Mon 02 Aug 2027 · Luxor, Egypt
6:23
minutes of totality. Longest of the century.
A total solar eclipse passes directly over Luxor with the longest land totality from 1991 to 2114. Six minutes twenty-three. Directly above the Valley of the Kings. We have an office in Luxor. This page is how we're planning it.
Join the waiting list
Luxor · 25.69° N
The line of greatest eclipse runs above this riverbank. The pharaohs mapped this sun for three thousand years from here.
Path of totality · 2 Aug 2027
The shadow enters Egypt over the Western Desert, crosses Luxor, and exits over the Red Sea.
Why Luxor
The line of greatest eclipse, three-thousand-year-old sightlines, and the clearest sky on the path.
The 2 August 2027 eclipse track crosses southern Spain, North Africa, the Arabian peninsula and the Horn of Africa. The centre line – where totality lasts longest – runs through Upper Egypt almost exactly over Luxor. Greatest eclipse falls at 12:43 local time with the sun 82° above the horizon, which is to say nearly overhead. The corona will read cleaner than at any low-altitude site on the track.
The climatology is what separates this eclipse from most others. Early August in Upper Egypt is the driest, clearest weather window of the year – the chance of an overcast 12:43 is statistically nil. Compare the 1999 Cornwall eclipse, watched by half of Britain through cloud. Compare an Antarctic centre-line totality you simply can't fly to. Luxor in August is the rare site that's long, clear, and reachable.
The line of greatest passes within a few miles of Karnak, Luxor Temple, the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut and the Ramesseum. Egyptian astronomy mapped this sun for three thousand years from this riverbank. You will not get this combination of subject and event again in our lifetimes.
- 01
6m 23s
Totality duration over Luxor
Longest land totality 1991–2114. 1999 Cornwall: 2m 07s (and largely overcast). 2024: 4m 28s.
- 02
82°
Sun altitude at greatest eclipse
Nearly directly overhead – no horizon issues, and corona display reads unusually clean.
- 03
~97%
Clear-sky probability
Upper Egypt in early August: essentially zero rain risk. The reason astronomers settled on Luxor.
- 04
25.69° N
Centre line of greatest eclipse
Luxor sits within 12 km of greatest duration. Aswan and the Valley of the Kings fall inside the path.
What we're building
Eight trip shapes for the eclipse. Cairo-run, honest about August heat, sized from three nights to ten.
Every shape below is a live product page with the full itinerary, cabin or room pricing, the cancellation ladder and the eclipse-day plan. They share three things – ISO 12312-2 viewing glasses, an astronomy escort and a midday cooling plan – and differ on everything else. Two are cruises that put you on the water on 2 Aug with no early checkout; one sails north and hands you the sun deck after disembarkation; two are dahabiyas, one chartered whole and one by the cabin; one is rooms only for people running their own programme; and two are full packages that add Cairo, and in the longest case the Red Sea.
- 01
Luxor hotel-only · independent · 4 nights
Karnak-side 3★ rooms for travellers running their own plan
Room-only, no transfers and no guide. We hold 3★ stock because Luxor's 5★ rooms for eclipse week have already gone. There is an on-site briefing from our Luxor team on eclipse-day timing, and after that the days are yours.
4 nights · pool, lobby bar, WiFi · short taxi to Luxor Temple
- 02
Aswan → Luxor cruise · eclipse-day exit · 4 days · 3 nights
Aswan to Luxor, disembark Mon 2 Aug – totality from the sun deck after checkout
The clever shape. Board in Aswan Fri 30 Jul and sail north through Kom Ombo, Edfu and Esna. You dock in Luxor on eclipse morning; cabins check out at 09:00 as normal but you stay aboard – bags in storage, sun deck yours through the 12:43 totality, lunch after, then the transfer to Luxor airport for evening flights.
Aswan · Kom Ombo · Edfu · Esna · Luxor · totality onboard
- 03
Cairo + 4-night cruise · best value · 8 days · 7 nights
Cairo, then four nights down the river to Aswan
Cairo first – the Pyramids, the Sphinx, the Grand Egyptian Museum – then fly south for a 4-night sailing to Aswan with Karnak, Luxor Temple, Edfu, Kom Ombo and Philae on the shore programme. Seven nights total; two of them are Cairo, four are on the water.
Cairo · Luxor · Karnak · Edfu · Kom Ombo · Aswan · Philae
- 04
Luxor → Aswan cruise · 4 nights · 5 days · 4 nights
Luxor to Aswan in four nights, with reserved sun-deck viewing
The compact version of the southbound sailing. Reserved sun-deck space for the 12:43 totality, then the West Bank – Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut, the Colossi – before Edfu, Kom Ombo, Philae and the High Dam.
Luxor · Valley of the Kings · Edfu · Kom Ombo · Aswan · Philae
- 05
Dahabiya · private charter · 5 days · 4 nights
Eight-cabin dahabiya, chartered whole, moored for totality
Sail-powered, no engine note, up to 23 guests and nobody else aboard. The boat holds a reserved riverbank mooring for the totality window. Shore calls at Karnak, Luxor Temple, Edfu, Kom Ombo, Philae and the Valley of the Kings.
Esna · Edfu · Kom Ombo · Aswan · reserved mooring
- 06
Grand tour · the full arc · 11 days · 10 nights
Cairo, the Nile Valley and the Red Sea – everything in one trip
Cairo with an Egyptologist, then a Nile cruise south through the eclipse, then Red Sea nights to decompress. Standard site entrance fees included. The shape to pick if this is your one trip to Egypt.
