The Amsterdam weekender looks nice on the videos, so I have it on my list for next year. Were there special things you did not like there?
Festival and Travel Planner 2025
- Thread starter azana
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Flixbus goes directly from Budapest + Budapest airport to Timisoara. It’s not a crowded route. Timisoara is worth visiting if you haven’t been there. But definitely way too far from Bucharest by train. You can do it, but it’s three trains and a very long day.
Yes, but if you live far away from Budapest like me you first have to take a plane there, then wait some hours for the next bus departure and then again 5 hours in the Flixbus, and all this back again - too long for a weekender.
The floor was slanted: Only the middle of the dance floor was straight. both ends were noticeable not straight.
Dancing level was mostly ok: I think there weren't enough people and I've heard from others that they didn't enjoy it because of the size and level. We had quite a few people only show up for 1 or 2 of the evening and nothing more.
I think the dancing hours need to be adjusted a little bit as well. Hours were 3pm to 3am.
I don’t know. Probably not a huge amount of people as the event itself is small. But with such events, it’s more noticeable when the turn out is lower than previous years.
Yeah, I get you. It’s all relative - I’d jump at the chance to be that close to good festivals
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Yeah, I get you. It’s all relative - I’d jump at the chance to be that close to good festivals
You would be a menace if you lived in Europe, travelling to every obscure festival you could find hehe
Oh dear, I know that from an outdoor location where after each CBL your partner is 5 cm taller / lower than before, which is super confusing. So if the location is full, people would start fighting over the middle places.
I guess that's normal for marathons, but it opens the question when to arrive there, especially if your hotel is further away.
The organizer said slanted floors is pretty normal in Amsterdam with old buildings and that the location had one of the best floors for dancing.
This might be a personal problem. I'm used to evening socials getting good at 3pm, not closing down.
Fixed
I'll be in Madrid in mid-Jan 2026 for a week. Any dance-related suggestions welcome! I haven't been since I lived there for a few months late last century ... Actually, talking of obscure places I'm planning to try to get to Andorra. It will be expensive (ski season, destination for wealthy peoples) but it's there, so I wanna go. Not sure I'll find salsa, but you know I'll try!Sounds like you wanna set a mark on your country list? I spent one horrible night in Andorra city, it felt much more urban than I thought. The only affordable hotel was right next to the main street and traffic noise was so loud I couldn't sleep all night. I never fancied going back. Maybe a better option to sleep in La Seu d'Urgell in Spain 20 km away and just take a daytrip to Andorra.
Sure, here's my Madrid salsa list for weekends (I prepared it for some possible Madrid weekend in the future, but haven't been there yet):
Fridays: La Mandinguera (Casa del Campo, Metro Lago). 4 salsa, 2 bachata.
Saturdays afternoon: Sandunga, salsa only for the on2 crowd (Leganes, Metro Sur "Casa del reloj") - but not each saturday, check "sesionsandunga" on instagram for info.
Sundays: Jowke Latin (Alcorcon): said to be the biggest venue in Spain, 2 rooms salsa and bachata.
All three events happen before midnight, which is rather unusual in Spain, but for me a plus.
Some other places info here:
Madrid archivos - LatinDancesMadrid
www.latindancesmadrid.com
Yogalholic
Changui
There is neither students nor unemployed people in Andorra, I highly doubt you will find salsa events there
Wow - that's awesome, thank you! (except for bachata being so big there ... ) This will help enormously with planning. I've booked flights for three weeks in Algeria and one week in Spain-Andorra. I was thinking of two or three days in Andorra (plus train and bus via Barcelona to get there); have some great advice on places to stay and sights from Travellers' Century Club Oceania WhatsApp group - people seemed to like it, so hopefully I'll have a better experience. There are a number of hostels as well.Sure, here's my Madrid salsa list for weekends (I prepared it for some possible Madrid weekend in the future, but haven't been there yet):
Fridays: La Mandinguera (Casa del Campo, Metro Lago). 4 salsa, 2 bachata.
Saturdays afternoon: Sandunga, salsa only for the on2 crowd (Leganes, Metro Sur "Casa del reloj") - but not each saturday, check "sesionsandunga" on instagram for info.
Sundays: Jowke Latin (Alcorcon): said to be the biggest venue in Spain, 2 rooms salsa and bachata.
All three events happen before midnight, which is rather unusual in Spain, but for me a plus.
Some other places info here:
Mind that in Madrid bachata sensual is big, most events will play it more than salsa.Madrid archivos - LatinDancesMadrid
Given the countries I'm visiting, Madrid will be my best opportunity to dance. I'll make sure I go to Andorra during the week, then come back to Madrid for the weekend.
