It’s not too late to plan a trip to see the solar eclipse

Eye protection for April's total solar eclipse

If you’re among the millions of people who will get the chance to witness April’s total solar eclipse, you’re going to want to use eye protection. Vitreoretinal surgeon at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai Dr. Avnish Deobhakta joined FOX Weather on Sunday to explain the dangers of viewing the eclipse without proper eye protection.

The solar eclipse in April is bringing a surge of travelers to several American cities.

The 120 mile-wide path of totality will stretch from Texas to Maine over the course of about an hour on Monday, April 8.

With so many major U.S. cities in totality’s path, traveling to witness the phenomenon is especially accessible for millions of Americans this time. In fact, 32 million of them can just step outside.

For those not living nearby and just now thinking about getting a peek, it’s not too late. But be prepared to pay premiums or get a little creative with your itinerary.

Here’s some tips:

Solar eclipse flights

Enthusiasts have been mapping out their destinations already for months. Back in January, Kayak reported seeing a 304% increase in flight searches and a 15x increase in hotel searches for the dates around the eclipse versus the same time last year.

Going, formerly Scott's Cheap Flights, said Cleveland, Austin, Buffalo, San Antonio and Indianapolis are historically the cheapest cities to fly into along the path of totality based on their data.

Prices also depend, of course, on where you are flying from.

Going also suggests flying into a nearby airport for less and road tripping to your destination.

With less than three weeks to plan, using points or miles to snag last-minute deals might be a way to make it work for your budget, too.

Solar eclipse hotels

Surge pricing on hotels in high-interest areas is common, and not just because it’s a last-minute booking at this point. Prices have been inflated for weeks.

AAA booking data showed hotels in the most popular cities along the path of totality are 48% more expensive during the eclipse weekend than they were the same time last year.

"A Motel 6 in Ennis, Texas, which is a very, very small, quaint - we'll call it the small, quaint town - it had a room available, but it was $400," Lisa Miller, a consumer strategist and president of a marketing consulting firm, found, too, as she was searching this week.

Staying outside of high-interest areas and being willing to drive day-of could make the trip more affordable. For example, you could fly into Houston and then drive in either direction to Austin, San Antonio or Dallas into the path of totality.

But do your homework on car rental prices as well to see if the savings make a difference.

AAA says its car rental partner Hertz has increased staffing ahead of the eclipse and repositioned cars to high-demand areas.

Solar eclipse Airbnbs

Across the path of totality, Airbnb has seen over a 1,000% surge in searches for stays. And interestingly, they’ve also seen a wave of new hosts adding properties to the platform, Airbnb told FOX Television Stations in an email, which means an Airbnb stay could also be a way to beat out hotels’ surging room prices.

As of this week, Airbnb said 40% of its listed accommodations along the path of totality remain available for booking.

And if this would be your first time trying an Airbnb stay, you’re not alone. One in ten guests traveling on the big eclipse weekend are first-time bookers.