Mes: mayo 2018

Travelling in as a member of a large group is the best! Of course we’re going to say that due to it being the backbone of our business model, but even if we sold solo trips for solitary loners we’d still see the following benefits of travelling with a bunch of new best friends (if reading makes you tired, just take our word for it and grab a Stoke Travel Passport for a whole summer of new friends fun).

1. You make new best friends from all over the world!
   Just like the previous sentence suggested, travelling as a part of a group gives you a huge pool of potential new best friends. Stoke Travel is proud to attract travellers from a vast variety of countries, so you’re never just stuck with carbon copies of people you wouldn’t hang out with at home – the very type of people you’re travelling to avoid. At Stoke Travel you’ll meet South Australians, people from the Australian Capital Territory, some from Tasmania, but also North Americans, Central Americans, South Americans, Middle Americans, Tanzanians, Nepalese people, all different types of Europeans, the possibilities are endless (last year we befriended more than 40 different nationalities. Wow!).
2. You’ll make new best friends with similar interests to you!
   So your friends from home are mostly just your friends because you grew up near them and you had to be friends with somebody. As you get older and start travelling you realise more and more how less and less you have in common with them (social media assists this realisation – did you even know how crazy almost all your school friends are?). But when you travel you can pick and choose who you befriend and you can make the selection based on shared interests, namely what time you want to crack your first beer and how funny they find your jokes.
3. Your new best friends will want to talk to you!
   Not like in the real world where strangers will treat you like some kind of freak for trying to chat to them, at a Stoke Travel camp chatting is encouraged. People will come up to you and be like, Hey bra what’s up? And your instant reaction is to be all like, Do I know you? But then you realise that you’re at a Stoke camp and befriending each other is what we do. You can literally walk around talking to whoever you want, that group of babes, the captain of the football team, the super rich kid – any of the stereotypes from American high school movies.
4. Your new best friends are drunk!
   Which makes it so much easier to become their new best friend. Not only are you more confident in approaching them, but once you become friends you will do all sort of dumb shit together and build that bond that only people who have peed in a bush while holding hands can form. Once you’ve been drunk together the barriers are broken down and neither party can continue to pretend that they’re anything but pant-pissing daggy dancers. Well at Stoke we aid this by providing practically free beer.
5. Your new best friends are sexy!
   Some of them might be, in your eyes. And they might think you’re sexy too. And you’ll be talking to each other and sparks will fly and then someone will utter the words, Your tent or mine, and then you may become very special friends, either for a little fun while, or for the rest of your lives. Who knows? It’s the magic of Stoke Travel camps that make romance blossom like cherry blossoms blooming.

There are plenty of group travel opportunities with Stoke this summer, starting with the San Vino Wine Fight at the end of June, continuing to the San Sebastian Surf Camp, The Running Of The Bulls (featuring Stoked in the Park music festival), the Ibiza Beach Camp, all of our Barcelona products, La Tomatina, Oktoberfest and so many more. There are so many opportunities waiting for you to make new best friends forever.

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We spend a lot of time singing the virtues of the San Sebastian Surf Camp – the real house with real beds, the daily yoga routines, and so on – but little is said about the actual surfing.

Until now! The surfing is the reason why the surf camp exists, duh! We rip the shred on a beach called Zarautz, the surfing hotspot of the Basque Country and a short drive from downtown San Sebastian, even shorter from our hillside surf house.

At Zarautz you’ll find a long, long, long arc of sand, with waves all along its length. You’ll find conditions for all levels of surfer, you’ll find lefts and rights and waves near to the rocks, and waves breaking into deep channels. There’s a four meter tide in Zarautz, so over the course of six hours, as the tides shift, you’ll be faced with completely different set ups, with the high tide creating a formidable shoredump and the low tide offering waves far, far out to sea.

From the surf house we can actually see, over the rolling hills and fields of the beautiful Basque Country, the sea. We can have a look at the day’s conditions and compare that to our forecasts. We’ll know if the surf is big, small, we’ll know what the wind is doing and what times the tides are. Our experienced and qualified instructors will know just what the banks, the underwater sand formations that shape waves, are doing – they’ve spent almost every minute of free time exploring the different waves along the entire Zarautz stretch. Using a combination of forecasting, expertise and the good old out-the-window surf check we’ll choose the best time to hit the beach – sometimes early, sometimes a little later.

