La Tomatina
La Tomatina takes place Aug 26, 2026 in Bunol, Spain. The dress code is Old clothes you will throw away, swimming goggles and closed-toe shoes; leave valuables behind. Typical cost ranges from 15 to 80 EUR per person.
For one hour on the last Wednesday of August, roughly 20,000 people pelt each other with overripe tomatoes in the small Valencian town of Bunol, preceded by the greased-pole palo jabon climb. It is more spectacle than gastronomy, but it remains a genuine bucket-list festival with a strict capped entry that tamed the old chaos. Everything is over, hosed down and gleaming by lunchtime.
- When
- Aug 26, 2026
- Where
- Bunol, Spain
- Dress code
- Old clothes you will throw away, swimming goggles and closed-toe shoes; leave valuables behind
- Cost
- Typical cost ranges from 15 to 80 EUR per person.
- Weather
- 28 - 33C, hot dry Valencian late summer
- When to book
- Official wristbands (entry is capped) go on sale months ahead at latomatina.info; Valencia hotels early for that week
- Getting there
- VLC (Valencia), about 40 min to Bunol by car or Cercanias train
- Where to stay
- The Westin Valencia (grand base in the city), Caro Hotel (boutique in a 19th-century palace), Hotel Sorolla Centro (simple central value)
- Official site
- https://latomatina.info
How to attend
Entry is capped and ticketed: buy the official wristband in advance at latomatina.info - base entry costs little, with packages adding bus transfer from Valencia and a paella lunch. Arrive early morning; the fight runs about an hour from roughly 11am. Stay in Valencia, not Bunol, and day-trip in.
Insider tip
Take the package with the Valencia bus transfer - Bunol's trains are mobbed before the fight, and the bus gets you out again while the streets are still being hosed down.
Get inside La Tomatina
Booking matters here: official wristbands (entry is capped) go on sale months ahead at latomatina.info; Valencia hotels early for that week. Members track that window, what it really costs, and 573 more events across the season.
Free while in beta. One email when your invitation is ready, nothing else.