Alright, so figuring out where to go in 2025 felt like staring at a fridge full of nothing good. Wanted something awesome, different, not just the usual suspects. Decided to hunt down must-see festivals myself. Poured hours into this, seriously.
The Research Phase (Endless Scrolling)
First, just dove deep online. Opened up like thirty browser tabs, felt like I was drowning in lists and “Top 10s.” Saw Rio Carnival mentioned everywhere – obvious, right? But honestly, the sheer size scared me a bit. Kept digging. Stumbled onto La Tomatina in Spain. Throwing tomatoes? Sounded completely insane and messy, kinda perfect.
Then, wanted something completely opposite. Found stuff about Japan’s Gion Matsuri in Kyoto. Ancient processions, beautiful floats… looked incredibly serene. Perfect contrast. Needed something in the middle too, not too crazy, not too quiet. Belgium’s Tomorrowland popped up constantly. Massive electronic music thing. Huge crowds, but everyone raved about the experience.
Main challenge? Figuring out dates and booking before stuff vanished or cost a fortune. Time was ticking.
Making It Happen (The Booking Chaos)
Okay, committed to these three: Rio, Bunol (for Tomatina), Kyoto, and Belgium.
- Rio Carnival (Feb/Mar): Holy crap, hotels vanished like magic tricks. Ended up panic-booking an expensive-but-decent hostel room way out. Airfare? Don’t even ask. Suffice to say, frequent flyer points died for this.
- La Tomatina, Bunol (Aug): Needed to buy the ticket just to enter the tomato fight zone! Booked that first, stupid expensive for fruit-chucking rights. Found a tiny guesthouse in Valencia nearby since Bunol sleeps about twelve people total. Flight to Spain? Another chunk of change gone.
- Gion Matsuri, Kyoto (July): Finding anywhere in Kyoto during the festival felt like winning the lottery. Seriously. Emailed like fifteen places. Finally snagged a traditional Ryokan… budget took another hit.
- Tomorrowland, Boom (July): The ticket sale? A fucking nightmare. Multiple laptops, browsers, begging the internet gods. Somehow snagged a basic pass. Booked a cheap hostel in Antwerp; staying near Boom meant selling a kidney.
My calendar looked like a warzone, and my bank account cried. Hard.
The Actual Experiences (Pure Chaos and Gold)
Rio: Words don’t do it justice. The sound, the colors, the sweat! Ended up dancing (badly) in a street blocos for hours. Got shoved, stepped on, probably crushed a rib. Totally worth it. The energy was pure electricity. Smelled like sweat and grilled meat. Amazing. Exhausting like hell though.
Bunol, Tomato Fight Day: Got there stupid early. Crowd felt thick, restless. Then the trucks dumped all those tomatoes. Pure insanity erupted instantly! Sliding in tomato mush, slipping, laughing like a maniac, tomato seeds everywhere (seriously, found some weeks later). Took hours to get remotely clean. Utterly ridiculous, completely unforgettable.
Kyoto, Float Night: The Yamaboko Junko procession. So different. Quiet reverence mostly. Watching those massive, intricate floats glide silently down the dark streets. Lit by lanterns. Felt timeless. Hot as hell, but peaceful. Calmed the soul after the other two madhouses. Got some amazing street food too.
Tomorrowland: Overwhelming is the word. Like a city of music and lights built in a field. Stages everywhere, insane designs. Felt like walking through different planets. Music pounding, lasers flashing, crowd buzzing. Got lost multiple times. Legs turned to jelly by day three, voice completely gone. Pure sensory overload in the best possible way.
The Aftermath (And Why Do This)
Got home. Body felt like it ran a marathon through a warzone while carrying bricks. Jet lag lasted a week. Spent way more money than planned (obviously).
But honestly?
Would I do it again? Abso-freaking-lutely. Each one smashed expectations in totally different ways. It wasn’t always comfortable, or cheap, or easy. Planning felt like a second job. The experiences though? Pure, raw, bucket-list gold. Makes you feel alive in ways normal travel just doesn’t. If you can manage the chaos, pick one and jump. Just maybe let your wallet recover first.