Once down on the sand we set up base. The beginners will begin their theory lessons, chats about the ocean and how the waves work. We’ll watch the water for a while, learn how waves behave so we can better tame them when the time comes. The intermediate surfers will be waxing up boards and diving in the water, consulting with the instructors for the best spots, getting advice on fixing areas of their surfing that need a little work. The advanced surfers will already be out there.

The next step for the first timers is to learn the basics. We do this on the sand. We learn how to paddle, how to catch the waves and travel through the ocean. You’ll learn what to do when confronted with an angry wave and you’ll learn how to be safe in the water with your fellow surfers. You’ll also be taught the technique for standing on your surfboard and staying on your feet for as long as possible. This is important, because if you don’t learn how to stand up on your surfboard then you’re just boogie boarding. You didn’t come here to boogie board.

Once the techniques are taught and practised on the sand, it’s time to take them to the ocean. You’ll enter with our instructors and we won’t take you out of your depth. We will stand on the sandbank and wait for waves that have already broken, taking advantage of the waves when they have less power. From there we point our surfboards towards the beach, and when the instructors instruct us to do so we paddle. We paddle like crazy, like baby turtles running from sandcrabs, and the waves catch us and they push us across the top of the water towards the beach.

What a thrill! What a sensation! There’s nothing in the world quite like it, and we guarantee that from that moment you’ll be hooked on surfing. But don’t wallow in the glory, there’s work to do. You’ve learned this, so you go through the motions: push up with your arms, arch your back, bring your bum up, plant your back foot, slide your front foot forward, slowly stand up. Release the rails of your surfboard. Wobble. Wobble. Stand….

Some of you will nail it first time, others will take a few waves. Some might not stand up in the first lesson, but that’s ok, with the exception of injury or lesser-abledness everybody will stand up eventually. From there your goals become standing up for longer, standing up on a wave that is unbroken, standing up and going along a wave, getting radical. From here in on surfing will become a part of your life, an excuse to return to the Basque Country, to travel the world, a way to stay healthy and calm and just a really nice way to occupy your time.

After your first session of the day we chill on the beach. It’s time to catch some rays, to play some beach games, to crack a beer or to eat the lunch we prepared for you. All of your equipment hire is included in the price, so you’re free to throw on a wetsuit, grab a board and surf whenever you feel like hitting the waves again. Now that you’ve been bitten by the surf bug you’re going to want to hit the waves again, often.

After the day at the beach we’ll head back up the hill to home. We’ll drink a beer, cider or sangria from the open bar. We’ll do some yoga. We’ll chat about the day’s surfing, share battle scars and stories of triumph. We’ll become even better friends with the people we’re surfing with and we’ll look forward to the next day’s shredding.

The San Sebastian Surf Camp is taking bookings now! Want to become addicted (or strengthen an addiction) to wave riding? Become a surfer this summer!

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It’s almost impossible. The prices for sail Croatia trips are pretty much set in stone – the boat, crew, etc, all have a cost that you can’t change. You want to get a cheaper captain? How strong a swimmer are you? And for a once-in-a-lifetime (or until you do the next trip) experience, how much is too much? The answer to that is: more than €600 for seven nights, which just so happens to be where the Stoke Travel Sail Croatia trip comes in.

That’s cheap! When you consider what you get (accommodation on the boat, eight day cruise, breakfast and lunch every day, boat parties, excursions and your own Stokie guide), oh there are so many reasons why you should sail with Stoke! But we’d still like to make it a little cheaper, so we’ve thrown in an:

Open and unlimited beer and sangria bar onboard the boat.

This means that every time you want to crack open a beer you won’t have to peel open your wallet. We’re the only boat that offers practically free beer, because we’re basically amazing and just want you to have a really nice time.

But if that’s still not cheap enough for you, we have come up with some other ways for you to sail Croatia on a budget.