Cairo · Luxor · Edfu · Kom Ombo · Aswan · Red Sea
- 07
Luxor → Aswan cruise · no early checkout · 8 days · 7 nights
Seven nights Luxor to Aswan, totality on arrival day
You watch the corona from the sun deck on the day you board, so there is no 09:00 checkout to negotiate and no coach out to a viewing field. Egyptologist-guided shore calls at Karnak, Luxor Temple, the Valley of the Kings, Edfu, Kom Ombo and Philae.
Luxor · West Bank · Edfu · Kom Ombo · Aswan · Philae
- 08
Dahabiya · shared cabin · lowest price · 5 days · 4 nights
A cabin on a shared dahabiya, boarding the morning of the eclipse
Same lateen-sail boat and same slow pace as the charter, but you book a cabin rather than the whole vessel. Embarkation is 2 Aug itself. Full board from lunch on day one to breakfast on the last morning.
Embark 2 Aug · 4 nights · deluxe 5★ dahabiya · quiet moorings
All eight departures above are currently fully booked. The waiting list below is how we contact you first if any capacity opens up.
From the desk
We've got one Luxor office and a finite number of partner hotels, and every eclipse-week departure above is now fully booked. The waiting list is how we know who to call first the moment any capacity frees up – a cancellation, a new hotel allocation, or an additional sailing.
– Suhaila · Client Experience, Discovery Tours Egypt
The practical questions
Eight things people ask us about 2 August.
01When exactly is the eclipse?
Monday, 2 August 2027. First contact (the partial phase begins) about 11:20 Egypt time. Totality reaches Luxor at roughly 12:43 and lasts 6 minutes 23 seconds. Fourth contact at about 14:05. The sun is nearly overhead – 82° altitude – which means no horizon issues matter at all and the corona display is unusually good.
02Why Luxor in particular?
Luxor sits effectively on the line of greatest eclipse. Totality is longer over Luxor than anywhere else on land for this eclipse, full stop. The Met Office equivalent figures for early August in Upper Egypt show essentially zero rain risk and very high clear-sky probability. Aswan, Karnak and the Valley of the Kings all fall inside the totality path. Longest totality, almost-certain clear sky, and the most celebrated archaeological landscape on Earth – this combination will not repeat in our lifetimes.
03Six minutes – is that a lot?
Yes, genuinely. The 1999 Cornwall eclipse gave the UK two minutes seven seconds in the most-favoured spot – and it was overcast for most of the country. The 2024 North American eclipse hit four minutes twenty-eight in Mexico. 6m 23s at Luxor is the longest land totality between 1991 and 2114 – so longer than anything else any of us will see in our lifetimes. If you're going to fly for one eclipse, this is the one.
04Is it a published holiday yet?
Yes. Eight eclipse holidays are live and bookable, each with its own itinerary page, cabin or room pricing and cancellation terms – they're listed above. What's still moving is allocation: Luxor's quality-hotel stock is finite and the world's astronomy community is competing for the same rooms inside the totality zone, which is why the hotel-only option is 3★ rather than 5★. Ship and dahabiya cabins for 2 August are the tightest inventory we hold all year, so booking early buys you choice.
05What's the trip going to look like?
Three broad shapes. On the water: a Luxor→Aswan cruise where totality falls on the day you board, so there's no 09:00 checkout and no coach out to a field – you watch it from the sun deck, then sail south through Edfu, Kom Ombo and Aswan. Or the reverse, Aswan→Luxor, docking in Luxor on eclipse morning: you check out at 09:00 but stay aboard through the 12:43 corona and fly out that evening. On a dahabiya: the same river at half the speed under lateen sails, either chartered whole or booked by the cabin, mooring at quiet riverbank sites. Or a full package: Cairo and the Pyramids first, then the cruise, and in the 11-day version Red Sea nights to decompress afterwards. All of them include ISO 12312-2 viewing glasses, an astronomer escort, private Egyptologist guiding, and a midday cooling plan – early August in Luxor is 40°C plus.
06Can I bring my own telescope or camera kit?
Yes, and we'd encourage it. We're arranging dedicated equipment-friendly observation sites with shade tents, mounting platforms, power, and chase support for serious astrophotographers. Mention what you'd be bringing on the interest form and we'll route you to the right tier of group.
07Flights, visas, all that?
We arrange Cairo–Luxor domestic flights inside the package. International flights are separate – Heathrow direct to Cairo on EgyptAir is about five hours; one-stop via Istanbul, Frankfurt or Doha is often £100–£200 cheaper. UK passports need an Egypt visa: £25 e-Visa or roughly £30 on arrival (we handle the latter for you).
08What will it cost?
Ground-only, twin share, per person: from £3,825 for a cabin on the shared dahabiya, from £5,157 for the 8-day Cairo and 4-night cruise package, from £1,920 for the 4-day Aswan to Luxor sailing, from £1,938 room-only for the Karnak-side hotel, from £4,647 for either Luxor to Aswan cruise, from £6,285 for the 11-day grand tour, and from £7,237 for the whole-boat dahabiya charter. Single and upper-deck supplements as usual, and international flights are separate. Eclipse-week demand for Luxor's hotel and ship space sits well above a normal August – that's the reality of finite cabins and global demand.
Monday, 2 August 2027. The Egypt your ancestors planned trips around.