# Need Advice re: Traveling to See the Eclipse **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 2, 2017, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-advice-re-traveling-to-see-the-eclipse/790332 "2017-07-02T04:44:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2017, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-advice-re-traveling-to-see-the-eclipse/790332/61 "2017-07-08T05:26:11Z")
> [@Eclipse\_Chaser](#): > > You’ve probably left it way too later to book a room anywhere, most places on the track will have been booked up years in advance. > … Possibly true in small town Wyoming. But hotels are not fully booked (yet) within reasonable distance of totality. Anderson, SC is in the path of totality. The center of the track goes very close to the north side of town. And hotels are pretty much booked. But there are still rooms available in Greenville, Easley, and Clemson (within 30 minute drive, at most, of centerline) though at a rate higher than normal. Still, an ok Days Inn available in Easley in the path of totality at $56 per night which is within a 15 mile drive of the centerline of the eclipse totality path. Plenty of other options a bit nicer and still under $100 per night. The OP may not want to travel that far east, but any other Dopers still thinking about traveling for the show should know its not too late to find a place to stay. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2017, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-advice-re-traveling-to-see-the-eclipse/790332/62 "2017-07-09T03:03:04Z")
From here in Northern Virginia, it seems the closest spots on the totality line are in either southeastern Tennessee (the Smokies)\* or southeast South Carolina, in the Columbia suburbs and points east. In between is the high parts of the mountains, and the driving times and even road distances are longer. About 8 hours to either of these areas from here. Getting a start early in the morning, I figure we could just drive to a nice spot, could be anywhere along a highway, doesn’t have to be any particular town. Once the show is over, we’d simply drive enough of the way back to easily find lodging for the night. \*That implies cloud cover, right? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2017, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-advice-re-traveling-to-see-the-eclipse/790332/63 "2017-07-09T15:58:14Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > … > \*That implies cloud cover, right? The Smokies were named for their persistent haze. So not necessarily cloudy, just that fuzzy brownish / bluish / silverish murk anyone living in the eastern third of the country is so familiar with. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-advice-re-traveling-to-see-the-eclipse/790332/64 "2017-07-11T08:52:42Z")
I went to see the total eclipse in Cabo San Lucas in 1991. My buddy and a guy he met down there bought a plot of land in South Carolina dead center on the path of totality 25 years ago. He’s getting married on the day of the eclipse and I’m going to his wedding and the hippy carnival happening simultaneously! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-advice-re-traveling-to-see-the-eclipse/790332/65 "2017-07-11T12:32:45Z")
Now that’s a cool eclipse story. Have they started buying plot(s) for other future eclipse party(s)? ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-advice-re-traveling-to-see-the-eclipse/790332/66 "2017-07-11T13:46:29Z")
> [@Darryl\_Lict](#): > > I went to see the total eclipse in Cabo San Lucas in 1991. My buddy and a guy he met down there bought a plot of land in South Carolina dead center on the path of totality 25 years ago. He’s getting married on the day of the eclipse and I’m going to his wedding and the hippy carnival happening simultaneously! That’s some serious pre-planning. Now watch it be overcast all day. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-advice-re-traveling-to-see-the-eclipse/790332/67 "2017-07-11T15:10:33Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > That’s some serious pre-planning. Now watch it be overcast all day. You know what they say about [Rain On Your Wedding Day](http://www.brides.com/story/reasons-you-want-rain-on-wedding-day). He’ll be in luck either way. ---
**Author:** ![TheSundial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6f9a4e/32.png) [@TheSundial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheSundial)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-advice-re-traveling-to-see-the-eclipse/790332/68 "2017-07-11T16:58:58Z")
I live in Bloomington, Indiana an hour south of Indianapolis. Can I see the total eclipse from here or is it not possible to see at all? ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-advice-re-traveling-to-see-the-eclipse/790332/69 "2017-07-11T17:50:20Z")
> [@TheSundial](#): > > I live in Bloomington, Indiana an hour south of Indianapolis. Can I see the total eclipse from here or is it not possible to see at all? B-Town is not in the path of the total eclipse. But you can see a partial eclipse from there. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-advice-re-traveling-to-see-the-eclipse/790332/70 "2017-07-11T22:42:13Z")
