Total eclipse · Monday 2 August 2027 · Tangier
Nearly five minutes of totality over the Strait of Gibraltar. Verified times, the towns inside the path, and the honest weather odds.
Private Morocco travel
The 2027 solar eclipse in Morocco takes place on Monday, 2 August 2027, and Tangier sits almost exactly on the centre line: totality there begins at about 9:44 a.m. local time (GMT+1) and lasts roughly 4 minutes 50 seconds. All of northern Morocco above about latitude 34.6° N — Tangier, Tetouan, Chefchaouen, Asilah, Larache, Al Hoceima and Nador — sees the total eclipse, while Rabat, Fes, Meknes, Casablanca and Marrakech see only a deep partial one. Below: verified times, the towns inside and outside the path, the honest weather odds, and how we plan eclipse week for our own travellers.
On the morning of Monday, 2 August 2027, the Moon's shadow comes in off the Atlantic, makes landfall at Cap Spartel and crosses the Strait and the Rif at more than 4,000 km an hour. In Tangier the partial phase begins at about 8:40 a.m., totality runs from about 9:44:36 to 9:49:26 a.m. local time (GMT+1) — roughly 4 minutes 50 seconds — and the eclipse ends at about 11:00 a.m. The Sun stands about 38° up, almost due east over the Strait.
Most total eclipses give two or three minutes. On this path only Libya, Egypt and Saudi Arabia do meaningfully better, with a maximum of 6 minutes 23 seconds near Luxor (NASA eclipse data), and the eclipse's Wikipedia entry notes that no total eclipse on easily accessible land will be longer until 2114. For North Americans, northern Morocco is the nearest place to see it at close to full length.
The path is about 236 km wide over Morocco (NASA path table). Its northern edge runs through southern Spain, so the whole Moroccan shore of the Strait is inside. What matters is the southern limit, which runs almost straight along latitude 34.6–34.7° N from the Atlantic to Algeria: just south of Moulay Bousselham, Souk El Arbaa and Ouezzane, north of Taza, and through the southern districts of Oujda. Duration falls quickly away from the centre line, which passes almost exactly through Tangier and Tetouan.
A 98% partial eclipse is not a smaller version of the event: no corona, no darkness, glasses on throughout. From Fes you would need to reach Chefchaouen or beyond, about four hours' drive, by 9 a.m. That is why both our eclipse journeys sleep in Tangier the night before.
How we got these numbers: we calculated them from NASA's published Besselian elements and cross-checked them against the town figures on NationalEclipse.com (Tangier 4:51, Chefchaouen 4:14, Nador 4:16, Oujda 1:04); they agree within a few seconds. The Moon's uneven edge shifts real contacts by a second or two, more near the limits. For your exact spot, timeanddate's Tangier eclipse page is a useful cross-check.
About 8:40 a.m.first contact. Glasses on.
About 9:25–9:40the light turns flat and metallic, shadows sharpen, the air cools; shadow bands may ripple over pale walls.
About 9:44:36second contact. Diamond ring, Baily's beads, then totality. Glasses off.
About 9:47mid-eclipse. The corona surrounds a black Moon 38° up, a little south of east; the brightest planets and stars appear.
About 9:49:26third contact. Glasses back on at the first bead of sunlight.
About 11:00last contact.
Morocco has kept GMT+1 year-round since 2018, switching to GMT only for Ramadan (Morocco World News), which falls in February–March 2027. One trap: Spain runs on GMT+2 in summer, so a Spanish "10:44" is our 9:44. Totality starts within about a minute of 9:45 from Asilah to Chefchaouen, and a few minutes later further east — about 9:47 in Al Hoceima and 9:48 in Nador.
Rain is not the risk: Tangier averages a 28.6°C high and under one rainy day in August. The risk is low cloud — marine stratus off the cool Atlantic that creeps inland overnight and can still be lying over the coast at 9:45 a.m.