Stow away

Simply walk the harbour in Split Croatia and find a boat that’s unattended. Hide on it until it sets sail. Pack some pocket snacks in case it doesn’t sail soon. Lay low until you’re on the open sea. Reveal yourself! Introduce yourself to your new boat mates. Hi, I’m your stowaway, where we off to? They’re either going to say, To the next awesome party/cliff jumping spot! Or they’re going to say, We’re heading to the Bering Sea to fish for crabs. If your new crewmates don’t hoist you overboard, you’re in for a good time. If they are doing a sail croatia trip, there’s a 110% chance that they’ll drop you off at the next stop, which gives you a good couple of hours of budget Croatia sailing. If they’re going fishing, well, we hope you can bait a hook. You are the deadliest catch.

Sail your own boat

Cheaper! Budget sailing! Croatia! Find an appropriate boat. To come in cheaper than the €600 a week with Stoke Afloat, you’re going to have to go with something inflatable, or a kayak. Put your worldly possessions into a plastic bag, because you will be going under. Put that plastic bag in a plastic bag. Multiply by 17. Still expect all your stuff to get wet. Start rowing. Head outside the harbour. Become exhausted. Now you have two choices: you can either row back, cut your losses and jump on a Stoke Travel charter (sucked in, they’ll be booked out!), or you can leave your fate to the Adriatic Sea’s currents and see where you end up. Maybe the flow of water will take you along with the other charter boats… 150% chance that it will not.

Swab the decks

In order to swab the decks on a sail Croatia party boat you’ll have to go through the process of getting your seaman (teehee) tickets, learn Croatian, befriend a captain, get plenty of experience sailing in these waters, prove yourself as a great tour leader… Basically you’ll have to compete with far better qualified, experienced and connected people for a sought after position. Get your CV in order, it’s a sailor’s life for you now.

Swim

The cheapest option! The ultimate sail Croatia on a budget! Jump in the water. Swim. Swim to the parties. Swim to the beautiful port cities. Swim to the bars and the clubs. Get super hot from all the swimming. Never wear a shirt or anything longer than hot pants again. Beautiful.

Stoke Travel’s Sail Croatia is the best way to see these waters on a budget. Not only is our price as tight as a mainsail, but our onboard open bar saves you all the Kunas you can save.

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Chavales en una semana tenemos el mayor espectáculo del mundo para el mundo del surfing clásico, el VANS DUCT TAPE INVITATIONAL en Zarautz, los chicos de Joel tudor nos deleitarán con su surfing de otro planeta, pero hoy vamos con un aperitivo  los chicos de ALMA SURFCULTURE  hace años hicieron este brutal video resumen de lo que fue el último […]
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Festival season is upon us, and with it Stoked In The Park, London (featuring Yolanda Be Cool), and Stoked In The Park Pamplona. We want to introduce you to the bands that will be playing at both Stoked In The Parks, as well as across other Stoke festivals and destinations this summer. Meet, Mesmeriser.

INTRODUCE YOURSELVES, WHO’S IN THE BAND?

We are Mesmeriser:

Myles Fischer – guitar, vocals, hair

Sam Barron – bass, backing vocals, guitar attempts

Oscar Sharah – drums, backing vocals, production wizardry

HOW WOULD YOU BEST DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE OF MUSIC?

Our music is a melting pot of psychedelic garage rock with touches of dream pop all over the place. Essentially our style is a mix of everything we love in music, which is ever growing and changing.

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS EUROPEAN SUMMER?

We could talk about all the awesome spots we’re going to visit and the crazy festivals we’re playing at, but I think it might be the fact that we have the CHANCE TO PLAY GIGS IN EUROPE FOR THE SUMMER!?!

Also, Oscar and Myles are looking forward to calling Sam a pleb every day because he’s never been to Europe before.

WHAT’S IN YOUR RIDER?

Sam has been personally guaranteed a Bloody Mary courtesy of Gus from Honey Hayze every morning. Apart from that, if it’s vaguely cold and vaguely delicious then we’ll be just fine. Oh, and Myles needs his supply of Fisherman’s Friends for some reason.

WHO’S THE WORST BEHAVED IN THE BAND AND WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM THEM?

