What this trip is
An eclipse on the way out, a wedding at the end, and one route still to pick.
The coast below CadizWhere route A watches the eclipse, on the Atlantic side.
AthensHao’s few days on the way east, and the one leg with a timetable problem.
Kota KinabaluSabah, the wedding, and two spare days after it.
Two of usHao and Heidi, on one booking Booking email
One leg bookedThe way home. Everything before it is open Booking email
14 daysLondon out to Gatwick back, on route A Derived
The eclipse, Monday 2 August
Ten countries on the path, and these are the sites our four routes can reach.
Totality by site
- Cadiz, Spain Adler Marlow2m 54s, 10:45
- Malaga, Spain Adler Marlow1m 48s, 10:48
- Tarifa, Spain Adler Marlow4m 39s, about 10:45
- Ceuta, Spain in north Africa Adler Marlow4m 48s, 10:45 to 10:50
- Tangier, Morocco timeanddate4m 52s, sun 38° up
- Sfax, Tunisia Mosaic N Africa5m 41s, midday
- Luxor, Egypt timeanddate6m 22s, late morning
- Maximum point, 60 km south east of Luxor Wikipedia6m 23s
Cloud odds in early August
7 to 12%August cloud cover from Cadiz to Granada, so nine days in ten are clear spainsolareclipse
Under 5%Cloud probability over Luxor. Dust and haze are the only risk, and mostly in spring eclipsophile
Until 2114Nothing on accessible land beats 6m 23s before then Sky & Telescope
Not quantifiedMorocco and Tunisia sit on the same high pressure band, but no figure was found Research gap
Sources disagree by an hour on Morocco’s local times. Morocco moved to permanent GMT on 20 September 2026, which probably explains it.
Four routes, one to pick
Four ways from the eclipse to Sabah. A is the lean, and each photograph opens the case for that route.
Leaning ANear certain clear sky, a mild coast rather than 40°C, and Athens connects onward Our call, 8 Sep
The Luxor caseThe longest totality anywhere until 2114, paid for in extreme heat and beds nobody can get CNN
Day by day, route A
Nothing here is booked except the last two days, and the times are a shape rather than a plan.
amLondon to Malaga or SevilleAbout 2h 50 nonstop, several carriers daily Research
pmPick up a carThe eclipse coast needs one To price
amDrive down to Cadiz or TarifaTarifa buys the longer totality, Cadiz the easier bed Open
pmFind the viewing spotBeach or headland, decided on the ground
all daySpare day on the Atlantic sideAlso the day we move site if the forecast turns
earlyBe in positionRoads on this coast will not be normal that morning
10:45TotalityTarifa 4m 39s, Cadiz 2m 54s Adler Marlow
pmBack up the coastOr straight to the airport if we take the Monday flight
TueMalaga to AthensAbout 4h 5 on easyJet or Aegean, and the nonstop runs Mondays and Thursdays only, so check this first Research
WedAthensThe Acropolis, and the day it is not 40°C
ThuSpareAn island if the ferry timing works Open
eveAthens to Kuala Lumpur, overnightOne stop at Istanbul, Doha or Dubai, 16 to 20 hours door to door Research
amLand at Kuala LumpurTransit only, the wedding is in Sabah
pmOn to Kota KinabaluAbout 2h 30, over a hundred flights a week Research
all dayTierney’s weddingHao has it as the Sunday, so this is the day to confirm Date to confirm
MonSabahNothing booked, and nothing has to be Open
TueSabahMount Kinabalu, the islands off the city, or the coast
pmKota Kinabalu to Kuala LumpurHas to land with time in hand Not booked
20:40Kuala Lumpur to SingaporeLands 21:50 Booking email
23:55Singapore to London GatwickOvernight, on points Booking email
06:55Land at GatwickThe fixed end of the trip Booking email
What it costs
Nothing is priced yet. The way home is on points and the beds are the urgent part.
Flights, London to the eclipse coast To pricenot priced
Flights, eclipse coast to Athens To pricenot priced
Flights, Athens to Kota Kinabalu To pricenot priced
Beds, eclipse week on the coast To pricenot priced
Beds, Athens To pricenot priced
Beds, Sabah To pricenot priced
Return, Kuala Lumpur to Gatwick Booking emailon points
What eclipse week is already doing to beds
- El Palmar, on the Cadiz coast Euronews€33,129 a night
- A Bolonia house normally at €344 Olive Press€10,000 a night
- Malaga apartments Euro Weekly€13,000 to 16,674
- Some Cadiz hotels Euronewsbookings closed
- Luxor, over 90% of listings gone CNNabove £2,000 a night
Both eclipse sites look like this a year out. Book the beds before anything else, then price the flights around them.
Papers, heat and glasses
Two passports, one Schengen entry, one Malaysian arrival card, and a lot of sun.
The booked leg
- Kuala Lumpur to Singapore Booking emailWed 11 Aug
- Singapore to London Gatwick Booking emailThu 12 Aug
Papers
- Schengen, 90 days in any rolling 180 schengentrackernowhere near it
- Passport under 10 years old, 3 months left on leaving WiseSpain and Greece
- ETIAS, expected to apply from late 2026 Wiseabout €7 each
- Malaysia, visa free for a UK passport Wise90 days
- Passport valid 6 months past arrival WiseMalaysia
- Malaysia Digital Arrival Card, online Visa policywithin 3 days
- Egypt e-visa, only if we take route C egypttourspluson arrival is 1 to 3 hours
Heat by site
- Cadiz Researchabout 25°C
- Malaga Researchabout 35°C
- Seville Researchmid 30s to mid 40s
- Tangier Research22 to 37°C
- Marrakech Research32 to 47°C
- Luxor Research40 to 50°C
Kit
- Eclipse glasses to ISO 12312-2, one pair each Not in sourcesbuy before July
Before we go
Book the beds on the eclipse coastBoth of us, before the flightsNow
Apply for ETIAS once it opensBoth of usBefore we fly
Still open, and where this came from
Everything but the way home is open. Every figure on the page traces back to the fold below.
Still open 6
- Which route. A is the lean and nothing is booked.
- The wedding date, 7 or 8 August, and the venue.
- Cadiz or Tarifa as the eclipse base.
- How long Athens gets, two days or four.
- Which hub the overnight goes through, Istanbul, Doha or Dubai.
- What we do with the two spare days in Sabah.
Sources, all read 8 September 2026 26
- Hao’s message, 8 September 2026: the shape of the trip, the wedding, and the Greece idea.
- The booking email: the two return legs, both travellers, on points.
- Wikipedia, solar eclipse of 2 August 2027
- Sky & Telescope, Luxor 2027
- CNN, the eclipse of the century
- ESA, map of totality in Spain
- Adler Marlow, Andalusia guide
- TheSkyLive, Tangier
- timeanddate, Tangier
- Mosaic North Africa, Tunisia
- timeanddate, Luxor
- National Solar Observatory, path map
- spainsolareclipse, weather and clouds
- netweather, chasing totality in Spain
- eclipsophile, cloud climatology for 2027
- Sky & Telescope, one year out
- theluxoreclipse, logistics
- Euronews, El Palmar prices
- Olive Press, Spanish accommodation prices
- Euro Weekly, Almeria demand
- Wise, Malaysia visa for UK passports
- Wikipedia, visa policy of Malaysia
- Egypt Tours Plus, UK citizens to Egypt
- Sherpa, Egypt for British citizens
- schengentracker, the 90 in 180 rule
- Wise, travel to Greece from the UK
Photographs and their licences are in the credits file.