The post The Tomatino. Utter madness. appeared first on Xtreme Gap Year Blog.
]]>People come from all over the world to this tiny white Spanish town once a year to take part in the event. In fairness it is not just the tomato chucking that draws the crowds, it turns into a three-day boozy party when no one gives a shit and everyone is up having a good time.
It’s kind of hard to describe the feeling of being in a crowd of 5000 people waiting for a massive food fight to kick-off, the sense of anticipation is immense but in fairness people don’t usually wait for the tomatoes to turn up, as the Xtreme Gap Year group has a massive sangria party before the main event, and whilst you have several litres of sangria at your disposal to down (at eight in the morning of course) in reality this usually gets chucked everywhere.
There are all kinds of nationalities at the Tomatino, but there’s a surprising number of Australians and Japanese who attend. Why? I guess because it’s just such a ridiculous event it really appeals to them.
So what happens at the Tomatino?
Is usually an early start as some years there have been up to 40,000 people attend the event so to get the prime spot, right in the centre next to the greasy pole (more on that in a minute) you have to be up early. From 2013 the town hall sensibly started to regulate the numbers of people who could attend, so now there is a maximum capacity of 5000 at the actual event, which means early booking is essential to secure your Tomatino tickets as these will sell out well in advance.
So we will leave Valencia in the morning, we get bussed into the town, there’s not a lot else to do in Buñol in fairness, so it’s best to be based out of Valencia which is an amazing city.
We start off by having a massive sangria party, there is usually around 150 in the group and there are several litres available for everyone.
Around 930 we wake way into the main square, where people will be already attempting to climb up a greasy pole in order to secure the prized Jamon. Once this has been taken off the top pole (not easy considering it’s covered in fact in Grease and about 20 foot high) the carnage starts. It is utter madness, the Tomatino Is in full effect. It goes on for an hour with trucks driving through delivering fresh squishy tomatoes, as they get hurled at everyone.
You would expect the locals to get really irritated with thousands of foreigners turning up once a year to desecrate their town, but on the contrary. They absolutely love it and are the first to start chucking tomatoes around.
After an hour of the entire town just resembles soup, with people everywhere stinking and dripping in tomatoes it is really very funny.
As the buses do not park back to Valencia until two there are massive street parties all around. The atmosphere is incredible.
In the evening there is the Tomatino after party, 3 1/2 thousand people in an outdoor club dancing the night away it’s the perfect ending to the most ridiculous day you will ever experience.
You can book your Tomatino experience with Xtreme Gap Year make sure you don’t miss out.
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]]>The post KiteSurfing in Tarifa appeared first on Xtreme Gap Year Blog.
]]>Affectionately known as the capital of wind it was discovered by windsurfers years ago, as kite surfing is a sport developed became the European mecca strap yourself into a power kite test out your skills of the stunning white beaches. Kitesurfing in tarifa has it all.
During our Ultimate Summer Road Trip we will take you here to try out some Kite Surfing, we stay a couple of days because it is genuinely a cool place to be. Awesome nightlife, amazing beaches, sand dunes and kitesurfing in tarifa. Pretty fine way to spend some of your summer.
After a couple of days on the road trip we then head further up the iberian peninsula to Portugal´s Algarve to go Surfing. Home to some of the best beaches in Europe it’s a great place to learn to surf, with our expert Portuguese surf instructor’s at our very cool chilled out surf camp.
A little taste of the place in the video below.
Check out some of the pictures of the place below.
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]]>The post Accommodation in Valencia for the Tomatino appeared first on Xtreme Gap Year Blog.
]]>We put you up in a luxury shared apartment, in the old town of Valencia. Depending on booking numbers we might use a couple of different apartments but they are all centrally located and Premier Apartments.
This makes a large difference to the whole experience, as the city centres on your doorstep and you have a beautiful crash pad to base yourself from, or recover from the epic Tomatino after party which we will be attending!
The apartments sleep a maximum of seven, but there are usually less depending on how the numbers work out. The rooms are split between doubles and twins, so if you don’t mind sharing a bed with a friend, or book as a couple you can benefit from a discount.
