The Major Party Stops for Van Tour Europe

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What do you get when you throw a bunch of drunken Australians, Kiwis and South Africans into vans and unleash them on Europe? Van tour Europe! It is the summer's craziest adventure and the best part is that it all happens without any organization. People buy crappy vans, fill it with booze, grab some friends, set a rough route and get out there to see what Europe has to offer.

The van tour Europe route is by no means set in stone but most vans make plans to hit Europe's biggest festivals. Van tour usually starts in Pamplona for the Running of the Bulls, heads down to Lagos, Portugal for some serious partying and ends in Munich at Oktoberfest for giant beers, the 100 Club and a scary amount of debauchery.

Pamplona is the first stop on most vans list and with good reason. The Running of the Bulls is an event almost as famous for the parties as it is for the bulls. Revelers may spend the mornings in the bull ring but the afternoons and evenings are reserved for sangria and food fights.

Lagos is on Portugal's Algarve coast and its laid back party towns and booze cruises are what the van tour travellers are looking for. After being gored and drinking themselves silly in Pamplona, it's time to sit on the beach and relax by day and sample the Lagos nightlife by night. This leads to revelers to Joe's Garage where the bar is often set on fire, to Whyte's where van tour revelers attempt to down 9 shots as quickly as possible in their '9 Deadly Sins' game, and eventually to the sea for a bit of sun, snorkeling and of course, more drinking.

The 100 Club is among the most disgusting traditions in the world. During Oktoberfest, a field is set aside in Munich where all of these vans can park. On the Thursday before Oktoberfest starts, the van tour people kick things off in a big way with the 100 Club. The idea is simple, 100 shots of beer in 100 minutes. No getting up, no peeing, no scratching your face and, above all, no puking.

Finally, Oktoberfest seems to have been made for the van tour crowd. If drinking copious amounts of alcohol out of giant beer steins surrounded by 1,500 new friends isn't their style, I don't know what is. The first week is usually when the vans converge in Munich, meeting up once again with people they have probably been bumping into all over Europe and drinking a toast or ten to their trips.

Van tour isn't for the feint of heart. You will have to get your drinking hat on to be able to participate but, if you do and if you survive, it will leave you with lots of (fuzzy) memories for years to come.