Monkeying around and tomato tossing: Check out these wild festivals abroad!!!
Missed out on Glastonbury tickets this year? With tickets going on sale on 14th November, many will be anxious about missing out after this year’s tickets sold out in just 59 minutes. But don’t worry—there are plenty of other festivals around the world well worth experiencing.
If Glastonbury didn’t come through this year, why not swap your camping gear for a passport, and discover some of the most unique, unusual and exhilarating events happening globally:
La Tomatina – Buñol, Spain
Known as the world’s biggest food fight, La Tomatina in Buñol draws thousands of festival-goers to hurl ripe tomatoes at each other, but all in good spirits. The streets run red, and the atmosphere is wild, chaotic, and undeniably unique. It’s not for the faint-hearted, but for those willing to dive in this Spanish town offers a day of unforgettable, tomato-stained fun.
flydime, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Date: 27th August 2025
Ticket Price: From £139
Monkey Buffet Festival – Lopburi, Thailand
If you’re an animal lover, this one’s for you. Lopburi’s Monkey Buffet Festival is held each year to honour and feed the local macaque population, with last year’s population totalling 5,700. An extravagant spread of fruits and vegetables is laid out for the monkeys to enjoy, creating a lively and sometimes comedic display as the monkeys feast and frolic, with onlookers snapping photos and sharing laughs.
Mr.Peerapong Prasutr, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Date: 23rd November 2025
Ticket Price: Free to watch
Cheese Rolling Festival – Gloucester, England
You may have known that the UK is 58% self-sufficient in its cheese market, but did you know there is a festival to chase cheese down a hill? The Cheese Rolling Festival at Cooper’s Hill is as wild as it sounds: brave (and slightly mad) participants sprint down a steep slope in pursuit of a rolling wheel of Gloucester cheese. The first to the bottom wins the cheese, but for many, just reaching the bottom in one piece is a victory.
Dave Farrance, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Date: 26th May 2025
Ticket Price: Free to watch
Hadaka Matsuri (Naked Festival) – Japan
For something truly out of the ordinary, join Japan’s Hadaka Matsuri, a festival where participants wear minimal clothing (often just a traditional loincloth) as they gather to bring good luck for the year ahead. Held at shrines across Japan, this event involves purification rituals, ending with a midnight race to seize a sacred object, said to bring fortune to whoever holds it.
Date: 10th February 2025
Ticket Price: From £15 to participate. Free to watch
Burning Man – Nevada, USA
Known for its radical creativity, Burning Man is more than a festival—it’s an immersive experience in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. Attendees build an entire city, participate in various art installations, and express themselves in ways that defy convention, finishing with the ceremonial burning of a massive wooden effigy. It’s a week-long escape from everyday life and a chance to live in a unique, self-sustained community.
Date: 24th August 2025
Ticket Price: From £444
“From tomato-throwing in Spain to cheese-chasing in the UK, there are festivals for everyone, for the more luxurious traveller to the cheese lovers,” says Gavin Lapidus, company director at eShores. “It’s all about creating unforgettable travel experiences for everyone.”
So, if Glastonbury didn’t work out, there’s no need to settle for festival FOMO. The world is full of wild and wonderful events for thrill-seekers of every kind and eShores can help you get there hassle-free.
