Sfax will get 5 min 41 s of totality, from 10:08:49 to 10:14:30 Tunisian time, which is UTC+1: one hour behind Spain and the same as UK summer time. On the island of Djerba, Houmt Souk will get 4 min 44 s and Midoun 4 min 35 s; Gabès, 4 min 09 s. The capital, Tunis, misses out with 97.1% of the Sun covered, and so does Monastir, with 99.9%.
Where it lasts longest
The path crosses the centre of the country from the Tébessa mountains, on the border with Algeria, to the coast of the Gulf of Gabès. These are the places we have calculated, in Tunisian time:
| Place | Totality | From | To | Sun’s altitude |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sfax | 5 min 41 s | 10:08:49 | 10:14:30 | 56.2° |
| Houmt Souk (Djerba) | 4 min 44 s | 10:09:45 | 10:14:29 | 56.7° |
| Midoun (Djerba) | 4 min 35 s | 10:10:06 | 10:14:41 | 56.8° |
| Gabès | 4 min 09 s | 10:08:41 | 10:12:49 | 55.8° |
| Monastir | no (99.9%) | maximum at 10:11:26 | 55.8° | |
| Tunis, the capital | no (97.1%) | maximum at 10:10:06 | 54.7° |
Sfax gets almost a minute more than the longest totality in Spain. There the eclipse begins at 08:56:29 and ends at 11:31:45, and by the time of totality the Sun is already 56° up, well above the rooftops.
Monastir shows what happens at the edge of the path. At 99.9% it looks as if it has seen everything, but without the disc completely covered there is no corona and no darkness, and the filter doesn’t come off for a single second.
Cloud and dust
According to Jay Anderson, the meteorologist behind Eclipsophile, the northern edge of the shadow crosses more rugged ground and has around 10% more cloud than the rest of the path. Past the mountains, cloud cover drops as soon as the air comes under the influence of the coast and the Sahara: Sfax and the region south of Sfax have the lowest average cloud cover in the western part of the path.
The other risk is dust in the air. In Tunisia, the lowest August values are also near Sfax. Dust depends on the wind and can be forecast 72 hours ahead, so three days before you will know whether there will be dust in the air.
It will be hot. The normals of Tunisia’s National Institute of Meteorology give Sfax an average August maximum of 33.4 °C and a minimum of 23.3 °C, with 63% humidity; Gabès, 32.5 °C and 25.1 °C, with 65%.
Papers and travel advice
The travel advice for Tunisia from Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAEC) (in Spanish), written for Spanish citizens, asks people to travel with caution. Tourism is running normally, but the country has been under a state of emergency since 2015, and you should always follow the instructions of the authorities. It also says:
- You need a passport valid for at least three months from your planned departure; a Spanish ID card (DNI) won’t get you in.
- No visa is needed for stays of under 90 days.
- If you arrive by sea, at the port you will be asked for a paid hotel booking and a return ticket.
- The border areas with Algeria, including Mount Chaambi and the surroundings of Kasserine and El Kef, are high risk, as are the border areas with Libya. It advises against the country’s border areas in general.
The shadow enters Tunisia across the Algerian border. Neither Sfax, nor Gabès, nor Djerba appears on the lists of risk areas. If you travel on a British passport, the UK Foreign Office (FCDO) says it should be valid for the length of your stay and that you can visit Tunisia without a visa for up to 90 days. Check the advice again before you book, because it gets updated.
Maps and the country page
Our page about the country is in French and Arabic: l’éclipse en Tunisie (in French). The shadow’s whole route is on the map and in the shadow’s journey, and the comparison with the other countries is in the countries in the path of totality. Glasses are the usual ones: an EN ISO 12312-2 filter throughout the partial phase (how to check them).
Sources: durations, times and the Sun’s altitude: eclipseando engine (skyfield + DE440s); legal time in Tunisia: IANA time zone database (tzdata); Total Solar Eclipse 2027 — Eclipsophile (cloud on the northern edge, Sfax and its region, dust and how it is forecast); Sfax — Wikipedia and Gabès — Wikipedia (August normals from the Institut National de la Météorologie, 1991-2020); Recomendaciones de viaje para Túnez — MAEC (in Spanish: security, documents and risk areas); Entry requirements - Tunisia travel advice — GOV.UK (passport validity and visa-free visits for British citizens); Solar eclipse of August 2, 2027 — Wikipedia (totality crosses the centre of the country).
If you would like something to keep from the eclipse, the shop prints T-shirts, mugs and posters with the name of your town, the time of its maximum and its seconds of totality. See the merchandise →
Remember: never look at the Sun without proper eye protection (filters made to EN ISO 12312-2). The official reference for safe viewing in Spain is the IGN (in Spanish): eclipses.ign.es.