- Dates: Apr 14 - 21, 2023
- Duration: 8 days, 7 nights
- Trip Level (1-4):2
- Arrive: Perth, Western Australia
- Depart:Perth, Western Australia
- Priced From: $6,740
This tour departs in
DAYS
Highlights
- Explore less-traveled Western Australia, from its pristine beaches to the easily accessible wilderness of the Outback.
- Discover Perth, a dynamic seaside city offering one-of-a-kind adventures on its doorstep – like snorkeling with dolphins in the nearby bay.
- Fly by private jet to Exmouth and witness the Moon’s shadow sweeping across the North West Cape during the 52-second total solar eclipse on April 20, 2023.
- Unpack just once as we base our explorations from our comfortable Perth hotel that’s your home base for seven nights.
- Enhance your Western Australia eclipse experience with pre- and post-trip add-on excursions to Sydney, the Great Barrier Reef and Ayers Rock.
As we seek out the best places on Earth for eclipse viewing and stargazing, we also explore some of our planet’s most fascinating and less-travelled regions – because that’s all part of the TravelQuest experience. On our astronomy-themed journeys, we don’t just look upward; we immerse ourselves in the natural and cultural wonders all around us.
That spirit defines our new adventure in Western Australia. For the total solar eclipse on April 20, 2023, we knew that an ideal vantage point would be Australia’s North West Cape – especially the area around Exmouth, home to the Learmonth Solar Observatory and renowned for its clear views of the vast southern sky. At the same time, we wanted to bring TravelQuest guests to the southwest coast at Perth, with its spectacular beaches, protected islands and, just a short drive inland, the wild expanses of the Outback.
So we’ve woven those two thoughts together in our new Western Australia Total Solar Eclipse journey. Enjoy six days of exploration from our comfortable home base in Perth (where you only have to unpack once!), taking in everything from a winery tour and snorkeling with dolphins to hiking among stark rock formations in the Pinnacle Desert. Then board our private jet for the flight north to Exmouth, once a remote forward base for the U.S. submarine fleet and now the gateway for travelers venturing along the beautiful Coral Coast. At our handpicked viewing site, you’ll experience what is in fact a hybrid annular and total eclipse, in which the Sun is first partially obscured and then completely blocked as the Moon’s shadow passes across the face of the Earth.
If you’ve previously traveled Down Under, here’s your chance to discover the other side of Australia in a less-known region you may have missed. If this is your first visit, we’ve created a unique itinerary that takes you deep into the fabled island continent – with the option to bookend your journey with our pre and post-tour excursions to Sydney, the Great Barrier Reef and Ayers Rock. Either way, our TravelQuest philosophy remains the same: follow the Sun and the Moon, and wherever they create the greatest spectacle overhead, we build an unforgettable adventure on the Earth below.
We expect a lot of interest in this lifetime trip, so reserve your spot today!
Eclipse viewing prospects in Exmouth, West Australia
By TQ Astronomer, Jay Anderson
In April, the northwest coast of Australia lies in one of the sunniest areas in the Southern Hemisphere. Statistics acquired from satellite show an average cloud cover of only 28 percent in April at Exmouth. Weather station observations from the local airport confirm the high frequency of sunny days, with nearly 80 percent of the days of the month reporting clear skies or scattered cloud at eclipse time. Closer examination of daily satellite images confirms the generous sunshine of all of Australia’s North West Cape, as all but one of the April 20s stretching back to the year 2000 would have provided an easy view of the eclipse. Exmouth and the surrounding area enjoy the very best of Australian sunshine, and for those interested in the stars as well, the very best of nights.