Sam is generally the worst behaved in the band with and an evil, drunken, Scottish alter ego by the name of Gregory being something to look forward to. However, give Myles a bottle of his precious Kraken rum and wait for the proverbial Kraken to be unleashed. Oscar is the wildcard, in that chaos could ensue provided that he makes it through the night.

GIVE US A 5 SONG SUMMER PLAYLIST

Kali Uchis ft Tyler the Creator and Bootsy Collins, After The Storm

Ball Park Music, Exactly How You Are

Clews, Museum

John Lennon, Mind Games

Brockhampton, Sweet

Listen to Mesmeriser here, and here.

There are still some tickets left for Stoked in the Park, London, on Saturday May 18th, and Stoked in the Park, Pamplona, to run alongside the Running of the Bulls festival. Get yours, and then come and get some.

Photo credit: Alice Cloutier

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Long before Ibiza was a place where party tragics filled their face with narcotics and broke their ankles to repetitive robot beats, it was an island of immense natural beauty. Still today, revellers can find Ibiza’s best beaches by travelling a short distance away from the tourist ghettos of Playa d’en Bossa and San Antonio. Indeed, Stoke Travel’s own beach camp is located on a spectacular cala, just far enough away from the chaos to still be paradise, but close enough for you to find a party whenever you want one.

But when we visit Ibiza we like to explore! And there’s no better way to see the highlights of the island than by taking a little trip around Ibiza’s best beaches, bays and coves. We sent our resident spiritual guru/party monster around the island to document some of the most beautiful beaches, but if you can’t stomach his shenanigans, here’s a little list of the best beaches, perfect playas and classic calas on Ibiza, one of the most stunning islands in the world.

Cala d’Hort

A stunning slice of white sand, peppered with small reefs and facing the magnetic island of Es Vedra. Cala d’Hort is laidback, spectacular, and fills up pretty quickly in summer. Great for a snorkel, but beware if you sleep in – if you miss the parking at the bottom it’s a savage hike back up the hill at the end of the day.

Cala Gracio

This little treat is walking distance from the lager-lout filled tourist ghetto of San Antonio. Cala Gracio is a lovely little cove, and if you continue following the coast to the north you can jump off the friendly little cliffs for a fun little splash, or continue walking around until you find Cala Gracioneta, which is a bit smaller and considerably less crowded.

Cala Benirras

Oh boy this is a gorgeous port-like cala with long cliffs extending out either side and beautiful islands sitting just offshore. The location is surrounded by hills and the hills are covered in pine trees and everything is just too nice to be true. If there was to be something to complain about, however, it’s the hippies that congregate there to beat bongo drums – but the thing is most of you probably like that, so I guess that’s not a downfall at all.

Portinatx

Less a beach worth visiting than a nice cliffside walk out to the lighthouse. Portinatx is made up of three coves, but they are filled with families making their holidays in the quieter north of the island. A little further around though is a cliff line that at times seems like the edge of the world, and when we were there we found a dead dolphin, which is either incredibly sad, or uplifting, because the dolphin was alive once.

Cala Martina and Caló des Gats

On either side of the Stoke Travel campsite you’ll find Cala Martina and Caló des Gats. Cala Martina is a longer, sandy beach, where you can find bars and restaurants and take a stroll and have a dip. Caló des Gats is a small cove covered in nudes and with a fun little jetty to jump off. There is great snorkeling off Caló des Gats, and some foolhardy Stokies have been known to snorkel all the way out to the offshore islands and then dodge the ferries as they steam up and down the coast. This is our front door and a spectacular place to do absolutely nothing after a huge night/morning/day of raging.

And this is just a taste of the beautiful beaches to be found around Ibiza. When you come there will be so many more for you to explore. But you’d better book soon, because the Ibiza beach camp does sell out every summer, and you don’t want to miss out on the fun, the frolicking in the sea and the all-night disco-candy fuelled fiestas.

