Pamplona: Running of the Bulls explained

RUNNING OF THE BULLS IN PAMPLONA: The famous San Fermin festival brings together daredevils and spectators of the world for a week of bull dodging and serious, serious partying.

Where: Pamplona, Spain

When: July 6 – July 14

What: The Running of the Bulls is only one part of the festivities for the town’s patron saint, San Fermin, including sports events, bullfights, fireworks and a giant-heads parade.

The run with the bulls itself is kind of like anti-bullfighting where men run from rather than at the animal. The running of the bulls is the biggest of many events of its kind that take place in Pamplona and the surrounding region of Spain.

An abridged history of the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona

There’s no great story for the origin of the loony pastime that is the Running of the Bulls, but it’s basically developed from the foolhardy games of bored cattle drovers. The San Fermin festival was brought to the attention of the wider world largely by writer Ernest Hemingway, who was quite taken with the event.

Following his writings about the bull runs, young men have travelled from across the globe to prove their bravery on the streets of Pamplona, with the festival and it’s bovine dodging daredevils taking on ever greater proportions and notoriety.

How the Pamplona’s San Fermin festival and bull runs play out today 

The kick off for the San Fermin festival is midday July 6 each year, when a rocket is fired to signal the end of sobriety and the start of unrelenting drinking and merriment. Not for the faint hearted, and that’s not just because of the bull running – there is some serious partying to be had.

For the bull runners, from July 7 onwards at 8am every day the bulls are released for their 848 metre sprint, which takes around 4 minutes to complete.

Another major part of the festival is the bullfight that happens every evening, and those who oppose the bloodthirsty charade want to make sure they’re up early each morning to see the bull’s get their own back on humans.

How to get to Pamplona for the Running of the Bulls

There is an airport in Pamplona but it is only accessible via domestic transfer. Other airports in the vicinity that are accessible from the UK are Bilbao, 170km away, Zaragoza, 172km away, and Biarritz in France which is 128km away. See packages below for coach transport options.

Staying there: Pamplona is a decent sized city with a population of around 200,000 so there is plenty of accommodation but, naturally, you will have to plan way way ahead to have any options. See the below packages for more options.

Top Pamplona travel packages:

Company: Topdeck
Price: £289 (accommodation only options from £169)
Pamplona tour inclusions: Return coach travel, 4-nights camping, breakfasts, opening ceremony and 3 bull runs, shuttle to Pamplona and day trip to San Sebastian
Site: Topdeck.travel/7-day-picador

Company: Contiki
6 to 8 day packages from £299 (also combined Pamps + Bilbao BBK Live packages from £425)
Pamplona tour inclusions: Return coach from London, 4 nights camping, breakfasts, transfers to Pamplona, souvenir t-shirts, the Contiki crew.
Site: Contiki.co.uk

Company: Busabout
4 to 6 day options available from £219
Pamplona tour inclusions: (depending on your package): Return coach from London, camping, breakfasts, transfers to Pamplona for all bull runs, t-shirts, pre and post parties.
Site: Busabout.com

Company: PP Travel
Various options available from £249 with regular special offers for booking early
Pamplona tour inclusions: 6 nights in tents or dorms, transport to Pamplona, breakfasts, pre-Pamps party
Site: PPtravel.com

Company: Stoke
Price: Various packages at 50€ a day (minimum 2 nights)
Pamplona tour inclusions: Stoke have various camping options and can include surfing bolt-ons.
Site: Stoketravel.com/pamplona.htm