{"id":59770,"date":"2024-06-05T14:17:57","date_gmt":"2024-06-05T14:17:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/7d5f334b-12f2-4124-a555-5ca002618414"},"modified":"2024-06-05T14:39:44","modified_gmt":"2024-06-05T14:39:44","slug":"10-of-the-best-stargazing-and-astronomy-holidays","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/10-of-the-best-stargazing-and-astronomy-holidays\/","title":{"rendered":"10 of the best stargazing and astronomy holidays"},"content":{"rendered":"

An astronomer’s holiday dream list. <\/p>

By <\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 05 June 2024 at 14:17 PM<\/p>

\n\n

Since light pollution blots out all but the brightest stars, many of us don’t experience truly dark skies, which is why stargazing and astronomy holidays are a great option.<\/p>

Many stargazers or astrophotographers embark on far-flung holidays to get away from the hustle and bustle – and light pollution – of large cities.<\/p>

The rule of thumb is simple; when the Moon is down, go wherever humans are not.<\/p>

Rural locations are the best bet, and many hotels and resorts around the globe are beginning to schedule stargazing sessions and install telescopes and observatories.<\/p>

Here are 10 of the best places to take astronomy or stargazing holidays and make the most of truly dark skies.<\/p>

And if you’re wondering what to take with you, read our guide to the best travel telescopes<\/a>.<\/p>

