Mes: abril 2018

Here at Stoke, we spend about a third of the year at campsites around Europe.  Some of us are, ahem, more well suited to this than others. Regardless, we’ve picked up a few essential tips and tricks along the way, and we want to share these nuggets of wisdom with the world.  This isn’t your dad’s guide to camping; this is the Stoke guide to feeling at home in your tent, whatever drunken, soggy shenanigans you may get into.

Your tent is your temple

Whether you’re here for a weekend or a month, remember that your tent is the only slice of life at a Stoke camp that’s totally under your control.  Whatever happens, however weird it gets, you’ve always got that nylon cube of personal paradise. So take a few minutes to get it just the way you want.  When every bit of space matters, it pays to get things organized. After all, the last thing you want when you bring a hottie back to the love palace is to be digging through piles of dirty clothes for a jimmy-wrap. Speaking of bringing things back to the tent, nobody’s going to stop you from taking a beer or some food to snack on later, but take it from us: if you bring it, it will spill. And on that note…

Make it presentable

We’re not saying you’re not the catch of the century, all we’re saying is there are a lot of legends to choose from when somebody’s feeling randy at a Stoke camp.  And having said that, nobody wants to bang in a messy, smelly tent. We imagine you’d rather not give anybody a reason to look elsewhere to get their rocks off, so keep that shit clean and tidy.  Not to mention, a tidy tent would make your mum proud, even if nothing else about camp does. Hell, you could even go the extra mile and toss a piece of flair or two in there. Maybe a tiny disco ball? Then, once you’ve got it just the way you want it, it pays to watch out for your tent because…

Shit happens

As cool as we are, Stoke hasn’t learned how to control the weather (yet).  Life is unpredictable. Sometimes it rains. Trust us when we say that the last thing you want to do when you’re 13 sangrias deep is run out into the weather because you didn’t zip up all the way.  Before you start for the day, it never hurts to take a minute and check that everything is in order. If the outside wall is touching the inside wall, it might get wet. If your tent isn’t zipped or staked all the way, it will get wet.  Just because everything started perfectly (it did) doesn’t mean it’ll stay that way. Maybe your tent got, erm, jostled during the night. Whatever the case, better safe than soggy.

Bigger is sometimes better

Don’t normally consider yourself the camping type? Well you’re in luck, because Stoke is proud to offer a glamping option.  It’s not the Ritz, but it’s about as luxurious as the great outdoors can get. You’ll have a real bed, sheets, pillows, wifi, electricity, and we’ll even toss some goodies in for good measure.  Glamping tents also offer much more room for customization (you could probably fit a full sized disco ball in there).

That’s it, you’ve been warned.  Test your camping skills with us at San Fermin, La Tomatina, or Stoketoberfest.

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There are so many mobs offering sail Croatia trips, why would you choose us? Because we’re Stoke! And it’s sailing Croatia! Has there ever been a more iconic duo? But if you’re not going to blindly take our word for it, here’s a bunch of reasons why you should sail with Stoke before anybody else. For those of you light of attention spans, the bottom line is because we’re the biggest peggin’ pirates on the Adriatic Sea. Why? Because we aaaaaarrrrrrghhh!

We’ve got the best crew

Stoke Travel regularly and without fail attracts the wildest, funniest, most adventurous travellers. We’re not where you come to hang out exclusively with people from your home country. We attract party lovers and travelling legends from all over the world. The last thing you want is to sign up for sail Croatia and be shipmated with a bunch of dead boring Barneys. That will never happen with Stoke. You know who else attracted the wildest party-loving adventurers in the world? Pirates did, that’s who! Pirates obviously crewed their booty-grabbing ships with only the best lunatics from all over the world, and so do Stoke.

We sail to the hottest spots

Gorgeous islands, hidden bays, treasure filled (maybe) caves, raging port towns and all the high seas in between. We cruise by the highest mountain range on the Mediterranean. All of these things just spell the pirate’s life.

