To all the crew at wicked campers,

After passing by 15 countries there is no easy way to best summarise 13,000kms and 3 months of mayhem whilst travelling the European roads. However, we will give you a small insight to some of our more favoured destinations and parties we were lucky enough to attend and often just merely stumble upon.

•    Best festival - Running of the Bulls – Pamplona, Spain

We arrived at camping ezcaba in Pamplona on the Sunday a day before the opening ceremony and were greeted at the entrance by Stoke Travel who
promptly showed us to our campsite and before we could turn the van off had a beer placed in our hands. For the rest of the day we sat around meeting other people on van tour and drinking the endless amounts of beer and sangria til you either passed out or just stayed awake to get the first bus into town the following morning at 6am

Day 1 opening ceremony – after waking up a little dusty and worse for wear from night 1 it was time to throw on the running gear choke down some train
smash and catch the bus into town for the opening ceremony and you guessed it stupid amounts of sangria consumed along the way. It still was only 6am. Walking through town, bottles of sangria in both hands and drinking shoes on we realized this is it, the day we’ve waited so long for has finally arrived.  Before long, we were surrounded by masses of people, both locals and tourists who had come to join in the opening ceremony celebrations.  Sangria was being sprayed around like it was water, drenching people from head to toe. People viewing the occasion from there balconies were launching buckets of water over the crowd which was a chance to get some relief from the scorching sunshine. An incredible day to say the least and would go down as one of the best days of our trip.

Day 2 running with the bulls – another day another hangover, we threw on our running gear which is no longer white but stained sangria purple from the
previous days shenanigans, choked down some more train smash and jumped on the 1st bus into town. Unlike the day before this time the walk into town was a little different you could tell that everyone was shitting themselves because in less than a few hours we would be running down the streets of Pamplona alongside 600kg bulls with nothing but our legs and evasive skills to save us. Before we knew it 8am had come around the 1st gun shot went off and the streets erupted with excitement but it wasn’t until the 2nd gunshot sounded and the 1st bull was spotted that the heart started racing. Bar far the most adrenaline pumping moment of our lives. A few near misses, a couple of hip and shoulders, elbows, knees and 6 bulls later we were in the arena. After dodging a few in more bulls wrecking havoc and still having all limbs intact we decided to quit while we were ahead and get the hell out of arena and watch the rest of the carnage from the sidelines. After the run it was time to head back to camp for some well deserved beer and sangria, the perfect way to end our first running of the bulls experience, we’ll definitely be back for round 2 in the future.

•    Favourite spot to free camp – Tarragona Spain
We found Tarragona on our way to Barcelona from Madrid, its approximately an hour drive south of Barcelona on the coast of Spain, it has an awesome
beach (el miracle) and was the perfect place to free camp and get in some cheap days. We would spend time on the beach during the day before driving the van up on the bluff of a night time where you can cook a meal and drink a few beers overlooking the town and the beach. It’s a reasonably quiet town good to just relax and do your own thing for a few days as we knew Barcelona was going to be sleepless nights of destruction on our bodies.

•    Must see – Croatia
Words just don’t do justice to this amazing country. It has everything you need, amazing coastal towns and a thriving capital. We decided to ditch the van for a week and take part in 7 days sail Croatia. We managed to visit several small islands, best being Hvar with Dubrovnik being the best coastal mainland town.

•    Oktoberfest - Munich Germany
What better way to conclude our 3 month van tour experience than to embark on Germany for the biggest beer fest in the world. We arrived at camp the night before the opening ceremony again staying with Stoke Travel. Not the most organized travel company but what they lack in knowledge they make up for in parties. We spent most of our time in the German tents drinking litre beers, eating ½ chickens and pork knuckles and learning traditional songs and dancing on the tables.  This would be one of the biggest highlights of our trip.

In summary, we would like to thank Wicked for all their assistance throughout our 3 month trip. Our van ran better than ever and apart from the odd flat battery we couldn’t have been happier with the performance.  We defiantly found it to be value for money and a hassle free way of participating in the iconic European van tour. For 2 guys, the 2 seater was perfect. Sleeping in the back was quite comfortable and having a sink and cooking facilities in the back was perfect for free camping.