Best time to visit Pamplona during Festival of San Fermin

Hi Richard,

As a simple response, the first day and the weekends will be the most "fun" times to go to San Fermines. The city is large enough that you can find peace and quiet a short walk outside the city center if needed. In addition, the morning hours after the encierro (running of the bulls) are the most peaceful and children and families will be out having a good time. The festival, as a whole, is for all ages, so you can find your place in the city center at any time of the day. I don't know about prices... I think everywhere gets a bit more expensive, but if you find the time, go to Bar Chelsy for pintxos, about a 20 minute walk from the city center and in a quieter area of the city.

Richard, I would suggest the 11th, 12th, or 13th. The worst days will be the 6th, Chupinazo, the 7th Friday and San Fermin, and then weekend. The fiestas end of the 14th.
It should be less crowded and less crazy those days, but probably not less expensive. Pamplona has 200,000 inhabitants and during these days they estimate 1,000,000 visitors.

The key thing to remember is "crowds"... if you don't like them, skip the festival. Period. Pamplona gets absurdly crazy with endless flocks of people during these days -during the whole festival actually- so I wouldn't say there's a "best" day. In a city that's home to 200 thousand... and equipped accordingly -if you know what I mean!- and that's visited by 1 million those days it really doesn't make much difference whether on the day of the chupinazo (first day) there are 1 million and the next day there are 800 thousand, right? It all goes very busy until the "pobre de mi" is sung on the last day, at the candlelit ending.

In the middle, you have daily running of the bulls, fireworks, demonstrations of typical Basque sports (jai alai, stone lifting, wood cutting, or hay bale lifting among other), giants and big heads parades, live music, etc. It's indeed a great show of the unique culture of this region, but those that don't like serious crowds should be aware of the fact this has become a (far too) popular festival and people from all over the world comes down to enjoy it... think Mardi-Gras on steroids for a whole week.

And yes, I also agree that the city has areas which are not as busy... but the key reason to go to Pamplona on San Fermin is to see the festival, what else? If not, do choose a different date, not only there'll be much more pleasant to walk and enjoy but also (accommodation) prices will be considerably cheaper.

For those willing to know more: http://www.sanfermin.com/en/ I strongly suggest to go beyond the running of the bulls and the drink-until-you-drop, there are many more activities worth exploring, Heritage and culture displays from Euskal Herria (Basque Country and Navarra) are some of the most amazing anywhere and equal to none other around in Europe.

PS: Yes, San Fermin has many family-friendly activities... but also some that might not be so much.

edited oopsy, thanks dlindstrom, I obviously meant the "pobre de mí", the riau-riau slipped my mind. Fixed!

It is 1,000,000 over the week, not a day. And not divided equally.
On Friday, many people from outside of Pamplona, will head to the Sanfermines. For the weekend.
And those same people will probably go back on the 14th for the Pobre de Mi which is the official close of the fiesta. (Riau Riau is the unofficial start on the 6th)

If you spend the night, I recommend watching the fireworks from Baluarte. It is the convention center, right in the middle of Pamplona, and they open up a roof top terrace with pintxos and bar.

I can't comment on the best day to visit during the festival, but I enjoyed it in late May without all the people. What I do know is the hotel I paid 105€ a night for, is over 800€ a night during the festival.

Since we're talking about San Fermin and running the bulls is a key attraction (albeit not the only!) of the festivities , I felt appropriate to give some food for thought....

Running the bulls

... 1920s, when not more than 20 people used to run the bulls in San Fermin... http://www.elespanol.com/reportajes/20170706/229228078_0.html
... 2015, when over 2500 ran in a single day, thru the same narrow streets, to the same bull ring... http://img.rtve.es/v/3187653/ and to be fair, a more general view: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KwCnrgOSeg

Although there are records of this tradition dating back to the Middle Ages, it wasn't until 1867 that was regulated and only since 1922 that was instituted as we know it today. From 1922 to 2016, there have been 16 dead (http://navarra.elespanol.com/articulo/san-fermin-informacion/encierro-muertos-san-fermin-running-of-the-bulls-petter-tasio-daniel-jimeno/20160616181348049442.html), one of them a boy (22yo) from Illinois (US).

Binge drinking has become a problem during San Fermín and drunkness is, sadly, a common problem among tourists and locals alike, however, the later know very well one shouldn't participate in the run if inebriated. Unfortunately, inebriated or not, some people are stupid enough to get too close, or worst, on the run itself, without knowing squat about how to behave in this event thinking they can handle it...and then this happens: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/pamplona-san-fermin-running-bulls-8380023 -every year! So either get acquainted with some experienced local runners on what to do at every turn or else refrain from participating, please. And also, for those not knowing, hefty fines are issued for those endangering themselves or others during the runs.

Read these norms and rules -the official website!- if you intend to participate or simply to attend the runs: http://www.sanfermin.com/en/running-of-the-bulls/quick-guide-what-is-the-running-of-the-bulls/ In the rules webpage, when coming across the words "agents of the authority" please read "police officers", it's one of those lost in translation things :))

RUNNING THE BULLS IS NOT SOMETHING TO BE TAKEN LIGHTLY!

To all who have responded, thank you. If I go, it will be a short visit--one full day, two nights--mid-festival to get a feel for the event and celebration. And I will not be running.

The big question is what time of year to go to Spain because any trip to Pamplona during the fiesta will not the main event or the main reason for the trip, but only part of a first-time trip to Spain where much of the time will be spent visiting Seville, Madrid, and perhaps Barcelona.

Where I live, it can get miserably hot because of the high humidity. My thinking was that if I can cope with summer heat in south Louisiana (and I know our heat because of the humidity is different), I can deal with the summer heat in Seville and Madrid. But I have to say that doing some extensive afternoon walking the other day, I started thinking that travel to Spain in the spring or fall has much merit.

Richard, I've been to the Gulf Coast in the summer and have spent over 60 years in the southeastern US. It's quite different when you're a tourist who isn't mostly moving from an air-conditioned house to an air-conditioned car to an air-conditioned shop/restaurant/museum. I had no trouble finding well-air-conditioned hotels in Spain last summer (though my budget rooms were tiny, which may have helped). The problem was cooling off once I left the hotel. A lot of public spaces are either not air-conditioned or not cooled as much as we are used to. For those of us living in hot, muggy areas it's probably easier, but it's one thing to deal with it for a few days and a completely different matter if you run into nothing but scorching temperatures over the entire course of a multi-week vacation.