Stoke has an open bar on our sail Croatia cruises

Yeah, you read that right. An open and unlimited beer and sangria bar on Stoke Travel’s Stoke Afloat Sail Croatia trips. For only €10 extra per day we’ll let you drink as much as you like, saving you even more cash. You want to live the pirate’s life, right? Well you think the pirates used to hand over hard-swashbuckled Kunas everytime they wanted to crack a tin of partying juice? Not a chance. They are 100% open-bar kind of sailors.

We’re all about the booty

We’re about shaking our booty, dropping our booties and tanning every booty inch we possess. Our sail Croatia trips are booties out experiences, with every boating hour favouring wearing our bikinis or speedos and nothing else. Pirates were also about booty, but they liked to collect it. We’ve got our hands full with our own booties, thank you very much.

Our entire life is about finding the best party

There’s nothing that drives Stoke Travel more than finding the next and best fiestas. We are absolute experts in scouring the world for crazy parties and throwing ourselves in the middle of them. Obviously we continue this goodtime-focused tradition in Croatia, looking for the next party even before the current one has finished — from stripper pole bars to the biggest nightclub in Croatia. We will be sure that our boat is always in the hot spots. Pirates also liked to party, we assume, what with all the rum. Rum is the ultimate partying juice.

Convinced? The open bar should be convincing enough, literally nobody else offers this in Croatia. Join the biggest pirates on the Adriatic this summer, with Stoke Afloat Sail Croatia trips setting sail from the 28th of July and the 25th August. All of our trips are eight days, include breakfast and lunch, accommodation onboard, and all the snorkeling, cliff jumping, sunbaking and high-seas hijynx you could hope for. €600 is all you’ll be forking out for the fun.

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Disclaimer: there’s nothing wrong with regular Stoke Travel trips, in fact they’re already major upgrades on everything else offered out there. A Stoke Travel trip is an upgrade on life! So read on if you want to upgrade your upgrade. Pimp your upgrade. Upgrade inception.

There comes a time in every traveller’s life when they feel like they deserve something a little nicer. For some travellers they migrate to wheelie cases and hotels, forever leaving behind the camp scene. Others can’t ever leave the camp scene behind, addicted to the communal good times and the fresh our found outside your tent flaps.

At Stoke we try and keep as many of the good-time elements of our world-beater camps in the packages we’ve created for this new breed of fancy pants Stoke Travel travellers. Just because you want a more comfortable bed doesn’t mean you should suffer the horrors of missing out on the best party of your life! Here are your options.

1. La Tomatina Hotel Upgrade
   Stoke’s campsite for La Tom is by the beach a little north of Valencia. Here we have our Foreplay party before the event, chill on the sand, swim in the pool, eat a massive paella, etc. However! Some people would prefer to sleep in a real bed, surrounded by real walls, in the real city of Valencia, and so we’ve got these some people covered. Our hotel upgrades for La Tomatina include transfers from Valencia to the tomato fight (it’s in a small village, in the hills behind the city), buffet breakfasts, and entry plus round trip bus transfers to the official La Tomatina after party. There’s also the option to add on a bus ride to our campsite for the paella and opening party, or to the Water and Wine fight in the village of Requeña the night before the battle of salad fruit. Book your La Tom hotel upgrade here.
2. Stoked in the Park, Running of the Bulls
   This one is an upgrade, but not in the sense that it’s exclusive. Stoked in the Park is simply the festival we are holding at our Running of the Bulls campsite this year. Music and food and wine and sporting matches and pool parties and games. We’ve got bands and DJs coming from as far away as Australia, and wine coming from as near as the hills surrounding the campsite. We’re using Stoked in the Park as the perfect pre or post party for the San Fermin celebrations, so the party doesn’t have to stop while you’re warming up for a big day of street parties, or winding down after being chased by angry bulls. Entry to Stoked in the Park is included in your Running of the Bulls accommodation package (as is a twin-share tent, pre-erected with air mattresses and sleeping bags, chef-prepared breakfasts and dinners, experienced guides for the bull run and the party, and the option to add on our all-you-can-drink open bar of beer and sangria). Book your Running of the Bulls with Stoke, here.
3. Glamping
   There’s nothing better after a big day of drinking Germany’s finest, strongest beer, running from bulls, or hurling tomatoes at strangers than crawling into your tent and curling up with your sleeping bag… actually, you know what’s better? Walking into your tent. Laying down on your air mattress. Rolling around on your sheets and fluffing your pillow. Firing up the hot water bottle if it’s chilly. Admiring yourself in the full length mirror. Asking your butler, we know staff member, for another unlimited hot chocolate or icy pole (limited only by your ability to drink them and stay alive). Glamping isn’t for everybody, but it is for everybody who can afford it, and with stays starting at €90 per person, per night it’s not exactly out of reach. To book, simply go to the Stoke trip you love and choose the Glamping option. 

