alt Hacker NewsHotels in the path of the eclipse were already expensive on those dates in Gibraltar and Spain. Now with the press coverage they'll be unattainable.
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Somehow it feels like social media spread ever more FOMO for this year's eclipse, there were long queues for eclipse glasses at local opticians, although where I lived we only had 90% totality (people think each person needs a pair, not aware that you're not going to stare at the thing the whole time, and sharing is possible).
And since the 2026 one is fresh, the 2027 one has a lot of hype and more FOMO for those who MO'ed.
I'm thinking this will also saturate the western Europe (or at least France, Spain, Portugal) RV rental market. If you've seen the small RVs that people rent to park along the side of the road on Tour de France routes in summer, same general idea.
The trick will be to go to Tangier, on the other side of the strait. It's a 40-minute ferry ride, I did it a few months ago.
It will have booked up quicker than this year's event, at least in part, because totality touches a much smaller portion of European territory, so those for who travel to parts of Europe is easier (or just feels safer to them) than north africa / middle east and cheaper than Egypt, will have crammed into that area. A large proportion of the eclipse spotters in the Shengen region will be booked into that area rather than the much larger tranche of Spain 2026's eclipse touched. I suspect this is a more significant factor than FOMO after missing this year's because people often plan this sort of trip more than one year in advance, precisely because of the expected demand closer to the time.
Staying a few hours drive or public transport away may still be quite practical, though it is at a time when many take their summer holidays so anywhere even vaguely touristy in will be more expensive that week even without the special event.