Climatologist Jay Anderson's analysis at Eclipsophile is specific. The stratus can reach "almost as far as Ouazzane", most often near Asilah, Larache and Souk El Arbaa. Tangier tends to keep it on its western side, so the central and eastern city are the better bet; the eastern side of Tetouan should avoid most marine cloud; Chefchaouen has the lowest cloud amount in Morocco; the Mediterranean coast further east is "dicey". The Levante, a persistent summer easterly, is what hangs a flag of cloud off the Rock of Gibraltar. For scale, he gives Gibraltar a 74% chance of a sunny view (too pessimistic for a mobile observer, in his words) and Cádiz 88%. Egypt is close to a certainty — at about 42°C.
If I could choose one base, it would be Tangier or Tetouan: full duration, good hotels, and a cloud pattern that usually favours the eastern side. But I would never lock travellers into one spot. The evening before, we look at the satellite loops and the forecast together. If Atlantic stratus is thick or a Levante is pushing cloud through the Strait, we leave before dawn for the east side of Tetouan or into the Rif toward Chefchaouen, where totality is still over four minutes and the sky is usually cleaner. That needs a private vehicle and a driver who knows the back roads, not a coach with a ticketed venue. Nearly five minutes of totality is worth one early alarm.
Tangier and Tetouan are the only large Moroccan cities on the centre line, with a finite number of good hotels. Eclipse week also falls during Operation Marhaba, the summer return of Moroccans living in Europe — more than 2.74 million had arrived by early August 2026 (Morocco World News) — and the European holidays. In Tangier we book the Fairmont Tazi Palace, Barceló Tanger, Hilton Garden Inn City Center and Kenzi Solazur. We already have travellers booked for eclipse week; if you are serious, commit to a hotel this autumn, not next spring.
The north is warm and pleasant in early August; the interior is not. On 1991–2020 averages Fes reaches about 35°C and Errachidia, gateway to the desert, about 38°C, with the dunes hotter still. So:
Watch the partial phases only through filters meeting ISO 12312-2, bought before you fly from a vendor on the American Astronomical Society's list of safe suppliers. Following the AAS eye-safety guidance, remove them only when the Sun is completely covered and put them back at the first flash of light. Binoculars and cameras need solar filters mounted on the front. Glasses are included on our Marrakech-to-Tangier journey, and we can add them to any eclipse trip on request — still bring a spare pair.
Expect busy roads between Tangier, Tetouan and Chefchaouen. Tangier to Tetouan is about an hour, to Chefchaouen about two and a half. If the forecast says move, we move by 6:30 a.m. Bring water, a hat, folding chairs and sun cream. And skip the Ceuta border on eclipse morning.
Both are 100% private, with your own driver and vehicle throughout, and both put you in Tangier on the night of 1 August. The difference is the order.
2027 Morocco Eclipse & Tangier to Marrakech — 14 days, from USD $4,830 per person (two travellers). Arrive in Tangier on 31 July for three nights at the Barceló Tanger, with a free day to rest and scout your spot; on eclipse day your driver is at your disposal to reposition you. Then south: the Rif to Chefchaouen, with an optional stop in Tetouan's medina; Volubilis and Meknes on the way to two nights in Fes; the Middle Atlas to Errachidia; a sunset camel ride and a night at Madu Premium Camp in Erg Chebbi; the Todra Gorge to Dar Blues in the Dades; Ait Ben Haddou and the Tizi n'Tichka to two nights in Marrakech; two nights in Essaouira; and a transfer to Casablanca airport. Eclipse first, then a long, unhurried Morocco.
Eclipse 2027 — Marrakech to Tangier — 11 days, from USD $3,795 per person (two travellers). Arrive in Marrakech on 24 July for three nights at Hotel la Maison Arabe, with a guided city day and the Ourika Valley. Then the Tichka pass to the Dades Xaluca; the Todra Gorge and a camel trek to Madu Premium Camp; the Ziz Valley and Midelt to two nights at Palais Faraj in Fes; Volubilis on the way to Dar Echchaouen in Chefchaouen; and the Rif to Tangier on 1 August. Eclipse day includes a private viewing arrangement and glasses, then the Kasbah and the American Legation. You fly home from Tangier the next morning. Shorter, better value, and it builds to the eclipse.
