I've Chased Night Skies Around the World-and This Is My No. 1 Astrotourism Tip

"After years of traveling the globe in search of the darkest skies still possible in an increasingly bright world, I've learned something that surprises a lot of people: truly experiencing the night isn't just about where you go-it's about when you go. If I had to share just one astrotourism tip with travelers, it would be this: plan your trip around the new moon. It sounds almost too simple, but the difference it makes is dramatic. When the moon is absent from the night sky, darkness returns in a way that feels almost ancient. Stars multiply. Constellations become easier to trace. And in truly dark places, the Milky Way often reveals itself as a glowing, dusty band stretching from horizon to horizon."

"I know-checking moon phases before booking flights or hotels can feel counterintuitive, especially when we're trained to prioritize prices, availability, or weather. But here's the reality: trips planned outside the new moon window often come with skies washed out by moonlight, or only brief windows of real darkness before the moon rises or after it sets. You might technically be in a dark-sky destination, but the sky itself never quite delivers."

"I put this advice into practice recently while planning a trip to Long Island, a sparsely populated out island in the Bahamas known for minimal light pollution. Instead of booking around availability alone, I pulled up a moon phase calendar first and scheduled the trip to align with the new moon. Using this phase as your anchor generally gives you a sweet spot of dark skies for about three nights before and three nights after the new moon."

Scheduling stargazing trips around the new moon maximizes natural darkness and improves visibility of stars, constellations, and the Milky Way. New-moon windows typically provide about three nights before and three nights after when moonlight does not wash out the sky. Moonlight can render even dark-sky destinations unimpressive, so checking lunar phases should be a planning priority alongside weather and logistics. Local conditions such as haze or clouds can still limit viewing, but aligning travel dates with the new moon removes one major source of sky brightness and increases the chance of truly dark nights.

Read at Travel + Leisure