Brecon Beacons, Wales, UK<\/strong><\/h2>A view of the night sky over the Brecon Beacons Visitor Centre in South Wales. Credit: Edward Bentley\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Wales is one of the darkest countries in the world, with an amazing number of rural areas where light pollution becomes a distant memory.<\/p>
Brecon Beacons, now officially adopting its Welsh name of Bannau Brycheiniog, became the fifth International Dark Sky Reserve in the world, and the first in Wales.<\/p>
The national park hosts a Dark Sky Festival in September and has some of the highest quality dark skies in the UK.<\/p>
It’s one of the best places for stargazing in Wales<\/a> and one of the best places for stargazing and astronomy holidays in the UK.<\/p>
And there is a range of places nearby where far-flung stargazers can stay.<\/p>
Find out more at the Brecon Beacons official list of places to stay while stargazing<\/a><\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>
Hotel Rang\u00e1, Iceland<\/strong><\/h2> $\"Hotel$
Hotel Rang\u00e1’s TEC 160ED APO refractor is a big attraction for astrophotographers. (\u00a9 Hotel Rang\u00e1)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Far from any light pollution and in a great location for views of the Northern Lights, this luxury hotel complete with thermally-heated outdoor hot tubs has its own roll-off roof observatory just 150m from the main building.<\/p>
Inside is an 11-inch Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain and a TEC 160ED apo refractor on an Astro-Physics 900 mount, both computerised and perfect for astrophotography<\/a>.<\/p>
An 18-inch reflector \u2013 the biggest telescope in Iceland \u2013 can often be found outside on a platform, too.<\/p>
And if you visit in summer, a Coronado Solarmax II 60 solar telescope is on-hand.<\/p>
Best Served Scandinavia<\/a> offers a seven-night trip to Iceland, including a two-night stay at Hotel Ranga (\u00a3990 per person including flights, car hire and accommodation).<\/p>
Find out more at hotelranga.is<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>
Stargazing Hotel SaharaSky, Morocco<\/strong><\/h2> $\"Sun-down$
Sun-down at SaharaSky \u00a9 Hotel SaharaSky<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Set at the eastern end of the Draa Valley’s palm-filled oases, Hotel SaharaSky has a rooftop observatory equipped with an impressive range of telescopes for ‘stargazing \u00e0 la carte’.<\/p>
The first private astronomical observatory in north Africa, it includes Schmidt-Cassegrain and Ritchey-Chretien telescopes up to 16 inches in aperture.<\/p>
If that’s something truly special, so are the night skies and the 28\u00b0 latitude north.<\/p>
The hotel is visited by Intrepid Travel<\/a>‘s Night Sky and Caravan Trail trip (including accommodation, ground transport, some meals and most activities).<\/p>
Find out more at www.saharasky.net\/hotel\/index.php<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>
Utah, USA<\/strong><\/h2> $\"The$
The Milky Way over Thor hammer in Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah. The US state is famous for stargazing and astronomy holidays. Credit: TONNAJA \/ Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>
There are dozens of legendary places to stargaze in Utah<\/a>. It’s a world-famous dark-sky location and a great place for stargazing astronomy holidays.<\/p>
Bryce Canyon National Park holds a fine astronomy and night-sky programme<\/a> every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, which includes 90 minutes to wander between telescopes outside.<\/p>
A short drive away is the gorgeous Cedar Breaks National Monument, where the air is thinner, colder and offers even better stargazing (altitude is more than 3,000 metres). The Grand Lodge at Brian Head<\/a>,from \u00a3118, is handily located.<\/p>
Utah also hosts the grand Zion National Park, Arches National Park, Natural Bridges National Monument, Canyonlands National Park and the northern side of the Grand Canyon<\/a>.<\/p>
If you use Las Vegas as a hub, consider visiting the Great Basin National Park<\/a> in Nevada, which hosts the Great Basin Astronomy Festival<\/a> every autumn.<\/p>
The Canary Islands<\/strong><\/h2> $\"Have$
Have a go at astrophotography on the island of Fuerteventura, a great dark-sky spot for stargazing astronomy holidays \u00a9 Stars By Night<\/figcaption><\/figure>
The Canary Islands might just be the best places in Europe for amateur astronomers to head.<\/p>
As well as super clear dark skies as you gain altitude inland, here at 28\u00b0 latitude north you\u2019ll get the chance to see Sagittarius, Scorpius and southern hemisphere sights like Canopus.<\/p>
That makes the island of Fuerteventura – a UNESCO Starlight Reserve since – perfect for a four-day night photography course<\/a> with professional photographer Simon Waldram<\/a> (including accommodation, meals and transfers), who hosts theory and practical sessions each evening covering star trails<\/a>, stars, time-lapses, light painting and the Milky Way.<\/p>
The nearby island of Tenerife’s El Teide National Park is also a UNESCO Starlight Reserve, with Parador de Las Ca\u00f1adas del Teide<\/a> holding stargazing<\/a> sessions with telescopes.<\/p>
Or you can stay on the slopes of El Teide at the Refuge Altavista<\/a> and stargaze from 3,260m.<\/p>
Sierra Sur de Ja\u00e9n Starlight Reserve, Andaluc\u00eda, Spain<\/strong><\/h2> $\"One$
One of the scopes used on the night sky tours organised by AstroAndalus. Credit: Astro\u00c1ndalus<\/figcaption><\/figure>
If you happen to be holidaying in Andaluc\u00eda, take the 1-hour drive to the Sierra Sur de Ja\u00e9n Starlight Reserve.<\/p>
This region is sparsely populated, meaning a lack of light pollution, and boasts 300 clear nights a year.<\/p>
Be sure to pay a visit to the Observatorio Andaluz de Astronom\u00eda<\/a> at La Pedriza, which hosts stargazing events and workshops.<\/p>
Or head to Casa Olea Starlight Hotel<\/a>, a boutique B&B on the fringes of Sierra Sur de Ja\u00e9n that has night-sky-friendly lighting and hosts stargazing weekends.<\/p>
Flagstaff & Scottsdale, Arizona<\/strong><\/h2> $\"Stargazing$
Stargazing and astronomy holidays don’t get much better than visiting this historic site. The refurbished Pluto Dome at Flagstaff Observatory. Credit: Lowell Observatory Archives<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Flagstaff, Arizona hosts the wonderful Lowell Observatory<\/a> \u2013 where Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto<\/a>\u2013 which holds nightly stargazing with telescopes (using the refurbished 120-year-old 24-inch Clark refractor!), while Sky Jewels<\/a> offer astronomy tours out of Phoenix and Scottsdale.<\/p>
If you’re after luxury, the Four Seasons<\/a> at Troon North in Scottsdale holds regular, free stargazing sessions with a small telescope, while about three hours’ drive south \u2013 either side of Tucson \u2013 are Mount Graham International Observatory<\/a> and Kitt Peak National Observatory<\/a>.<\/p>
The Maldives<\/strong><\/h2> $\"Gili$ <\/figure>
Asia isn\u2019t often thought of as a stargazing destination, but there are pockets of dark skies that rival anywhere on the planet \u2013 including on prices, too.<\/p>
If it’s good enough for Buzz Aldrin\u2026<\/p>
The luxury Gili Lankanfushi<\/a> over-water resort in the Indian Ocean is completely devoid of light pollution, has a powerful telescope and night sky-trained staff, but that\u2019s not why Commander Aldrin likes it.<\/p>
Is it the sprawling 1,700 square meter villa? Or the 24\/7 butlers?<\/p>
Actually, it\u2019s the resort\u2019s Ocean Paradise Dive Centre.<\/p>
\u201cScuba diving in the ocean has a similar freedom to being in space,\u201d says Buzz. \u201cParticularly when you\u2019re upside down!\u201d<\/p>
Indian Ocean<\/strong><\/h2> $\"Six$
Six Senses Con Dao Resort in Vietnam has a 127mm Maksutov-Cassegrainian telescope. \u00a9 Six Senses Con Dao<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Another Indian Ocean choice is Soneva Kirii<\/a>, a beach resort off Thailand\u2019s west coast whose Celestial Experience includes a private trip to the resort’s own observatory.<\/p>
Six Senses’ Con Dao<\/a> in Vietnam includes a private observatory (private sessions possible) with a 5-inch Maksutov-Cassegrainian telescope.<\/p>
Masseria Gialli, Ugento, Puglia, Italy<\/strong><\/h2> $\"Stargaze$
Stargaze from a traditional Italian ‘trullo’. \u00a9 Masseria Gialli<\/figcaption><\/figure>
A remote countryside location, clear skies and no more than a partly-lit Moon is all you truly need to stargaze, but this hotel in Italy’s heel adds its own observatory in a traditional ‘trullo’ (dry stone hut ).<\/p>
Inside Masseria Gialli’s own trullo<\/a>, surrounded by an olive grove, is a Sky-Watcher 70\/900-EQ-1, telescope, while about 20km away close to Salve is Parco Astronomico<\/a>, which has several optical telescopes and even a Sun-scope.<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
An astronomer’s holiday dream list. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":59771,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"7"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/06\/10-of-the-best-stargazing-and-astronomy-holidays.jpg",1200,1200,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/06\/10-of-the-best-stargazing-and-astronomy-holidays-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/06\/10-of-the-best-stargazing-and-astronomy-holidays-300x300.jpg",300,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/06\/10-of-the-best-stargazing-and-astronomy-holidays-768x768.jpg",768,768,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/06\/10-of-the-best-stargazing-and-astronomy-holidays-1024x1024.jpg",800,800,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/06\/10-of-the-best-stargazing-and-astronomy-holidays.jpg",1200,1200,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/06\/10-of-the-best-stargazing-and-astronomy-holidays.jpg",1200,1200,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"An astronomer's holiday dream list.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/59770"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}