Campsites in Spain have established themselves as one of the favorite alternatives for observing the solar eclipse on August 12. With two months to go until the event, demand for those days has skyrocketed, coinciding with one of the most relevant astronomical milestones the country will experience in recent decades.
The combination of natural landscapes, low light pollution, and wide, clear horizons has been key to this boom.
At the accommodation management company HolaCamp, several of its campsites located in particularly ideal areas for viewing the eclipse are already showing near-full occupancy levels. The case of HolaCamp Camino, in A Coruña, stands out, a campsite with Starlight certification that guarantees the quality of its night sky and its unbeatable conditions for observing the firmament.
The same trend is seen in other locations of the company, such as HolaCamp La Franca, in Asturias, or HolaCamp Sant Salvador, in Comarruga (Tarragona). In these destinations, interest for the week of the eclipse has intensified in recent months, leaving very few spots available.
"We are seeing something that goes far beyond a conventional holiday booking," explained the CEO and co-founder of HolaCamp, Alfonso Leprevost.
According to the company's manager, a significant portion of travelers have opted for camping with the intention of witnessing the eclipse from a privileged environment, with clear views and without the restrictions typical of large urban centers.
A Great Natural Observatory and the Coincidence with the Perseids
The growing interest in the phenomenon has highlighted the benefits of outdoor accommodation for sky observation, allowing the eclipse to be viewed from open spaces far from the visual pollution of cities. Furthermore, many campers are turning the observation into a multi-day getaway, taking advantage of the fact that other astronomical events, such as the Perseids, can also be enjoyed during those dates.
In this regard, Leprevost emphasizes that the eclipse has acted as a "great accelerator" of a trend that was already growing, where travelers plan their trips around unique nature-related experiences. "They are no longer just looking for a place to stay, but for settings where they can experience something unrepeatable," he pointed out.
The Rise of Astrotourism and the Pull of International Audiences
This context coincides with the takeoff of astrotourism, a modality that gains weight both among the national public and among visitors from other countries. Spain has consolidated itself as one of the reference destinations in Europe for this type of tourism thanks to the quality of its skies and the variety of its landscapes, a position that will be reinforced by the chain of eclipses that will cross Spanish territory between 2026 and 2028.
From HolaCamp they point out that a relevant part of the reservations for those dates comes from foreign tourists who have organized their vacations expressly to coincide with the eclipse.
"The most striking thing is the anticipation. There are clients who booked months ago to secure a privileged location," concluded the CEO of the company, who foresees that this way of planning vacations around astronomical events will continue in the coming years.
Given this scenario of high occupancy, the company advises those interested in experiencing the eclipse from a campsite to check availability as soon as possible.