With eight months still to go, Soller is already reporting hotel occupancy levels of around 80% for the total solar eclipse on 12 August 2026 — a rare celestial event set to turn Mallorca into one of the world’s prime viewing locations. Not since 1912 has Spain witnessed such a spectacle, and the anticipation is provoking an unprecedented surge in demand, even for an island long accustomed to tourism success. Hotels across the Serra de Tramuntana have been dealing with booking enquiries for the past three years.
“The furthest in advance we’d ever taken bookings was seven or eight months for wedding parties,” says Lluís Rullan, president of the Soller Hotel Association and director of Hotel Los Geranios. Despite the extraordinary early interest, he expects occupancy to resemble a typical high-season August. “We’ll be hovering around 90%, which is normal for Soller,” he adds.
Much of the demand has arrived before hoteliers had even settled their operational plans, with bookings solidifying as airlines confirmed their flight schedules. The result is the current 80% occupancy, fuelled by both group reservations and independent travellers. “Americans, Scandinavians, French and British visitors have shown particular interest,” says Rullan. While hotels are largely maintaining their usual August rates, many are now requesting a minimum stay of two nights.
In preparation for the influx, the Soller Hotel Association has secured hundreds of eclipse-safe viewing glasses and is advising guests to prepare accordingly. Meetings with local councils and the island’s Consell have already taken place to coordinate traffic and crowd-management measures. Couples and families from the United States and across Europe form the bulk of early reservations at the Four Seasons Resort Mallorca at Formentor, which is planning a programme of dedicated experiences. “Occupancy will be high during the eclipse period, but we still have availability,” notes commercial director Carmelo Assenza.
Astronomers have pinpointed Mallorca’s western region — the Ponent — as the best vantage point from which to witness the sun vanish for roughly two minutes at around 8pm on 12 August 2026. The island’s positioning makes it one of the most favourable locations globally, and this rare alignment has firmly placed the Balearics on the map for astronomy enthusiasts and curious travellers eager to witness a once-in-a-lifetime event.