Are you feeling fancy this summer? Maybe it’s time for an upgrade. Or at least get yourself a Stoke Travel Passport so you can save money doing more trips and then use that saved money for upgrades!

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The Running of the Bulls, Pamplona’s San Fermin festival, is coming up soon. Now’s the time to have your accommodation sorted. As one of the world’s biggest street parties, obviously sleeping options get busy and/or expensive during this time. Nevertheless there are still options, so use our handy guide to determine what’s right for you.

Don’t sleep

This is a real option for many revellers at Sanfermines, to simply party straight through the night. We wouldn’t recommend this if you’re interested in the encierro, or bull run, as you need to be as well rested as possible before you put yourself in front of bulls. One of the big problems with the don’t sleep method is that it’s unsustainable – the party goes for longer than a week and how many nights can you stay awake before you go totally weird?

Sleep in the park

Slightly better than not sleeping as at least you’re intending to get some rest, but outdoors. Yes, there’s a great park in downtown Pamplona, one that is often littered with resting bodies, and the grass does look comfortable, but sleeping outside like this is going to be cold, damp, and you run the real risk of having your things stolen while you snooze. If you care about your belongings you’ll be sleeping with one eye open and what kind of nap is that? A shitty nap, that’s what!

Hope that you pick up

For many single travellers the hope that you pick up is one that is always carried with us, like a favourite book that doesn’t get read all that much, but that we hold onto dearly. Well, when that’s your accommodation option all of a sudden the idea gets much more serious, and that turns out to be counterproductive to your picking up, which is counterproductive to your sleeping arrangements, and so you get more desperate, and so on. You should never count on picking up, it will turn you into a desperado, which is Spanish, for desperado.

Book a hotel

This is a great idea, Moneybags! Looking on booking.com more than 94% of Pamplona properties are booked, with the average per-night price well over €500 for a twin share. Makes sleeping in the park all of a sudden seem attractive, right? This is one of the most famous parties in the world, so obviously the hotels put their prices right up and the cheaper options sell out well in advance, which is just fine because we have the best Pamplona accommodation option of all for you.

Camping with Stoke Travel

This is by far the better option as it includes it includes the best aspects of the others. At the Stoke Travel campsite you can choose to party all night, if you want to, or you can get a full eight hours sleep. If you decide to pass out in a park you can, as our campsite features a lot of grassy and shaded areas, and your belongings will be safely locked away in your tent. There’s a good chance that you’ll pick up if you want to, as Stoke Travel attracts open minded travellers from all over the world (one of our slogans is Your tent or mine). Plus we’ll provide a twin-share tent, inflatable sleeping mat and sleeping bags, so while it’s not quite up to hotel standards, it’s also not €500 a night.