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Vamos abriendo boca con Zarautz y su ola, en poco mas de una semana tendremos el duct tape y sus loggers en esta pequeña localidad Guipuzcoana, y que mejor embajador que JON GARMENDIA un chico del pueblo y que junto a la gente de bideolan detrás de la cámara nos deleita con su nivelazo y buen hacer.
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El Mexi Log Fest ha concluido, después de una semana de competición y muy buenas olas. La afluencia de grandes loggers a sido masiva, por lo que el nivel era francamente alto, siendo muy complicado meterse en la ansiada final. En chicos, la final estuvo compuesta por Augusto Olinto, Dakota Faircloth, Kaniela Stewart y Kai […]
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La Tomatina is Spain’s famous tomato fight and the world’s biggest food fight. Stoke Travel operates two La Tomatina tour options – either at our beachside party camp, or in a hotel in Valencia city. We are the best option for travellers who want to get the party started and are looking to hang out with like-minded people from all over the world.

Tomatina Facts

• The tomato fight is held every year on the morning of the last Wednesday in August, between 10 and 11AM. It is held in Buñol, a small village west of Valencia.
• More than 40,000 people take part, coming from all over the world.
• The fighters will throw more than 15 tonnes of tomatoes during the fight, despite it being held in an area that doesn’t grow tomatoes.

Why did La Tomatina start?

The history is hazy on this one, but the most accepted origin of La Tomatina is that a spontaneous food fight broke out back in 1945, when a local man became enraged after being pushed over and grabbed market tomatoes to hurl at everybody in sight. The following year local youths turned up on the same day prepared for the battle with tomatoes of their own. In the 1950s authorities banned La Tomatina, so it took on a rebellious air, with some seeing it as a way to act against the Spanish dictatorship. In 1957 authorities relented and La Tomatina became an official party in Buñol, celebrating the town’s patron saints.

Is Tomatina religious?

Not originally, but now there is an aspect of Tomatina that pays homage to the town’s patron saints, Louis Bertrand and the virgin mother. The religious aspect of La Tomatina seems more like an afterthought than an integral part of proceedings.

Where is La Tomatina celebrated?

Tomatina is celebrated in the town of Buñol, which is about 40 kilometers west of Valencia, Spain’s third largest city. Buñol is a small town so most visitors stay in Valencia as there is more accommodation and more to see and do. Valencia is located on the Mediterranean, about four hours south of Barcelona and three and a half hours east of Madrid. The city is accessed by air, rail, road and sea, and visitors to Buñol can drive or catch the train there, although with a heavy police presence and plenty of sangria going around, it’s advised that visitors take a private bus with an organised tour.

What are the rules of the Tomatina festival?

There are certain rules designed to keep locals and visitors safe during the tomato fight and surrounding parties.

• You are not allowed to enter the fighting street with any hard objects. This can include some cameras, glass bottles, etc. Also, if you are taking a camera it has to be very waterproof, as well as being resistant to the acid found in tonnes of tomatoes.
• No tearing and throwing your t-shirt, and no ripping at other people’s clothes. This used to be a part of the festivities but it can be very creepy for women to have their clothes ripped at by strangers. It’s not allowed anymore.
• Squeeze and soften the tomatoes before throwing them. You may be tempted to hurl a firm tomato, but to be safe give it a little bashing first.
• Clear a path for the tomato trucks dump their goods. The streets are extremely narrow and when the trucks come through it can get tight. Help your fellow tomato fighters by clearing a path so more tomatoes can be dumped.
• Stop throwing tomatoes when you hear the second cannon fire. The first cannon signals the start of the fight, but when you hear the second it’s time to make your way out of the fighting street and down to the river to clean yourself.

For more La Tomatina information.

La Tomatina Tips

• Wear clothes that you don’t mind destroying. There’s no way to avoid becoming completely covered in tomato pulp.
• Same goes with shoes. You’re going to want something that has decent grip and covers the top of your feet. You will lose sandals in the food fight. Your shoes will be severely damaged in the tomato battle. Near to Valencia train station there are discount shops that will have cheap shoes for you to use once and throw away.
• Goggles aren’t a terrible idea, although they will fog up/your vision will be obscured by tomato pulp on the lens.
• Before the tomato fight revellers will try and snatch a leg of cured ham from the top of a greasy pole. This is more difficult – and more entertaining – than it seems.

Stay with Stoke Travel for La Tomatina. We are the people who get the party started, with our all-inclusive packages meaning that you don’t have to worry about anything but getting to know all the legends partying with you. Book now!

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