Check out some images from the apartments below, and you can also view full details of the Tomatino trip.
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]]>The post La Tomatina 2012. appeared first on Xtreme Gap Year Blog.
]]>As this is the first Tomatina trip we are running we have some exceedingly good rates being published for the trip from as little as £150, the Xtreme Gap team will be present to make sure everything runs smoothly and all transfers and accommodation is included. We will even throw in a nice Xtreme Gap Tshirt for you to ruin by 10.01 am.
Get your booking in asap because space on the trip is strictly limited to 6 persons.
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]]>The post Granada appeared first on Xtreme Gap Year Blog.
]]>Granada like Seville and to a lesser extent Malaga, has strong Moorish influences, nowhere is this more obvious than in the famous Alhambra Palace, a Moorish Bastian overlooking the city of Granada. Granada is higher in out to them Malaga because it sits in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, it might surprise you to know you can actually ski in the Sierra Nevada as late as May because it sits at 3000 m. On a clear day (which there are many) you can actually see the coastline from the slopes and in one day you can be skiing and then and the next you can be on the beach.
During the Spanish and sun program, you won’t be skiing because it takes place in August in Midsummer, when days reaching 35°C are not uncommon, however this amazing warm weather does lead well to another activity that we love at xtreme gap year.
If you’re not familiar with canyoning, this is a one-day adventure where you follow the path of the canyon, jumping off waterfalls abseiling down cliffs and drifting down rivers. It certainly makes for one action packed break from your studies.
The city of Granada itself definitely has a bohemian feel to it, with narrow alleys Moorish architecture, and plenty of influence from Morocco with teashops cake shops little markets selling everything from Moroccan slippers to exotic spices and of course hundreds of bars, tapas bars and places to hang out.
you can spend hours walking through the old town and if you head up into the Alacin, the old quarter you are rewarded with incredible views of the Alhambra, and an unrivalled Vista of Granada city itself.
During the Spanish and sun course we just do a day trip to Granada, however an overnight trip can be arranged as well as the canyoning adventure if we have four people who want to participate.
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]]>The post Free Travel Guides! appeared first on Xtreme Gap Year Blog.
]]>We are constantly publishing new guides so you can subscribe to the library to get notifications of when new ones are released, might give you something to look forward to when you are back off your travels!
If you would like us to write a guide on one of our destinations or activity then let us know through the face book comments system below.
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We have guides on traveling to Oz, Guides on Kilimanjaro, Guides on staying safe and how to best prepare for your travels. This is not the kind of watered down crap you find in the lonely planet.
We hope you enjoy reading them as much as we enjoyed writing them. Oh you will need flash to view the guides too. Sorry Ipad people.
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]]>The post New Xtreme Gap Brochure for 2013 appeared first on Xtreme Gap Year Blog.
]]>The last year has been pretty busy for the Xtreme Gap team researching even more incredible places to go and finding even more special activities for you to do.
Really exciting experiences that you just can´t do at home. Travel that is not only benefits you personally but gives you something seriously cool to write home about.
The brochure is interactive, giving you links to videos, galleries and reviews so you can get inspired about ways to escape the doom and gloom of the News and dreary weather at home. There is another way people (and it starts by clicking the brochure link below).
Have a happy and adrenaline fuelled adventure!
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]]>The post Planning a round the world trip – getting started appeared first on Xtreme Gap Year Blog.
]]>I love travel and all the exciting things that go with it, and have assisted many people in planning the ultimate round the world trip-
By way of introduction, my name is Oliver Bray and I am one of the founders of Xtreme Gap Year, I take a very hands on approach with our customers and their travel plans (if needed!)
I have been on a lot trips in the past (68 countries and counting so far!) and pretty much been to every continent (well not the 2 poles) with work and for pleasure, so I do have some experience in round the world trips, and all that goes along with it.
Many people really don´t know where to start when it comes to planning a huge trip, understandably so, as there is so much to see and do, so I have created a series of newsletters that can help give you some guidance when it come to planning your round the world trip.
