Total Solar Eclipse Spain 2027: Where to Watch, Where to Stay, and What Comes Next in 2028

Aug 13
4 min read

If you caught 2026's total solar eclipse over Spain, or wished you had, mark your calendar again: on August 2, 2027, the country gets another one, and this time it's the south's turn. Then, just six months later, a rare “ring of fire” annular eclipse crosses almost the entire Iberian Peninsula. Three solar eclipses touching Spanish soil in three consecutive years hasn't happened here in generations. Here's what each one actually looks like, and where to be for it.

August 2, 2027: Total Solar Eclipse Over Southern Spain

This one is being called the eclipse of the century for good reason, it's the longest total solar eclipse visible from land anywhere until 2114. The path of totality enters from the Atlantic west of Gibraltar and crosses the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, almost the entire province of Cádiz, part of Málaga province, and the southern edges of Granada and Almería, before continuing on through Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Somalia. In Spain it happens in the late morning, with totality arriving around 10:45 to 10:50 local time.

Ceuta — totality begins around 10:45, lasting about 4 minutes 48 seconds.
Melilla — begins around 10:48, lasting about 4 minutes 34 seconds.
Tarifa (Cádiz) — the longest totality anywhere in Spain, around 4 minutes 39 seconds.
Cádiz city — begins around 10:45, lasting about 2 minutes 54 seconds.
Málaga — begins around 10:48, lasting about 1 minute 48 seconds.
Everywhere else in mainland Spain — a partial eclipse, at least 70% of the sun covered.

For scale, the point of greatest eclipse near Luxor, Egypt sees 6 minutes 22 seconds of totality. Spain has the advantage of easier logistics, a sun still reasonably high for good photography, and hotel infrastructure that doesn't require planning a desert expedition.

Where to Watch It

Tarifa sits right on the centerline with the longest totality in the country, plus its own built-in draw as a windsurfing town on the Strait of Gibraltar. Cádiz city gives you totality with a proper Spanish city around it, restaurants, hotels, an old town to wander before and after. If you want to fold the eclipse into a longer trip, this stretch of coast overlaps with the Costa del Sol and Málaga province, and it's worth reading up on Andalucía as a whole before you book, since the region covers a lot more ground than the eclipse path alone. Given the “eclipse of the century” branding, expect lodging in Cádiz and Tarifa to sell out well in advance, the same way northern Spain did for 2026.

Tarifa isn't just where you'll get the longest totality in the country, it's also one of the best whale-watching spots in Europe, with orcas hunting bluefin tuna in the strait every summer. If you're building a trip around the eclipse, it's worth reading our full guide to whale watching in Tarifa before you go, the whale season runs April through October, so August 2 falls right in the middle of it.

How It's Different From 2026

If you saw last year's eclipse, this one will feel like a different event entirely. The August 2026 eclipse crossed northern Spain near sunset, a slow, golden, low-angle eclipse. This one happens in the late morning with the sun much higher, in the south, over a completely different landscape, coastline and whitewashed towns.

Then, January 26, 2028: A Ring of Fire Near Valencia

Six months after the 2027 eclipse, Spain gets a third: an annular eclipse, the “ring of fire” kind, on January 26, 2028. Unlike a total eclipse, the moon doesn't fully cover the sun, a bright ring stays visible around its edge for the entire event, so eclipse glasses stay on the whole time, there's no safe moment to look with the naked eye. The path of annularity crosses roughly half of Spain, with Seville and Córdoba sitting just south of the centerline and Valencia landing almost exactly on it. It happens just before sunset, low on the horizon, which means you'll want a clear, unobstructed view to the west, a beach or open field rather than a city street lined with buildings.

There's an interesting overlap here too: towns like Tarifa, Cádiz, and Málaga get to see both the August 2027 total eclipse and the January 2028 annular one, two very different solar events within six months of each other, in the same corner of the country.

Plan Ahead

Three solar eclipses crossing Spain in three straight years isn't something that happens often, and it won't happen again for a long time. If 2026 got you interested in this kind of thing, we'll have a full guide to the 2028 annular eclipse closer to the date. In the meantime, our best stargazing destinations in Spain guide is a good place to start if the night sky here has your attention beyond just eclipses.