I remember watching the 2017 total eclipse on TV. I had no idea it would be so interesting, and my entire family wished we would have traveled to see it.
Thankfully, we are going to see the upcoming “Great North American Eclipse” that is happening on April 8, 2024. We don’t have to travel because Dallas is in the path of totality! I was planning to pull my kids out of school to experience it, but the school district purchased eclipse glasses already, and all of the students will be outside to see it.
If you didn’t see the 2017 total eclipse and you want to travel to see the upcoming eclipse, I suggest you come to the Dallas area.
Why Dallas?
If you’re using miles and points to travel, the Dallas area has a lot of options.
- American Airlines has tons of flights in and out of DFW Airport. Use AA miles or British Airways Avios on nonstop saver flights (which you can transfer from multiple flexible currencies including Chase, Capital One, Amex, Bilt)
- Southwest Airlines flies in and out of Dallas Love Field airport. Use Southwest Rapid Rewards points or transfer points from Chase to Southwest
- The DFW area has many hotels with availability for April 7-9. My favorite brand, Hyatt, has availability at 11 area locations that cost only 5000 World of Hyatt points per night (use Hyatt points or transfer from Chase or Bilt).
If you’re still pondering whether or not to travel, be aware that the duration of the total eclipse is only 1-4 minutes, depending on the city. The next total eclipse hitting the lower 48 states will be in 2044.
Are you planning to travel to see the upcoming total eclipse?
Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
Hey, thanks for the info!
Now, what if it’s cloudy? Is it worth bothering with it? If they forecast a lot of rain that day then I can’t imagine it being much of an event.
We live about a 80 minute drive to the center line of the path of totality. I booked at Hampton Inn for Sunday night, so we don’t have to fight the traffic on the day of the event. Then I saw the same tip that Sebastian Di Loreto mentioned up thread here about how leaving is just as difficult, if not more so. So while we’re not staying overnight Monday into Tuesday, I booked a second night. That will give us a place to hang out afterwards for a few hours. It’s just a Hampton Inn but at least we’ll have a place to watch movies or use the pool.
It seems kind of crazy spending two nights in the middle of nowhere for an event that last just a few minutes, but it’s quite the event! And when will I ever have this opportunity again? Points came in quite handy, as I’m getting nearly 3x the value of a usual Hilton redemption.
80 minutes is not bad but if you leave as soon as the eclipse is over it will take you 3.5 hours to come back. All back roads will be full of people like you and me trying to get back for the next day of school…. 😉
The event per se is more than just those 4 minutes.
In Dallas for example, the eclipse begins at 12:23PM where you will be able to see how the moon partially covers the sun (with the glasses of course). Without the glasses you won’t notice a thing. Totality will begin at 1:40PM and finish by 1:44PM. That is when you take out your glasses and appreciate this phenomenon. My kids still remember the 2017 eclipse.
Check the video I provided along with the links on the description. You can recreate the eclipse in any location with the exact time details.
@project That sounds like a good plan! Great that you’re able to use points for those nights.
What would be the best Dallas Hyatt properties appropriate times the eclipse ? Perhaps near to open sky or parkland ?
@Glenn I’d say Hyatt Place Dallas/Rockwall since it’s near a huge lake.
This is a tip from when I drove five hours in 2017 to watch the eclipse.
It was a great experience and well worth it. The real pain is driving back home. It will take you 2.5 times the normal driving time. If you have to drive more than 3 hours, I would get a hotel and enjoy the day to drive the next day early morning when the roads are clear. It will be total madness going 20 mph (if you are lucky) on highways. Even Google Maps suggestions were crazy since people were taking back roads in mass and changing the algorithms. You will spend way too many hours on the road coming back if you don’t get a hotel for that night. I hope this helps.
I created a video explaining how to figure out where to watch it with the help of a couple of websites: https://youtu.be/uJHltiMZrHU
Have plan A, B and C just in case it is cloudy on one location.
Check it out.
@Sebastian I’m glad you were able to experience it in 2017. I really hope it’s not cloudy this year! Thanks for sharing your video.
Thank you for this fantastic article, thank you for sharing
We are going to Mazatlan for the eclipse. Can’t wait.
@Kim Sounds awesome!
Nice post ✍️