If you are planning on that once in a life time exodus, then check out our round the world section. Customisable itineraries taylor made for you, vetted and researched by us. Sign up on this form and we will send you information on planning your trip Including:
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Firstly some things to think about! Planning a trip is a pretty exciting experience, all the place you can go and all the cool things you can see. The people you will meet on the way from all over the world, and the totally amazing adventures out there that await you, but like many you may be wondering where to start.
Most people have an idea of roughly where they want to go before they set off, knowing certainly helps because it enables you to research flights a lot easier, and once you have a route in mind you can get to the really fun stuff. However if you don´t know, start with an Atlas or Google Earth (there is a google earth plugin on the home page of our site – check out the big map). Think about places you have seen on the TV that are of interest and ask your mates where they would recommend!
Your personal budget will make a difference as to where you can go, Africa and Asia is a lot cheaper than Australia and New Zealand, but they all are a very different travel experience. So think about what you want to get out of the trip!
If you want more of a cultural experience head to Africa, Asia or South America, if however you want more of a party and action sports scene, check out Australia and New Zealand and the USA. Just remember the golden rule! Don´t be too greedy! You might have limited time away and spreading yourself too thin can lead to too much travel – sometimes it is best to enjoy somewhere for a while!
Sometimes you can combine both quite easily, like Asia and Australia and New Zealand, other time you will find it is a lot more expensive to add on certain continents to a round the world itinerary. In my experience South America always adds on a significant amount to flight prices so consider where you would really like to go carefully and weigh up the pro´s and Cons. Don´t get me wrong South America is a truly amazing place, but probably worth exploring on its own trip, rather than bolting it onto a round the world trip for instance, especially if you have limited time or funds.
Here is a check list, write it down on a piece of paper, buy a little notebook to scribble down your ideas and do your budgeting, or if you are really nerdy sign up to google documents and start planning your trip saving your stuff online (handy to access anywhere on your travels).
Firstly When can you go? So you may just want to drop it all and head off tomorrow, great if you can, but if you are unsure it helps to set a date! Plan you departure on the flight prices and weather (seasons) at your intended destinations. The most popular time to set of on a round the world trip from the UK is After January 21st. Why? The weather is miserable in the UK and the flight prices have decreased after the Christmas holidays.
Remember if you are heading to the Southern Hemisphere, the seasons are reversed, and if you are heading somewhere Equatorial, to watch out for Monsoon seasons.
Secondly how much realistically can you save? Money is the life blood of travel, the more you have the more you can do, so work out what you can save, and cut costs like there is no tomorrow. £10 goes a long way in Asia! Once you work out how much you can save this gives you an idea of your total budget and what will be realistic. Remember you will always spend more that you think, so double your estimate. May seem like a lot, but it is pretty realistic.
So there you go, and action plan to get you started, with plenty to think about. If you want lots of further tips and hints sign up to this newsletter it contains lots of advice on finding good flights and travel insurance then its on to the fun stuff, some kick ass ideas for your trip…on that note be sure to join our facebook group for access to photo galleries, videos and ideas for travel options!
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]]>The post Xtreme Gap Explores your trips appeared first on Xtreme Gap Year Blog.
]]>Below our itinerary this far. The back end of the trip will include the Philippines, but these flights are not booked yet…maybe also Japan..
On this Blog you can follow us on our trip discovering amazing gap year destinations and cool travel options for you. Surfing, Diving, Trekking, Bungy jumping, Sky diving, Partying and more… For our existing programmes have a look on www.xtremegapyear.co.uk
Arrival dates From To
25/10/2010 Spain UK
26/10/2010 UK Malaysia
27/10/2010 Malaysia Gold Coast Australia
07/10/2010 Australia New Zealand
30/11/2010 New Z. Brisbane, Australia
30/11/2010 Brisbane Honiara Solomon
14/12/2010 Honiara Brisbane, Australia
15/12/2010 Australia Phuket, Thailand
22/01/2011 Bangkok Bali, Indonesia
Along the way we will keep you informed about all the adventures! And off course our office runs as usual. Day and night
The post Xtreme Gap Explores your trips appeared first on Xtreme Gap Year Blog.
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