Run With The Bulls In Pamplona

The adventure

Just before eight, the narrow streets of Pamplona's old town are packed with runners dressed in white with red scarves. They sing a short prayer to the statue of San Fermín, asking for his protection, and nerves crackle through the crowd. Spectators hang from balconies and cling to the wooden barricades.

Then the first rocket goes up, meaning the corral gates are open, and a second tells you the bulls are on the street. The ground seems to shake. Six bulls and their steers come thundering over the cobbles, and a wave of runners breaks in front of them. The whole course is about 875 metres, through Santo Domingo, past the town hall, around the notorious Estafeta corner and into the bullring, and it is usually over in two to four minutes. You'll never forget how fast it was.

Why it’s epic

• Eight runs, one every morning from 7 to 14 July, during the San Fermín fiesta.
• A course of around 875 metres from the Santo Domingo corral to the Plaza de Toros.
• The opening Chupinazo rocket at noon on 6 July, when the whole city erupts in red and white.
• A week of street parties, brass bands and the giants and big-heads parade.

What it is

The running of the bulls takes place each morning during San Fermín.

How to do it

Runners must be over 18 and sober.

Top tip

Watch a run first to understand it.

Need to know

• You must be over 18, sober, and enter the course before it closes at about 7:30 am.
• People are gored and injured every year and there have been deaths, so watch from a balcony first and learn the rules.
• Hotels and balcony viewing spots book up months ahead; Bilbao is the nearest major airport for UK flights.
• Check your travel insurance carefully, as many policies exclude bull running.

Plan this trip

Rough cost

£750 to £2,000 per person, including flights from the UK

Time needed

1 day

Best time to go

7 to 14 July

Fly into

BIO airport

The run itself is free; fiesta-week accommodation in Pamplona is the big expense.

Make it happen

• HotelsBooking.com
• Tours and ticketsGetYourGuide
• FlightsKiwi.com
• Adventure travel insuranceWorld NomadsWe receive a fee when you get a quote from World Nomads using this link. We do not represent World Nomads. This is not a recommendation to buy travel insurance.

Some of these are affiliate links: if you book through them I may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. More about this.

Why it’s on my list

A running of the bulls is an event that involves running in front of a small group of cattle, typically six but sometimes ten or more, that have been let loose on a course of a town’s streets, usually as part of a summertime festival.

The origin of this event comes from the need to transport the bulls from the fields outside the city, to the bullring. During this “run”, youngsters would jump among them to show off their bravado.

Spanish tradition holds that bull-running began in north-eastern Spain in the early 14th century. While transporting cattle in order to sell them at the market, men would try to speed the process by hurrying their cattle using tactics of fear and excitement.

After years of this practice, the transportation and hurrying began to turn into a competition, as young adults would attempt to race in front of the bulls and make it safely to their pens without being overtaken.

The most famous bull-run – “The Running of the Bulls in Pamplona” is held during the nine-day festival of Sanfermines in honour of Saint Fermin. More traditional summer bull-runs are held in other places such as towns and villages across Spain and Portugal, in some cities in Mexico. Bull-running was formerly also practised in rural England, most famously at Stamford until 1837.