Planning to visit Austin for the 2024 solar eclipse? Make reservations now, officials say
Surely we don't have to remind you to make reservations at Austin hotels in advance for the Austin City Limits Music Festival, South By Southwest or Formula One races. But have you made your plans for the five minutes this spring when Austin will be one of the most exciting places to be on Earth?
A total solar eclipse, which is when the moon passes in front of the sun and blocks its light from reaching us, will be visible from Austin on Monday, April 8.
The city is on the edge of the eclipse's path northeast to Maine, and the eclipse will be viewable from the Austin area between 1:35 and 1:40 p.m. The next total solar eclipse that can be seen from the U.S. won't happen until Aug. 23, 2044, according to NASA.
More: Two solar eclipses are expected in the next year — and Austin gets to see both
Since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. has seen only eight total solar eclipses, according to the National Weather Service. Thousands of visitors are expected in Austin in April, and hotels are already booking reservations for the weekend leading up to the eclipse.
"To see (hotel) reservations this far out for April is pretty telling," said Wesley Lucas, director of communications at Visit Austin, the city's convention and visitors' bureau.
The W Austin hotel typically sees bookings about 90 days out, said Blake Triplett, director of sales and marketing for the hotel. But the W already has about a third of its 251 rooms booked for the April solar eclipse.
"That's actually a ton," Triplett said.
More: When is the next solar eclipse in Texas? Here's where, how you can see it in Austin
The W started to get reservations for the 2024 eclipse a few months back, he said. The hotel also sees a bump in reservations whenever a news story about the eclipse is published. While Triplett can't say exactly when he expects the W's reservations for the time of the eclipse to be full, he does anticipate that they could be close to selling out in January or February.
Lucas expects downtown hotels to fill up first before people start to expand their searches to the west side of town.
The main point is: Book your Austin stay sooner rather than later. And it doesn't have to be at a hotel. You could watch the eclipse from Circuit of the Americas, for example, or a state park.
COTA officials are reminding visitors to book their RV stay as soon as possible, as there are only 80 spots total at the racetrack, said Cady Chow, vice president of marketing and communications for COTA. Chow declined to say how many people have already made reservations for the eclipse weekend but said RV parks in the Hill Country are already booking up so people are looking to COTA's RV park.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has an eclipse page on its website that details all the parks from which April's eclipse can be seen, including McKinney Falls State Park in Austin. You can reserve a campsite through TPWD up to five months ahead of the eclipse, and day passes can be reserved up to a month before.
You won't be able to enter the parks in the path of totality without a pre-purchased day pass or camping permit, the department says on its website. A state park pass does not guarantee entry, either.
"Parks in the path of totality will fill early — reserve your campsite or day pass as soon as possible," the department advises.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Plan to visit Austin for 2024 solar eclipse? Make reservations now.
