San Fermin
(aka Running of the Bulls festival)

  • WHERE: Pamplona, Spain
  • WHAT: Drink Sangria all day and night, dance, PARTY, and watch the awful but age-old tradition of man racing bull and man torturing bull.
  • DRESS: All white so you can be sprayed with sangria and look like Carrie (The horror film character)
  • STAY: Either book an air bnb a year in advance with friends or camp with a tour company. I went with Busabout who I had a great experience with. Jus don’t vomit on their bus or you will have to pay the Spew Fee (oops).
  • NOTES: This is also where I had my first phone stolen (or perhaps I lost it in my drunkenness) so BEWARE. I recommend not even taking a phone into the festival as you wont find reception-just latch yourself to your friends or find new ones!

Oktoberfest:

  • WHERE: Munich, Germany
  • WHAT: For beer connoisseurs the purpose is to celebrate beer, tasting all the different varieties. For the rest of us it is to get absolutely hammered and party all day and all night. The vibe is pure happiness.
  • DRESS: You must, I repeat MUST, wear a dirndl or a lederhosen which also happen to be extremely sexually arousing. Buy them the day you arrive from almost anywhere an they will be selling good ones for cheap at that point (I bought mine for 40 euros)
  • STAY: Either book an air bnb a year in advance with friends or camp with a tour company. I went with Stoke Travel which was a whole lot of fun but a fair way out from the festivities. I have some friends who stayed at a hostel called the Tent that was cheap and far closer to all the festivities.
  • NOTES: Arrive early in the morning to line up outside a tent so that you get a table. Without a table you wont get served food or beer. If you are slow at life like me, make friends with people who attained these tables so they can order beer for you and you can run around and enjoy the festival. Heavily tip your barmaids or they will ignore you and not serve you again… and you need your beer. My favorite tent to party in was the “Löwenbräu”.