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Hot Summer Fun Around the World!
On My Summer Vacation...
...got uber-cool plans. Packing up, taking off, and forgetting about reality for a while.
When May rolls around, ditch your daily routine. Grab a few friends and go to some of the best summer festivals.
Summer Fun
Summer is the perfect time to travel to Europe because there’s so much going on, especially festivals! There are some we’re sure you’ve heard of and others, not so much. But, that’s the fun part of it! There’s no time like the present to plan your vacation and why not go somewhere that will be celebrating something you can really get into – like throwing tomatoes at complete strangers or running for dear life from a raging bull.
So, take a look, find what you like, then call your STA Travel Advisor or go into your local branch and get your summer sorted!
| To London | Fares* |
|---|---|
| Dallas | From $713 rt |
| Los Angeles | From $598 rt |
| New York | From $489 rt |
| Chicago | From $660 rt |
| Washington, D.C. | From $549 rt |
| Call us at(800)781.4040or visit your local STA Travel Branch. |
Wimbledon - June 25-July 8, England
Add a little flair to a visit to London by attending Wimbledon June 25-July 8 to see the best in tennis fight for props on the court. Will Roger Federer and Amelie Mauresmo successfully defend their titles? Catch all of the action by taking the train or subway to Wimbledon Station. A shuttle bus will then take you to the tournament. As an added bonus sports fans, you can see the start of the Tour de France since it begins in London this year. On July 7th to be exact. Then, head north to explore the rest of the UK via train. It’s definitely worth it and so easy on a Britrail Pass. Your STA Travel advisor can hook you up and take care of your accommodation and pretty much anything else you need for an exciting visit.
Tour de France - July 7-29, France
The 94th Tour de France begins July 7 in London (as noted above) and ends in Paris on the 29th. With Lance Armstrong retired, who knows who will take home the coveted yellow jersey.
British Open - July 19-22, Scotland
Ernie Els. Davis Love III. Phil Mickelson. Vijay Singh. They’ll be competing for bragging rights at the 136th British Open this July 19-22 in Scotland. The Open Championship is one of the four majors and the oldest golf tournament in the world. Will you be there?
Beach Volleyball Grand Slam - August 1-5, Austria
Believe it or not, beach volleyball is one of the most popular summer sports in Austria! You can watch Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh work their magic against fellow Americans Holly McPeak and Tom Logan at the Grand Slam in Klagenfurt the first week of August. This tournament is nicknamed the "Wimbledon of beach volleyball." More than 100,000 fans will celebrate a huge party while watching the world's elite teams in their quest for the crown. Two days of preliminary action are followed by the final round on the last two days.
Il Palio Horse Races - July 2, August 16, Italy
You’ll get a kick out of this event. It’s a 3-lap race around the central piazza in Siena, Italy pitting riders from 10 of the city’s districts against each other. The riders are allowed to interfere, conspire, etc. against each other to make it across the finish line first. Funny thing is – they don’t use saddles. So, they’re basically smacking at each other and doing whatever they can to get the other guy to fall or quit racing while controlling their own horse. Not every rider makes it to the finish line. The winner, however, enjoys a jubilant celebration upon finishing.
Running of the Bulls - July 7-14, Spain
Spain in July means one thing: running for dear life from raging bulls through the streets of Pamplona. Yes, it’s Fiesta of San Fermin and its most famous event, the Running of the Bulls! Thousands of brave souls try each year to lead several bulls from their pen through the streets to the bull-ring, without being gored or trampled. Most finish the run unscathed. The run is just a half-mile and lasts only a few minutes. It takes place every morning at 8:00 from July 7-14. The fiesta also includes dancing, eating, drinking, and an all-around good time. Pack your running shoes and remember to stretch!
| To Madrid | Fares* |
|---|---|
| Miami | From $753 rt |
| San Francisco | From $975 rt |
| Salt Lake City | From $878 rt |
| Austin | From $878 rt |
| Columbus, OH | From $844 rt |
| Call us at(800)781.4040or visit your local STA Travel branch. |
Tomato-Throwing Fest (August 29, Spain)
Take the train down to Bunol, which is 30 miles inland from Valencia, for a tomato fight with 35,000 people! La Tomatina is part of the town’s annual festival honoring its patron saint, San Luis Bertan. On the last Wednesday of August, everyone gathers in the town square, grabs tomatoes and starts hurling. La Tomatina is relatively new as it dates back to just the 1940s. It’s said to have started as an argument between townspeople that got a little messy. When the townspeople went back at it a year later, the town council threatened to throw everyone in jail. Today, the town council supplies the tomatoes and asks that you crush said fruit before throwing it at your intended target to avoid injury.