Plus, a stay with Stoke includes: our legendary campsite parties, including the Stoked in the Park music and culture festival, featuring local and international bands and DJs; unlimited beer and sangria from our open bar, at only €10 per day; chef-prepared breakfast and dinners every day, included in the price; expert guides for both the bull run and Pamplona’s street parties; and somewhere on site to purchase your party outfit (white pants and shirt, red neckerchief and sash) without getting ripped off.

Our campsite is the legendary El Molino, located outside Pamplona in the wilderness, alongside a river, with a pool (yes, we will have pool parties), rock climbing wall and mini golf, plenty of grassy space for chilling, trees for shade (the other campsites in the area are treeless and grassless and you don’t want to be dusty and sweaty at the same time), onsite store, restaurant and bar (in addition to our open beer and sangria bar), with views across the Navarese hills during the day and of a gazillion stars at nighttime.

Camping with Stoke Travel for the Running of the Bulls isn’t only the most reasonable accommodation option in Pamplona – it’s also the best! We have the most fun, with the best people and provide a full festival experience as opposed to supplying just a bed. There are still some spaces left during the festival, but we strongly recommend you book now!

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Hacia 3 años que no acudíamos a una edición del tableru. Unas semanas atrás “chukito” @Diariodeunchurfer  mientras estábamos en Salinas surfeando,nos invitó a acudir, y en San Vicente de la Barquera nos presentamos, comprobamos que la esencia de este evento perduraba intacta, 3 regiones del Cantábrico, Vizcaya representada por el surfclub “El pasillo” ,Cantabria y Asturias, […]
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The Mediterranean is heating up and there’s no better way to make the most of the long summer than with a sneaky Barcelona trip. But what to pack? Chances are you’re only rolling with carry-on, so space is as tight as your summer buns. Never fear, we live here in the 12-time winning Best City In The World award winner, and know exactly what you need to bring and what you most certainly leave behind.

No clothes

You won’t need any clothes. Partly this is because nudity is a-ok along certain, rather prominent, stretches of Barcelona’s beaches. It’s also because the Stoke Monkey clothing store, just behind the beach in Barceloneta, is fully stocked with totally hot shirts and hats that say Barcelona on them, and the like. They don’t yet stock pants, but you didn’t come on holiday to wear pants now, did you?

A fedora maybe

The Spanish sun is notoriously steaming, from about the month of April until well into October. It burns long, bright and hard, starting when you walk out of the club until dinner time, which is around 10pm. Sunscreen is advisable, sometimes, but not when you plan on being as hot as possible – the pale smear on your otherwise gorgeous face might make people think you’re not as tan as you are. A fedora, however, will protect you from the sun while letting your aura shine through, with the added bonus of acting like peacock feathers to anyone who loves the television series Big Bang Theory.

One of those cruiser skateboard things

Barcelona is a skateboarding mecca, from the famous MACBA ledges open to everybody, to the Street League contest that comes out here each and every year. How better to pay your homages to this bastion of getting radical, than cruising around on a device that has been genetically modified to prevent you from doing any of the tricks that make skateboarding great? Ollies, heelflips, grinds and slides? No need when you can plough your way through crowds of pedestrians, probably while wearing aforementioned fedora. Bonus points if you push mongo (extra bonus points if you know what pushing mongo means).

A fake wallet for every night of your trip

It’s no secret that Barcelona is a city full of petty thieves, scammers and pickpockets. But never fear as you can easily avoid their nefarious arts by having some of your wits about you. The dummy wallet is a good trick, lure them into thinking they’re getting their slimy mitts on your credit cards when all they’ve got is a velcro wallet full of human shit. Problem is once your fake wallet is stolen you’ll be forced to rely on your real wallet, which means that by night two of your Barcelona trip the robbers will be running away with your real gear. So pack more fake wallets, at least one for each night of your trip, but perhaps multiple fakes for big nights on the sauce. And maybe pre-prepare some poop so you can quickly fill the replacements up as swiftly as they’re snatched.

