Travelling to Saudi Arabia for the eclipse

Where to stay

Jeddah and the Red Sea coast

Jeddah has 6 min of totality, from 13:22 to 13:28. Further south on the coast, Al Lith has 6 min 12 s.

According to Eclipsophile, the Tihamah coastal plain stays sunny in August, with average cloud cover just over 10 percent, but it has the dustiest skies on the whole eclipse track, especially south of Jeddah.

Mecca and Taif

Mecca has 5 min 6 s and Ta'if has 3 min 52 s, up in the Hejaz mountains.

Entry to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina is reserved for Muslims (travel advice of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

Al Bahah and the Asir mountains

Al Bahah has 5 min 11 s, Baljurashi has 5 min 22 s, Abha has 6 min 5 s, Khamis Mushait has 6 min 2 s and Bariq has 6 min 6 s.

According to Eclipsophile, cloud increases over the mountains, and most Saudi sites away from the coastal plain get between 60 and 70 percent of the possible sunshine.

Jizan and Najran

Jizan has 3 min 10 s, Sabya has 4 min 38 s and Abu Arish has 4 min 37 s, near the coast. Inland, Najran has 5 min 31 s.

Time

Saudi Arabia keeps the same time all year round, UTC+3, with no daylight saving time. On 2 August 2027 it is two hours ahead of the UK and one hour ahead of Spain.

Before you travel

Check your country’s official travel advice for the destination before booking.

• FCDO travel advice (UK)
• Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (in Spanish)