Here you'll find a few more details to help you before you leave home. You'll find information about where the tour starts, how to get there, visa information and a few other handy hints.
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Where is Pamplona?
Pamplona is the capital of Navarra and has a population of around 200,000. It is about 50 miles from the Pyrenees and the Spanish-French border and around 250 miles north of Madrid. The transfer journey will be approx 1 – 1.5hours between San Sebastian and Pamplona.
Costume
The official San Fermin costume is a white shirt, white pants/skirt, a red sash, and a red neck-scarf. Yes, everyone wears white and red during the entire fiesta. Trust us, you will feel more foolish if you don’t dress up! There are booths and stores all around the city that sell cheap white pants and shirts, as well as scarves that will allow you to dress with the rest of them. We found pants for around 6 Euros and shirts for 4 Euros last year! Remember that these clothes are going to get very dirty and drenched with sangria during the bull-fight and if you attend the Txupinazo, so you’ll need a few replacement outfits unless you’ll be getting your laundry cleaned. We recommend that you wear comfortable shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty. Even though it is summer, do not wear sandals downtown. Shards of glass cover the ground and you don’t want to spend your days or nights in the emergency room getting stitches!
The Bull Run
The first bull-running take places on the morning of the 7th of July at 8:00 a.m. (yes, A.M!) and then each successive morning up to and including the 14th. There's no need to sign-up anywhere. It's simply a matter of walking inside the fencing about an hour before the running of the bulls starts (before the fencing is closed) and waiting for the rocket to go off (that signifies they've let the bulls out). The important thing is simply to be sure you want to run and to be conscious and considerate of the other runners so that you don't disturb them through any reckless misbehavior. If you're set on running, talk to one of our guides who have run in the past. It's very important that you go to the right place at the Town Hall.
THE RULES
> You can't go over the police barriers alongside the route.
> You can't hide before the release of the bulls in corners, dead angles or doorways of houses or establishments located throughout the length of the course (=no cowards!).
> You cannot run the route in a state of drunkenness, under the effects of drugs or in any inappropriate state (and yeah, this one tends to be broken a lot!)
> Don't carry objects which may impede the correct running of the Bull Run (i.e. daypacks, cameras, etc.)
> Don't wear clothes or shoes which are not appropriate for the run (Americans don't wear your Tevas!)
> Don't call the animals or distract them in any way and for whatever reason in the course or during the rounding up in the Bull Ring.