Alright… I’m guilty. 4 months without a post is way too long! My goal was to have this up BEFORE the San Fermin festival (spoiler alert… it’s in the beginning of July), but life happened. Whoops! At least it’ll be up in case you want to prep super early for next year.

1. Book trains early in advance. I know this seems really simple, but when in Europe it’s usually easy to book trains at the last minute and never worry about availability. Renfe.com is the site you’ll want to book through, and there are non-stop trains to and from Pamplona from Madrid each day. Unfortunately for me, but the time I decided to go the train home was already sold out. I ended up taking a train to Pamplona, then taking a blablacar back. It was cheap but after a weekend of partying a 5 hour car ride with strangers was NOT fun.
2. …That goes for accommodations too. I had a bedroom in a shared AirBnB with 2 beds but without AC (typical Spain) for about $20 a night. Not too shabby. But it was a long walk from the main action!
3. Come with white clothes you’re willing to ruin. Wine and sangria showers everywhere. Random liquids flying through the air. Wear your stained whites like a badge of honor.
4. Closed toe shoes. The cobblestones and people EVERYWHERE are no joke. You will be stomped on, you will be hiking through trash, and honestly if it weren’t a thousand degrees out I would wear my hunter boots.
5. You can book a balcony to watch the main event on AirBnB.
6. Run… if you dare. The run is really quick, about 4-5 minutes from where the bulls are held into the arena where the matadors will finish them off that day. With clean cobblestone roads and hairpin turns, the bulls tend to lose control at various points so if you do run, avoid the far walls of these corners. They’re pretty strict about people wearing proper footwear and not showing up drunk on zero sleep after partying all night.
7. Delicious kebabs at Hemingway’s. Okay, the place is grimy but every place is grimy during this festival. Go when it’s busy to ensure you get a fresh durum. Pretty sure I ate 5. Very economical while everything else in the city is super expensive. Hey, supply and demand.

Fun facts

• The roads are cleaned and pristine by sunrise. Life’s little miracles. Every night.
• There are no words to describe the smell. B.O? Stale alcohol? Urine? Trash? Food? You name it, you smell it. I wish I brought a handkerchief drenched in my perfume.
• Sleep? Lol. Party all night, nap, and then the run happens at 8am.

Have a great time! May the odds be ever in your favor 😉