Some budgie smugglers

There’s no better Barcelona vantage point than from the Mediterranean Sea and no easier way to get out there than on one of Stoke Travel’s Party Boats. Beautiful people from all over the world getting together to share a couple of high seas beverages under the salty sun, while seagulls mate overhead and narwhals breach beyond the bow. Sounds idyllic, right? Well imagine how wonderful this vista will be when you’re perched up on deck in your speedos, dick directing the captain, as your fellow cruisers follow the back of your hairy thighs into good times.

The darkest sunglasses you can find

Once it’s all said and done you’re going to need a dark pair of glasses to hide your sins. You should also probably get that rash checked out and clean the human shit out of your pockets. Of course Barcelona was the best, but it takes its toll. The Stoke Travel staff you meet when you’re here are on average 11-year-old but we just look like we’re in our 20s. The ones who look like they’re in their 30s are actually over 50. Living our Barcelona best lives has a weird cyclic effect on aging.

Haven’t booked your Barcelona getaway yet? Our City Breaks are pretty dang fabulous. Jump on, get in, let’s rock. 

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Springfest has started. We’re one weekend down and with two to go it’s looking like being the festival of the year, so far. It’s also the first real festival of the year. For many travellers it’s their first Stoke trip and the springboard for a summer filled with good times (for a free summer of Stoke for free, click over here); for others they’re returning after the previous year’s successes. Unfortunately, though, the vast majority of this summer’s Stokies aren’t able to make it to Munich for Springfest, and so we figured we should bring you up to speed on what’s gone down so far.

Springfest is an overachiever

We have a similar setup in camp to Oktoberfest, despite having only a fraction of the travellers staying with us. The bar is fully stocked and pumping out unlimited beer and sangria for only €10 a day. The dancefloor is covered in booty shakes and slut drops. The Wheel of Misfortune encouraged more nudie runs than we can count and just as many shoeys too. The kitchen was churning out top quality, chef prepared meals for breakfast and dinner. This year the design team went above and beyond with the signage and the chillout areas (one that is covered in awesome smut). The setup bar has been set up pretty fucken high and we have nothing but the greatest expectations for the rest of the summer.

The weather is magnificent

It’s been hot, hot, hot so far. Days in the mid to high 20s, nights a little cooler (for snuggling). Late sunsets and long, beer drinking afternoons. This is perfect festival weather and unbelievably better than the weather we usually get for Oktoberfest. The forecast for the rest of the event is still warm, but even better is the forecast for the whole summer! Hot, hot, hot at San Vino, Bulls, San Sebastian Surf Camp, Ibiza, La Tomatina… and maybe it’s too early to call, but we’re predicting a hot Oktoberfest too. You heard it here first.

The beers are delicious

German beers are always delicious, but German beers in the spring sunshine are something special indeed. You’ve heard the stories about German purity laws, but we’ll tell you again. Only four ingredients! Water, hops, barley, malt. No preservatives, no additives, nothing unnecessary that might add to your hangover. Just the bare minimum, crafted with the utmost care and delivered to you by the litre.

The food is spectacular

The unsung hero of Springfest. The food here is out of control, delicious German beer drinking food, from long, hot sausages, to piles of sauerkraut, to huge thirst inducing pretzels. It’s amazing that Germans aren’t all fat, once you see what they eat. We strongly recommend you try the chicken or the pork knuckle, even if you’re a vegetarian you should try the chicken or the pork knuckle… And at the campsite we’ve been serving up paella and hamburgers for weekend dinners, and not hastily pulled together dinners, real chef prepared meals. The food across all Stoked travel trips this year will be spectacular, it’s a big part of our service.

The parties have been wild

We’re not going to tell you any stories, but let’s just say that if the rest of the year’s parties are like Springfest’s then we’re in for an out of control summer. 

Wanna join us for weekends two and three of Springfest? There are some spaces left. If you can’t, then make sure you come along for yet another summer of Stoke, starting soon with San Vino, but really hitting its straps with the Running of the Bulls and our Pamplona Stoked in the Park music and culture festival. Get a Stoke Travel Passport and get involved!

