Stokepedia

Yeah, you’ll drink beer. But plenty of other things will happen to your sorry arse too…   Europe boasts a frightening amount of festivals throughout the year. Some celebrate history,…

Our step-by-step walkthrough of what happens while getting absolutely sloshed (or sloshed-on) at Oktoberfest 2021. While you don’t have the be drunk at Oktoberfest, when you go to a beer…

Oktoberfest 2020 is so close you can pretty much smell the pretzels and almost hear the drinking chants somewhere way off in the distance. But you’re a little Oktoberfest virgin,…

You want to find the best place to stay at Munich’s Oktoberfest, because your accommodation will make all the difference to your German cultural experience. There are a lot of…

Oktoberfest is the world’s biggest beer festival, and the original beer fest and so it rightfully has a cemented position on almost everybody’s travel bucket list. We all want to…

You already know the Oktoberfest basics – big beers at the world’s biggest beer festival; German culture, or better still Bavarian culture, on display; more than seven million people in…

Perhaps you’ve heard of Munich’s Oktoberfest – it’s only the biggest and best beer festival in the world. Fourteen beer tents and six million people drinking more than seven million…

This is the Oktoberfest information and the FAQs that you need to know  about Germany’s famous beer festival. Are you ready to join us in the Munich beer halls in…

As of Tuesday, the 21st of April Oktoberfest has been cancelled due to concerns around COVID-19, making the world’s biggest beer fest yet another coronavirus casualty. Stoke has opened up…

Take a historical meander through Oktoberfest Munich’s boozy and not-so-boozy origins We know that you probably wouldn’t come to Stoke Travel for a history lesson, but you know what! You’re…

Far from being a tourist-focused beer-a-thon, Oktoberfest is deeply traditional event, an almost sacred occasion to the local Bavarians and Muncheners, who eagerly await September and October each year so…

Further cementing their status as the flyest playas in the game, Stoke Travel have upped the stakes by improving on their already amazing hot breakfasts, and offering travellers bottomless brunches…

Oktoberfest, not your obvious gay event.  Munich’s Oktoberfest might not be the first event that comes to mind when you think of a gay event or holiday but there are…

Unlike other festivals around the world Munich’s Oktoberfest is an easy one to dress for, with the burden of outfit selection taken away from us and replaced with two of…

Six reasons why a solo trip to Oktoberfest is an awesome idea It’s on your bucket list, but for some reason you can’t convince the homies to join you at…

Barcelona’s bar scene is renowned for its cheap drinks, funky music and sexy occupants. But between the gems there are lots of lemons – particularly in the more touristy centre…

By KP, Stoke’s resident Barcelona food critic When you think of Barcelona you don’t think of curry… or do you? With thriving Indian, Pakistani and Thai communities, there are plenty…

By KP, our resident food critic Italian food is a classic favourite amongst the masses. To be fair, I don’t think I have ever met a soul that didn’t enjoy…

By KP, our resident foodie Up there with kebabs and curries as the ultimate hangover food, there’s nothing quite like chewing away the previous night’s sins – or doubling down…

By KP, our resident food critic Us Stokies know good coffee (comes with being so regularly hungover/busy), and while Spain has always had a coffee drinking culture of some sort,…

By KP, our resident food critic Surely you know that StokeTravel do a bottomless brunch with unlimited mimosas at all of our destinations, because we know that nothing beats a…

By KP, our resident food critic Now we’re talking, good old authentic tapas, shared plates of deliciousness – Spanish specialities done in Barcelona with a particularly Catalan flair. These little…

By K.P. our resident food critic Paella is one of Spain’s national joys (as you probably know) and is hands down the one dish you HAVE to wrap your mouth…

We spend a lot of time singing the praises of the San Sebastian Surf House, and rightfully so because it is amazing, but let us tell you a thing or…

Reports have come out of San Sebastian, in Spain’s Basque Country, claiming that Stoke Travel’s Surf Camp there isn’t in tents, but in a real-life house with really real beds….

Of course the perfect surf camp for us is our San Sebastian Surf House, with the best waves in Europe easily accessed from our converted Basque farmhouse in the mountains….

