Frequently asked questions

On 2 August 2027, over the West Bank of Luxor. The Moon first touches the Sun at 11:40 local time, totality begins at 13:01 and lasts six minutes and twenty-three seconds, the longest totality left this century.

Most total eclipses give two or three minutes of darkness. This one gives more than six, over the temples of Luxor, in a place where August skies are almost always clear. No longer totality will cross land for another eighty-seven years.

Luxor in August is one of the driest, clearest places on the eclipse path, which is part of why we chose it. The eclipse is still a natural event, and its visibility cannot be guaranteed. Our terms explain what happens if conditions make the gathering unsafe to hold.

Yes. Certified eclipse glasses are needed for every partial phase, before and after totality. During the six minutes of totality itself you can look up with your eyes alone, and the glasses go back on the moment the light returns. We provide certified glasses to everyone.

August in Luxor is hot and dry, and the week is built around it: temples in the cooler mornings, rest through the afternoon, shade, misting fans, water, and refreshments at the Gathering, and transport held for the heat of the day.

Choose your pathway and press Book, which takes you straight to checkout. Choose the same pathway, add your name and email, and pay in full or in monthly payments. If you would rather apply first, the $999 Application Deposit holds a place while we review, and is credited to your pathway when you book.

Compare the pathways

Yes. At checkout you can pay in equal monthly payments, with no interest and no fees. Your schedule, including the date of the final payment, is shown at checkout and in your payment receipt. Paying in full in one payment saves 5 percent.

Every place begins with a commitment to the gathering and to the people you will meet there. If you apply rather than book directly, the $999 Application Deposit holds your place while we review your application. If we cannot offer you a place, it is refunded in full. If you are accepted, it becomes a credit toward the pathway you choose.

Apply with the deposit

Our first release of every pathway. The pre-sale sold out, and First Contact arrived on 11 October 2026 with a limited batch of passes, rooms, and cabins, offered in the order they are booked. When this batch is gone, Second Contact begins and prices rise.

Per person. Take a place and share with fellow travellers, or take a private cabin or room for you and yours and add a Guest Pass for each person sharing it.

US dollars.

Yes, with our written agreement, provided the person taking your place meets our terms.

Write to us at marhaba@egypt-eclipse.com. Amounts you have paid beyond any deposit are returned less any costs already committed to our travel partners for your place, and we will tell you that amount within 14 days. Where a refund is not available, we will do our best to offer a credit toward a future gathering.

Optional cover you can add at checkout for 5 percent of the covered items. Cancel on or before 31 December 2026 for a full refund of those items, or on or before 2 March 2027 for a 50 percent refund. Until 1 June 2027 you can instead move your place onto a future comparable Egypt trip at no extra cost. It covers rooms, cabins, Guest Passes, the Gathering pass, the Giza Activation and the Lion's Gate Celebration. On the Trilogy Pass it covers the Egypt portion, valued at $13,332.

Yes. We strongly recommend comprehensive travel insurance with trip cancellation, medical, and evacuation cover. Change of Plans coverage is not an insurance policy and does not replace it.

Published itineraries are a guide to what your days may hold, not a fixed schedule. If we need to adjust the plan, we aim to keep the experience equivalent, and our terms set out what happens if we cancel.

In where you sleep and how you travel to totality. Seven nights on a Nile ship from Aswan, five or seven nights in a West Bank hotel, or the Gathering pass if you have your own stay. Every pathway includes the Luxor Eclipse Gathering.

Compare the pathways

Yes. The Gathering pass is $999 and covers about thirty-six hours on the West Bank: the New Moon ceremony on 1 August, totality and the celebration on the 2nd, and the send-off brunch on the 3rd, with shared transport from set pick-up points in Luxor.

See the Gathering pass

Yes. The ship moors at Luxor on 1 and 2 August, and everyone is on the West Bank together for the New Moon ceremony and totality. On the 3rd, cruise guests start early at Hatshepsut and the Temple of Isis. It is one program across every pathway.

Yes. The Giza Activation adds three nights in Cairo and Giza from 6 to 9 August, with the Pyramids, the Sphinx, the Grand Egyptian Museum, and the Lion's Gate Celebration on the 8th. The domestic flight from Luxor is included when you book it with a Luxor pathway.

See the Giza Activation

Yes. Guests of all ages are welcome, and anyone under 18 comes with a parent or guardian who is responsible for them throughout. Omda is the gentler, family-friendly stay, and a dedicated Family pathway is in development.

Under 500 beds across the river and the West Bank, and every pathway is capped. Small enough that by the third day you know the faces.

Most international flights arrive via Cairo, then on to Aswan to board the cruise on 30 July, or to Luxor for the hotels and the Gathering. Flights to and from Egypt are not included. Each pathway page lists any transfers that are.

Most visitors do. You are responsible for a valid passport and any Egyptian visa, and we send detailed guidance well before you travel.

Luxor and the Nile Valley are among the most visited places in Egypt. We work with ENEV Travel, a licensed Egyptian operator, for the river, the ground, and the temples, and we handle transport, accommodation, and the site.

Each pathway includes exactly what is listed on its page and at checkout. International and domestic airfare is not included unless the pathway says it is.

The people who speak, play, and lead ceremony travel here the way you do. Everyone is invited to bring something: a talk, a practice, a skill, a question worth asking at dinner.

No. Paying your way is one form of contribution, and it is the one most people begin with. If you want to go further, you can bring your work as a Featured Participant, your hands as Crew, or your people as an Ambassador.

See how to take part

All three begin with one application. Ambassadors bring their people, Featured Participants bring their work to the program as musicians, artists, speakers, or teachers, and Crew help make the gathering happen.

Apply to get involved

Someone who brings their people to the gathering. Friends who book with an Ambassador's code save 10 percent, and the Ambassador earns credit toward their own place. Ambassadors apply with the $999 Application Deposit, which is refunded once their first $10,000 in bookings is confirmed.

Apply as an Ambassador

Yes. Egypt Eclipse is documented in photography and film. If you would rather not appear, tell us in writing and we will make reasonable efforts to honour it.

Respect for your fellow guests, our team, our partners, and the places we visit. Disruptive, illegal, or unsafe behaviour means leaving without a refund.