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There’s so much to know about Pamplona’s San Fermin festival and its famous bull run, so we compiled this little list of bull running frequently asked questions. If you have more questions for us email info@stoketravel.com, or ask any of our expert running with the bulls guides at our Pamplona bulls camp.

Why do they run with bulls?

The reasons are as different as there are runners. For many locals it’s a tradition that runs in the family, for some foreigners it’s seen as an incomparable adrenaline rush. The run takes place during the festival of San Fermin, Pamplona’s patron saint and first ever bishop, who we don’t think ever ran with any bulls, but he did lose his head. More on that later.

How did the running of the bulls originate?

Running with bulls was a practical way of transport the animals from outside of town to the bull ring in the city’s centre. People would run in front of the bulls so the animals would follow them and not lose their way. At some point in history people joined the run, mostly young men trying to prove their bravery, then the tourists came, mostly inspired by Ernest Hemmingway’s depiction of the bull run in his novel Fiesta: The Sun Also Rises.

How many people have died running with the bulls?

Too many! But not as many as you’d think. Since they began keeping records in 1910 15 people have died, which isn’t that many when you consider the thousands who take part every year. The most recent death was in 2009 when a young runner from Madrid was gored in the neck. While Pamplona’s bull run is the most famous, similar events are held all over Spain each year, and it’s not uncommon for runners to die in other locations.

What does it mean to be gored to death?

Goring is when a bull’s horn or horns pierces your skin. It is the most common form of bull running injury. Every year numerous runners are gored, but the vast majority don’t die from their injuries.

How long does it take to run with the bulls?

The average time is around four minutes, but bull runs have been known to last up to half an hour! When a bull becomes separated from the pack it can stop running towards the bullring and start charging runners. At this point the bull run monitors will coax the bull with large sticks to try and encourage it to run to its destination.

How fast does a bull run?

The bulls run at around 24km/h, or 15mph. Usain Bolt runs at almost 45km/h (28mph) over 100m. The bull run is 848.6m long, and not straight, smooth or free from obstacles. You shouldn’t go into the bull run expecting to run faster than the bulls for any great period of time. Just run in front of them for a while and then get out of the way. The most important thing is getting out of the way of the bulls, as opposed to running with them.

How fast is a cow?

We don’t know, but probably not as fast as a bull, but not much slower either! Cows would have a running pace similar to bulls so they can have a chance of escaping from them, if they need/want to.

How many bulls are used in the running of the bulls?

The usual configuration is six fighting bulls, eight oxen steers, identified by the bells around their necks, that are employed to keep the bulls in a group and a further running behind that an additional three steers to encourage any bulls that have broken from the pack to continue their run to the bull ring. This is repeated every day for the eight running days of Sanfermines.

How much does a bull weigh?

The bulls weigh between 500-600 kilograms, or more than 1300 pounds. Their horns are sharpened. They don’t like the look of you.

Are bulls colour blind?

They aren’t colourblind in general, but are colourblind to red. So don’t hesitate in throwing on the traditional red sash and neckerchief. When bulls charge a red rag their attracted to the movement, so maybe try and stay still if you don’t want to attract their attention (note: standing still in a bull run is not a great idea).

You will have to wear the official running of the bulls outfit.

White shirt, white pants, red neckerchief (or panuelo) and red sash. The whites pay homage to the butchers who were the first to lead the bulls running through the streets, the red neckerchief symbolises San Fermin who was beheaded by the French (and supposedly walked his head back to Pamplona). Butchers and headless bishops make for a pretty gruesome costume, but it does look pretty cool.

Stoke Travel has all your bull run answers and more at our Pamplona Running of the Bulls campsite, featuring the Stoked in the Park music festival. We’ve got the best location and more inclusions than anybody else, so make running with the bulls your only bad decision this July and stay with Stoke. 

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