March famously comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb...but this year it will also have an awe-inspiring finale.
A nearly total solar eclipse will be visible in many parts of the world on March 29, 2025, including large swaths of North America. Unfortunately, Metro Vancouverites won't be able to see the sky go dark if they stay home; the moon's shadow misses B.C. this time.
Rosanna Tilbrook, an astronomer at the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, tells V.I.A. that the eclipse will be partially visible in Eastern Canada.
"Folks in Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, PEI, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, and parts of Quebec will have the best view, seeing up to 92 per cent of the total eclipse. Ontario will see a partial eclipse too," she explains.
Regions around the world that will experience at least a partial eclipse include Europe, northern parts of Asia, North/West Africa, parts of North America, small parts of South America, and the Arctic, according to timeanddate.com.
Flights from Vancouver to top Canadian cities to view the 2025 solar eclipse
Locals looking to view the impressive display can see it in other parts of Canada, provided they embark on a road trip or buy a plane ticket.
While the celestial event occurs soon, travellers can still find low-cost options provided they book them early.
For instance, a round-trip flight from Vancouver International Airport (YVR) to Toronto Lester B. Pearson International Airport (YYZ) departing on Friday, March 28, and returning on Monday, March 31, costs $339 including tax through third-party BudgetAir. The first flight is a non-stop trip to Toronto with Flair Airlines and the return trip only involves a five-and-a-half hour stopover in Calgary with WestJet (see slide three).
Alternatively, folks who prefer a French holiday can visit Montreal, although the round-trip options start at $600 return.
A trip departing Vancouver on Thursday, March 27, and returning from Montreal on Monday, March 31 (with a two-hour-and-20-minute stopover in Toronto on the outbound journey and an overnight wait in Calgary on the return) can be booked through kiwi.com. Several other options don't include lengthy stopovers but the price climbs closer to the $1,000 mark (see slide four).
Finally, travellers who want to get the best view of the solar display can head to the Maritimes. However, last-minute trips to these East Coast gems cost a pretty penny.
For instance, a flight departing Vancouver on Thursday, March 27, and returning from Halifax on Monday, March 31, costs $1,048. The outbound journey includes a stop in Toronto for six hours and forty minutes and the return includes a stop in Toronto for just shy of three hours (see slide five).
Looking at the eclipse
Tilbrook advises travellers to practice safety if they are viewing the solar eclipse.
"You will need to use equipment in order to look at the sun safely," she warns. "This doesn't have to be anything fancy—special solar eclipse glasses are cheap and easily available, or you can create a pinhole projector to view the eclipse indirectly."
NASA advises using a camera lens, binoculars, or a telescope with a special-purpose solar filter secured over the front of the optics to view the event.
Regular glasses or sunglasses will not protect your eyes from sun damage. Use solar viewing glasses (eclipse glasses) or a safe handheld solar viewer. NASA notes that "safe solar viewers are thousands of times darker and must comply with the ISO 12312-2 international standard."
When will the next total solar eclipse occur?
Full solar eclipses occur annually or every two or three years, often in the middle of nowhere like the South Pacific or Antarctic. The next total solar eclipse, in 2026, will grace the northern fringes of Greenland, Iceland, and Spain.
North America won’t experience totality again until 2033, with Alaska getting sole dibs. Then that’s it until 2044, when totality will be confined to Western Canada, Montana and North Dakota.
With files from the Associated Press
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