La Tomatina festival in Bunol, Spain is one of the messiest festivals the world has to offer. There’s no need for tickets. All you have to do is throw squashed tomatoes at each other and get messy with tomatoes. La Tomatina is an annual festival that has been on since 1945 and continues to become more and more popular as the years go by. The festival was officially recognized in 1952. La Tomatina attracts approximately 20,000 to 50,000 tourists from around the world to Bunol, Spain. Due to the limited amount of accommodation in Bunol, many stay in Valencia and travel to Bunol by bus or train. Valencia is about 38 kilometers outside the city.
La Tomatina Festival Spain
La Tomatina Festival, Spain | (c) Photo By Cathy White
So where is the party at? La Tomatina takes place at the Plaza Del Pueblo in the small town of Bunol in eastern Spain. Held on the last Wednesday of August, La Tomatina is a week long festival. Tomatina festival is about honoring the town’s patron saint San Luis Betran and the Virgin Mary. Shopkeepers really have to prepare for La Tomatina festival more than anyone else. To cover their shops from the mess, they use huge plastic covers in front of their stores. Rest of the people just get all their clothes dirty with tomatoes. Wonder how many tomatoes are used? It is about 150,000 tomatoes, or just about 90,000 pounds of tomatoes. It’s bound to be one huge tomato sauce party for sure!
You might wonder what the La Tomatina festival is all about. It appears no one really knows the exact reason as to how it started. Some say it began between a group of friends, and others say that it was a tradition which was started at an anti Franco rally. Which ever the reason may be, one thing is for sure. People don’t need any excuses to throw squashed tomatoes at each other.
La Tomatina Festival, Spain | (c) Photo By Huffpost
This tomato-throwing festival features music, parades, dancing and fireworks as well. It is tradition for women to wear all white and men to wear no shirts! Now would anyone complain to this? There are no official rules in this tomato-throwing Spain festival. The ones that exists however, are for the sake of safety.
- You can throw tomatoes and tomatoes only
- They must be squashed before you throw them. Otherwise they can cause a nasty bruise
- Although the locals tend to rip each others clothing, it is officially forbidden
- As a visitor you are expected to behave
Further Information About La Tomatina Festival
Contact Details:
The Ayuntamiento de Buñol
Tel: +34 96 250 0151
Fax: +34 96 250 3083
Website: www.latomatina.org
Tourist Info Valencia:
C/ Paz, 48
46003 Valencia
Tel: +34 96 398 6422
Fax: +34 96 398 6421
Train Timetable & Fare:
Tel: +34 90 224 0202
www.renfe.com
Bus Timetables:
Autocares Bunol
Tel: +34 96 349 1425
Don’t miss the opportunity to take part in this fun and exciting Spain festival because La Tomatina festival is just pure fun and enjoyment!
My name is Salika Jay, and I'd like to welcome you to my travel blog! Ever since I was a kid, I loved traveling the world. I started this blog to share my journeys around the world and everything travel.