursion to Mexico’s coast as well as time exploring Indigenous culture through small community visits. Unique to this journey is a six-hour scenic train ride on the Chepe Express from El Fuerté to Divisadero, among the forested peaks of the Sierra Madre Occidental range.
When it comes to the April 8 eclipse, the trip has one of the best places to catch totality. Participants will watch the eclipse in the Torreón, an economic hub in the Mexican state of Coahuilan, where there will be an estimated 4 minutes and 4 seconds of totality during eclipse time—due to the glorious fact that the viewing point is less than 50 miles from the point of greatest eclipse near Nazas.