> [@TheSundial](#): > > I live in Bloomington, Indiana an hour south of Indianapolis. Can I see the total eclipse from here or is it not possible to see at all? According to [this animation (scroll down)](https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/usa/bloomington-in), you will not see totality, but a sliver of the sun. Why not travel just a small amount to see totality? ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-advice-re-traveling-to-see-the-eclipse/790332/71 "2017-07-11T23:06:19Z")
[This website](http://www.eclipse2017.org) is helpful is finding out which places are in the totality, at what times. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-advice-re-traveling-to-see-the-eclipse/790332/72 "2017-07-12T01:40:50Z")
I also recommend this site, and specifically the interactive map link. It’s a Google map and will give the path of totality right down to the street level. 🆒 [https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/eclipse-maps](https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/eclipse-maps) ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-advice-re-traveling-to-see-the-eclipse/790332/73 "2017-07-12T15:46:50Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > That’s some serious pre-planning. Now watch it be overcast all day. There is a complete dread if it is overcast in the morning. It was cloudy, even though the temperature was supposed to be over 100°F. We were debating whether or not to drive up the mountains. The clouds burned off and it was the most glorious thing ever. It’s pretty bright until the eclipse is 95% complete, then it starts getting darker and cooler. You can see the shadow race across the landscape at over the speed of sound. Birds star chirping because they think it’s dusk. Then it happens and the temperature dropped to around 75°F. There is nothing like it. A partial eclipse is like a ditch compared to the Grand Canyon. The beach that it was at was called Los Frailes and it was pristine with only a stand that sold fish tacos, beer and very questionable steaks. From what I hear, it’s now completely covered with condos. My friend’s buddy drove an old hippy school bus from Boston through Canada and all the way down the Pacific coast to Cabo San Lucas, picking up his Ivy League college buddies the whole way down. People track their total time of eclipse totality. I’m over 7 minutes as the Cabo eclipse was one of the longer ones you can experience. I think met someone with over 40 minutes. The authorities absolutely tried to get people not to drive to Cabo to see it. It’s one of the harshest deserts out there, and they predicted gas, food and water shortages. They said that they would turn people back at the Baja Del Sur border. They were quite successful as their weren’t very many people at all. ---
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-advice-re-traveling-to-see-the-eclipse/790332/74 "2017-07-12T16:54:08Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I just spent much of the past hour or so dinking around on some hotel reservations sites to see room availability in and near the path. I’m in the Midwest, and it was no surprise to me that they’re pretty much all sold out in Carbondale and Jefferson City, which are in the center of the totality path. However, there are still rooms available in some of the less-prime viewing areas, and just outside the path, they are plentiful, at least for now. > > Where I view it will depend on regional weather conditions. I’m in the Chicago area. I booked seats and parking at the SIU arena for the event, but hotels were problematic. I ended up taking one in Effingham (2 hours from Carbondale) as the only fairly reasonably priced choice. There were still rooms available at the Carbondale Holiday Inn, but they had a 2 night minimum with a rate of $500 per night. I dunno, maybe we should have splurged. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-advice-re-traveling-to-see-the-eclipse/790332/75 "2017-07-14T23:39:15Z")
I live near San Francisco. My wife and I plan to drive up to western Idaho. We will be staying with a friend in McCall. I Love Me, Vol. I, if it were me I would pick a place about an hour south of the path of totality and that also gives me options to drive to depending on weather. I’d sleep (car camp) in the car. WalMart parking lots are good places to stay, they actually welcome that. Then on eclipse day, check the weather and head accordingly. Being in the west, chances are pretty good, unless there is a rare, large storm. That is my plan, although McCall is north of totality, and we’ll be in a house. Depending on weather I’ll go south to Smiths Ferry, or farther west towards the Weiser-Cambridge area, or even another area if those will be too cloudy. I’ve scouted several possible places along the center line of totality. In short I suggest you camp out on the cheap, and be flexible on eclipse day. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-advice-re-traveling-to-see-the-eclipse/790332/76 "2017-08-16T18:08:48Z")
One thing is that if traveling by car from a long distance you should be sure to arrive at totality with at least a half tank of gas left in case there are shortages or long lines. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-advice-re-traveling-to-see-the-eclipse/790332.md?page=3)