Who said culture had to be boring?  Get the dates right  San Sebastian’s La Semana Grande, or, The Big Week for us English speakers, is a week-long fiesta throughout the…

If you’re searching for information on the late 90s Tobey Maguire Oscar-winning film, then I’m afraid you’ll have to look elsewhere. But if you’re wanting to find out what exactly…

San Sebastián has often been hailed as the gastronomical capital of Europe – that is until our froggy friends over in Paris nicked the title off them a couple of…

Further cementing their status as the flyest playas in the game, Stoke Travel have upped the stakes by improving on their already amazing hot breakfasts, and offering travellers bottomless brunches…

Everyone knows Europe is the place to study abroad, but it can be hard to decide what country, let alone city, you should spend the next few months in. To…

Balling on a budget? Here are a few places that make a perfect weekend trip for study abroaders There’s nothing quite like studying abroad in Europe. Calling a new city…

One of the greatest deterrents when deciding to start studying abroad in Europe is that it can seem expensive. Costs can be a major factor in deciding which program to…

Your first week or two abroad in Europe is a whirlwind. Everything is new and exciting, and you find yourself wanting to do everything all at once. Jam-packed days of …

As you begin your study abroad experience you may find it difficult to keep in touch with the people back home, and that’s understandable. Busy travel and school schedules mixed…

Saving your pennies isn’t easy – everything is so fun, and seemingly expensive, but it’s not impossible, and if you follow our tips you’ll come in hot with a pocket full of change.

So you saved your pennies, but you don’t want to blow them all on the first part of your trip. Well, lucky for you we’ve booked thousands, and we’re going to show you how to do it.

Print it out and put it on your wall. Cross it off as you go. Don’t go until it’s all crossed off, or at least make sure you have a good go at it. This is your guide to packing your backpack before you go backpacking.

We got in all kinds of troubles just so you don’t have to.

Everything you need to know about your European visa, as well as some tested ways to stay for longer.

From hostels to hotels, using the sharing economy, relying on the kindness of strangers, and more.

It might not be what you’re used to. Maybe because of the noise, the grossness, the lack of privacy. Well, hostel life is an inevitability of backpacking life, but we’re…

How to get the best mobile plan. One with lots of data because Google Maps and Tinder are more important than mumsy’s twice-daily checkup calls. Also, Europe has no roaming charges as of 2018, so you can travel the continent and swipe right like a legend.

You’ve done all the saving and you’re enjoying backpacker life, but with these tried and tested techniques you can make those euros go a little further. Spend the money on fun stuff, by saving on these essentials.

Oh the freedom! If you’re above a certain age and have a valid credit card and an international driver’s license and… but if you can tick the boxes this is the only way to roll.

Because you really should get travel insurance.

The absolute best way to turn that 90-day Schengen visa into a year and sometimes more of continental goodtimes.

Live like a turtle! Moving slowly with your house on your back. Pooping in bushes. Going wherever you want. Making friends with grey nomads in a similar situation. Campervan life is the life for us, here’s how to get it done.

Planes, trains, automobiles… Europe has them all! But how are you going to move around the continent during your ultimate backpacking superduper trip-of-a-lifetime? The answer is: a little bit of everything.

It’s totally easy, but maybe a little intimidating. You can do it, we have faith in you, just remember which side of the road we drive on, and get ready for some pretty big tolls.

The nature of the European Union means that flying between countries is as big a hassle, and a similar price, to flying interstate at home. Sometimes you’ve got to jump in that big bird and get somewhere in a matter of hours, not days, and you’re going to need to do that on the cheap.

Is it worth your while getting a Eurail Pass? There’s no more romantic way to travel across Europe than by train. They go everywhere, and they do so at a frighteningly rapid rate. They stop in the city centre. You can walk about and cavort with cute strangers. But sometimes the passes are expensive.

It’s not ideal, but it is cheap, and that’s sometimes all that matters. The highways in Europe are spectacular and so the buses get to where they’re going with ease. Sometimes you’ve got to suck it up and save some cash.

While relatively free of violent crime, some cities are often seen as being a haven for pickpockets, thieves and other petty criminals. Don’t let them ruin your trip, know their tricks and how to avoid being robbed.

The evening meal might be the most important to backpackers, a time to chat, pre-drink and, obviously, fill the belly with fuel. Across the continent meal times can vary greatly, so here’s a guide to average dinner times in Europe, so you don’t get caught hungry.

Eating and drinking is one of the most pleasurable things we can do while backpacking – and also one of the most expensive. Learn how to lessen the blow with our guide to eating cheap meals while travelling.

Don’t eat meat? Dairy? Eggs? Don’t let your diet hold you back with our hints and tips for vegan and vegetarian backpacking in Europe.

One of the best things about travelling is discovering new places and then eating all their food. Make sure you eat the right things in each place, with our guide to best European food, a country by country guide to the continent’s weird, delicious and typical dishes.

Europe is home to some delicious food, delicious, fatty, salty food. Eating well while backpacking is difficult, but not impossible if you follow our simple guide to eating healthy on a budget.