Anyone doing Vivaz?
desconocida
Son
I promised to report back on Mambo Italiano Rome (Dancehouse Events), but frankly, I'm somewhat torn as to what my verdict is. On the plus side: everything was absolutely gorgeous. Also, the weather... But that's to be expected in May-June in Italy, I guess... (btw., the event will be held end of March next year). The main venue had a garden with a fountain and tables arranged around it, so if you didn't feel like dancing, going out and socializing there was a great alternative (sometimes you could even get snacks and drinks there, which were included in the price). My main problem was that I didn't feel like dancing a lot 
and I'm not sure this had anything to do with the organization or just my mood. On the organizational part I'de say there might have been a bit too much of a gender disbalance and maybe overall the event would have benefitted from being slightly less packed. Moreover, it was extremely hot - I guess not much could have been done about that in a historical building like that (some rooms had better AC than others), but maybe some large fans would have been nice. I was a bit surprised as I didn't find the overall level to be crazy high as I was expecting from a Dancehouse Event (this was my first), but friends who've been to a few others before confirmed that it's usually somewhat higher. Except for Friday, where music and sound were poor during most of the night, I thought music was overall good (I attended all parties, so Thu-Sun, but didn't go to any of the afternoon socials). Oh, the bar was pretty amazing, which is really nice. Water wasn't always available, but most of the time I got some when I was looking for it. Everything ran pretty smoothly, there were hardly any delays, the schedule was fairly accommodating to everyone's needs. The girls working the registration desk were super sweet and helpful if you needed anything.
I guess what really bothered me about this event is something that is not controlled by the promoter in any way, namely the fact that much of it felt like a social media spectacle. People were constantly recording anything and everything and it felt like that completely took over the dynamics on the dance floor as well. Hence I am so unsure of how I would objectively rate this event. Given that Rome was extremely expensive I'd probably look into some other Italian congresses next year.
and I'm not sure this had anything to do with the organization or just my mood. On the organizational part I'de say there might have been a bit too much of a gender disbalance and maybe overall the event would have benefitted from being slightly less packed. Moreover, it was extremely hot - I guess not much could have been done about that in a historical building like that (some rooms had better AC than others), but maybe some large fans would have been nice. I was a bit surprised as I didn't find the overall level to be crazy high as I was expecting from a Dancehouse Event (this was my first), but friends who've been to a few others before confirmed that it's usually somewhat higher. Except for Friday, where music and sound were poor during most of the night, I thought music was overall good (I attended all parties, so Thu-Sun, but didn't go to any of the afternoon socials). Oh, the bar was pretty amazing, which is really nice. Water wasn't always available, but most of the time I got some when I was looking for it. Everything ran pretty smoothly, there were hardly any delays, the schedule was fairly accommodating to everyone's needs. The girls working the registration desk were super sweet and helpful if you needed anything.I guess what really bothered me about this event is something that is not controlled by the promoter in any way, namely the fact that much of it felt like a social media spectacle. People were constantly recording anything and everything and it felt like that completely took over the dynamics on the dance floor as well. Hence I am so unsure of how I would objectively rate this event. Given that Rome was extremely expensive I'd probably look into some other Italian congresses next year.
@desconocida I agree with a lot of what you said. I would also add:
- Water was 2 small coolers that were sometimes empty which is not enough given the size of the event
- Saturday/Sunday afternoon socials were better than the evening socials (this I feel is often the case for me)
- Having 4 rooms to dance in somewhat ruined the dynamics of the event
- It was good that there was no stage for artists to sit on which had artists and their friends dancing everywhere
- Way too much charanga was played
- Friday night location was bad. The floor was falling apart in some places, it was humid, water was barely available, and they had to make sure no one smashed into the random piano on the dance floor. I hope next year they break apart the day and night social for Friday (it was continuous) because the evening social ended way too early and the day social was poorly attended.
- Water was 2 small coolers that were sometimes empty which is not enough given the size of the event
- Saturday/Sunday afternoon socials were better than the evening socials (this I feel is often the case for me)
- Having 4 rooms to dance in somewhat ruined the dynamics of the event
- It was good that there was no stage for artists to sit on which had artists and their friends dancing everywhere
- Way too much charanga was played
- Friday night location was bad. The floor was falling apart in some places, it was humid, water was barely available, and they had to make sure no one smashed into the random piano on the dance floor. I hope next year they break apart the day and night social for Friday (it was continuous) because the evening social ended way too early and the day social was poorly attended.