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In Partnership With Wise Bread
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No Interest Until 2025 + Bonus Offers |
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Travel Inspiration
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Let The Stars Guide Your Next Trip |
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Looking at the night sky is hardly a new pastime—in fact, it’s one that many of us learn to do from an early age. And yet, when we’re picking a holiday destination, we usually base our decisions on terrestrial landmarks over what the skies could offer us. That’s been changing over the last few years, though, with astrotourism repeatedly popping up on lists of travel trends for the year ahead. Now, that doesn’t mean you have to plan an entire trip around where is good for stargazing. On the contrary, you could plan your itinerary to coincide with an eclipse, spend a night or two camping (or glamping) in a dark skies park, or even just check out a local observatory at your destination. So, when the whole world has a sky worth looking at, how do you choose where to go? Well, that changes every year depending on astronomical events. Here’s where you should be looking at for the year ahead…  Where: Diagonally across North America, from Mazatlán to Montreal We’ll start you off easy by giving you a choice. You’ve got three countries to pick from: Mexico, the USA, or Canada. The next solar eclipse will actually be visible across the North American continent, but there are certain places where you’ll be in the “path of totality”, meaning you’ll see a total solar eclipse. Depending on your vibe, you might want to chill on the beaches of Mexican resort town Mazatlán, party it up at the Texas Eclipse Festival near Austin, or enjoy a spot of snowshoeing or hiking at Quebec’s Mont-Mégantic National Park. The latter was the world’s first designated Dark Sky Reserve, and is home to a visitor centre and two observatories (one for the boffins and one for the rest of us).  Where: Canary Islands, Spain Okay, so the Perseid meteor shower comes around every year, and technically you can see it from anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere throughout July and August. The ideal time to catch it, however, is at its peak on the night of 12th August into the morning of 13th August. So why the Canary Islands? Since it’s summer, there’s really no point in being somewhere too far north—you want those skies as dark as possible, after all! But then you don’t want somewhere too hot, either, so that rules out places like Jordan’s Wadi Rum, which you should definitely consider for shoulder season meteor gazing! That leads us to the classic summer holiday island of Tenerife. The otherworldly Teide National Park, known for its volcanic Martian landscapes, is a popular designated Starlight Tourist Destination offering a phenomenal setting. But to get away from the crowds of astrotourists with their torches, drive out to the Masca viewpoint in Teno Rural Park. The nighttime hiking life isn’t for everyone, though, we get it. Luckily, the whole island of Fuerteventura was declared a starlight reserve in 2015, so you can sit on practically any beach and take it all in. If you’ve got a hire car, though, it’s worth driving to the Sicasumbre Observation Point, complete with a star chart to help out beginners.  Where: Svalbard, Norway Norway used to be the place to go for a spot of aurora chasing, but then Iceland came along and stole the show. So, let’s wind things back a bit! Why would you visit expensive, super chilly Norway to see the Northern Lights, when you could just head out on a winter drive around Scotland? While catching a display is never guaranteed, you’ve got a much better chance the further north you go. The longer the nights, the darker the skies. Enter JFC favourite, Svalbard. Svalbard is an archipelago belonging to Norway, far up north in the Arctic. With 155 days of darkness a year, and a super-dark two-month period known as “ Polar Night”, it offers up the perfect canvas for a colourful show, day and night. While October–March is generally a good time to catch a glimpse, you want to aim for a period of great solar activity. Hard as that is to predict, the days around the winter solstice are a good choice. For temperatures that are marginally more forgiving, try the equinoxes in autumn or spring. There’s not exactly much choice for where to base yourself in Svalbard—there just aren’t that many settlements. But even the capital, Longyearbyen, has much less light pollution than most of us are used to, so the skies are easily visible. To maximise your chances, join a northern lights evening at Camp Barentz, 10 miles outside town—reindeer stew included! Just a word of advice—don’t head out on an aurora hunt without a local guide, otherwise you could well become the hunted. Bear spray won’t save you this week.  Have you dabbled in astrotourism before? Is it already an essential part of your holidays? We want to hear about nights camping in the Atacama Desert, chasing the aurora around Alaska, stargazing in the NamibRand. To share your tips and experiences with other JFC-ers, just hit ‘Reply’! |
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Travel Inspiration
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Where we’ve been & where we’re going |
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Here are a few more travel plans from team JFC to inspire your 2024 trips.
Favourite trip: Race across Europe, especially Turkey What made you travel there: Istanbul was the final destination on Lupine Travel’s Trans-European Race, and it was the place I was the least excited about-–that is until I got there, and tried the food, saw the places, and my opinion changed. On the cards for 2024: I'm looking forward to visiting Tanzania! We'll be doing a safari, and then hopping over to the paradise island of Zanzibar. Beach-type destinations aren't always my first choice, so I'm looking forward to just lounging in the sun with a cold drink in my hand. Dream error fare: I'd love an error fare to Japan, though the destination itself is so expensive, the error fare would have to apply to hotels as well for me to visit in 2024! 
Favourite trip: St Lucia What made you travel there: I wanted a beach vacation and have been planning to go there for a while! On the cards for 2024: I’m heading to Cancún, Mexico, in February! We’ll be staying at the Fairmont Mayakoba—I have heard amazing things about this resort. Dream error fare: Always looking for weekend error domestic fares in the US or to London
Favourite trip: Portugal What made you travel there: I was visiting Porto for São João celebrations! It's the night of my birthday, so it was planned essentially a year in advance. It was so fun to have a night of fireworks and feasting with friends in a way I've never experienced before. And if you're a sardine fan, it's even better. On the cards for 2024: Turkey! I've been to Istanbul a fair few times, and this is the first time I'm travelling within the country. We're heading to the Black Sea! Dream error fare: Australia (wishful thinking, I know!) 
Favourite trip: The UK - Chester really surprised me, it was so nice. And Hebden Bridge was funky, too. What made you travel there: I was looking for somewhere new to live On the cards for 2024: Scotland, more specifically Katy's house! Because cats. (Editor’s note: Top tip - save on pet-sitting costs by inviting your cat-loving colleague to stay while you’re away!) Dream error fare: Georgia, Canada, Belize, Madeira. I'm not picky! |
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Reader Responses
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On Canada without a car...
 On managing altitude sickness...
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Travel News
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Pick Of The Clicks |
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All the important (or silly, or strange) travel news from across the web this week.
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