Special departure14 days · 13 nights
Tangier → Chefchaouen → Fes → Errachidia → Merzouga → Dades Gorge → Marrakech → Essaouira → Casablanca
Begin your Morocco adventure with the 2027 total solar eclipse in Tangier, then journey south to Marrakech.
From USD 4,830/ person · 2 travellers sharing
Special departure11 days · 10 nights
Marrakech → Dades Gorge → Merzouga → Fes → Chefchaouen → Tangier
Experience the 2027 total solar eclipse on this epic Morocco journey from Marrakech to Tangier.
From USD 3,795/ person · 2 travellers sharing
Both are starting points. We can lengthen either, move you to the Fairmont Tazi Palace, or build a different route entirely — see how our tailor-made Morocco tours work. What we keep is a private driver-guide based with you in Tangier, so that on 2 August the decision about where to stand is made on the weather, not a coach timetable.
Totality lasts under five minutes; the flight from the east coast is seven hours or more. Almost all our eclipse travellers build a real trip around the day.
As of September 2026, Royal Air Maroc flies nonstop to Casablanca from New York JFK, Washington Dulles, Miami and Los Angeles, and from Montréal and Toronto. Los Angeles launched in June 2026 with three weekly 787 flights (AirlineGeeks). Summer 2027 schedules are not all on sale yet — watch royalairmaroc.com and book early; eclipse week fills flights too.
Casablanca to Tangier is a short domestic flight or about 2 hours 10 minutes on the Al Boraq high-speed train; we meet you either way. You can also connect through Europe straight into Tangier. Routings are on our pages for travellers from Canada and from the USA, and entry rules in our Morocco visa guide for Canadians and Americans.
Monday, 2 August 2027, in the morning. The partial phase begins around 8:40 a.m. Moroccan time (GMT+1), totality falls between about 9:44 and 9:52 a.m. depending on location, and the eclipse ends around 11:00 a.m. Tangier, Tetouan, Chefchaouen, Asilah, Larache, Al Hoceima and Nador are inside the path of totality.
Totality in Tangier runs from about 9:44:36 to 9:49:26 a.m. local time (GMT+1), roughly 4 minutes 50 seconds; NationalEclipse.com gives 4:51. Tangier is almost on the centre line. Spain is on GMT+2 in summer, so Spanish sources show the same moment an hour later.
No. The southern edge of the path runs along roughly latitude 34.6–34.7° N, just south of Ouezzane. Rabat and Fes lie 60–70 km outside it and see about a 98% partial eclipse, Casablanca about 97% and Marrakech about 90%. None will see the corona. For totality, be in Tangier, Tetouan or Chefchaouen.
For duration, the Tangier–Tetouan corridor, with nearly 4 minutes 50 seconds on the centre line and good hotels. For weather, Eclipsophile's analysis gives Chefchaouen the lowest cloud amount in Morocco, though totality there is about 4 minutes 13 seconds. We base in Tangier and decide the evening before, with an inland backup.
Good, not guaranteed. August is almost rainless, but Atlantic marine stratus can linger over the coast at 9:45 a.m., and a Levante wind can push cloud through the Strait. Central and eastern Tangier, eastern Tetouan and inland Chefchaouen are the better bets. A private vehicle to reposition is the best insurance.
Not in the north: Tangier averages about 28°C in August. The interior is hot — around 35°C in Fes and 38°C in Errachidia, hotter in the dunes. We guide early, rest in the afternoon, put the desert before or after eclipse week, and time Merzouga for sunset and sunrise.
Yes, for everything except totality. Use glasses or viewers meeting ISO 12312-2, bought before you travel from a supplier on the American Astronomical Society's list. Remove them only when the Sun is completely covered and replace them at the first flash of light. Cameras and binoculars need front-mounted solar filters.
Egypt has longer totality, over six minutes near Luxor, and near-certain clear skies, but average temperatures around 42°C and a much longer flight. Morocco offers about 4 minutes 50 seconds, a milder north, nonstop flights from six North American cities, and a full itinerary around it. For most of our travellers, Morocco is the better trip.
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