FESTIVALS THAT ROCK
Hultsfred Festival - June 14-16, Sweden
Where else can you find the likes of 50 Cent, Ozzy, and Pet Shop Boys sharing the same venue? Hultsfred Festival is the largest and longest-running youth music festival in Sweden. 3 days of incredible music and camping.
Provinssirock Festival - June 15-17, Finland
“The Party of the People” is Finland’s largest international rock festival! Confirmed bands include Velvet Revolver, Nine Inch Nails, The Donnas and Slipknot. 3-day passes run about $115.
Roskilde Festival - July 5-8, DenmarkThe largest northern European music festival! 160 music acts, 90,000 people, camping, luggage storage, and a million things to do – all for a mere $255. Roskilde Festival features music ranging from metal to Scandinavian punk over four days. Catch groups like Cult of Luna, Mastodon, and The Who. You might also be happy to know that this is an environmentally-sustainable festival.
Benicassim Festival - July 19-22, Spain
Great music, the sun, the beach, the surf, great music, and great music. Benicassim Festival is 3 days of fun on the Mediterranean. Dance and sing to a wide variety of acts including the B-52’s, Iggy & the Stooges, The Human League, and Dinosaur Jr. Tickets run upward of $200. The killer experience from attending this celebration of art, music, fashion, film, dance, theatre, etc. – free.
| To Warsaw | Fares* |
|---|---|
| Chicago | From $896 rt |
| New York | From $787 rt |
| Los Angeles | From $993 rt |
| Houston | From $896 rt |
| Philadelphia | From $762 rt |
| Call us at(800)781.4040or visit your local STA Travel Branch. |
Castle Party (July 27-29, Poland)
Gothic music fans should check out the Castle Party at Bolkow Castle in Bolkow, Poland July 27-29. Castle Party is the only event of this kind in Middle and Eastern Europe. It started in 1994 with five bands performing before 300 people. It’s now a three-day event featuring more than dozen bands performing before more than 1500 people. This year’s line-up includes: Front Line Assembly (Canada), IAMX (Great Britain), Catastrophe Ballet (Germany), Cemetery of Scream (Poland), and Legendary Pink Dots (Netherlands). Bolkow is close to Poland’s border with Germany.
Let's Talk
Participating in one of these cool events will be exciting! Better yet, try to do a couple. For instance, you can fly into London, do the Wimbledon thing, then hop the Eurostar to Paris. Peruse at will, then hop a train south to Pamplona to run with the bulls. Your STA Travel advisor can help you customize your air arrangements and take care of the rail pass. Not a problem.
| STA Travel Blue Ticket™ |
|---|
| The most flexible, and often cheapest, plane ticket available to our customers. More>> |
| International Student ID Card |
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| Save $100s at home or while you're traveling with cheap student airfares and student discounts all over the world. More>> |
| Eurail Pass |
|---|
| Visit all of these cool destinations by riding the rail. A Eurail Pass makes it easy to make your way around Europe and you’ll love the price – from $21/day! More>> |
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Submit Stories and Photos |
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Plus, if you travel on the STA Travel Blue Ticket™, you'll have the most flexible or cheapest ticket available for travel on the world's leading airlines. (It also gives you access to our Travel Help support in over 90 countries.) What this means is that when you decide at the last minute to go to Italy because you’ve never been and you’re thisclose, we can change your plane ticket and we won’t charge you the several hundred dollars the airline would charge to change your travel dates.
Call us at (800) 781.4040 or visit your local STA Travel branch.
As always, happy travels!
*Prices do not include taxes and fuel surcharge. Prices are subject to availability and subject to change without notice. All prices were current at the time this newsletter was published.
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*Additional taxes/fees: sample fares posted on www.statravel.com are per person and include the booking fee. Fares are subject to additional charges including, but not limited to: September 11th Security Fee of up to $5.00 for each flight segment originating at a U.S. airport; Passenger Facility Charges of up to $18, depending on itinerary; Federal Segment Fees of $3.50 per segment; and foreign and U.S. Government-imposed charges of up to $400 per international round-trip flight, depending on routing and destination. STA Travel is the world's largest student, youth and budget travel organization specializing in cheap flights, hotels and hostels, student travel insurance, and the International Student ID Card (ISIC).
