Could be an interesting option, but Paris is expensive and too big a city, locations are 20 km from each other.Looks like Mouaze is organizing a last minute Paris mambo weekend for December (12-14). There are different venues for each night party and workshops (TBD).
SOIRÉES DANSANTES - BAKIDO DANCE SCHOOL
Des soirées dansantes avec une ambiance chaleureuse, des danseurs de tous niveaux, retrouvaille d’anciens et rencontre de nouveaux amis.bakido.fr
Festival and Travel Planner 2025
- Thread starter azana
- Start date
Paris used to be my gateway into Europe. Flight tickets to it were the cheapest. I also attended four PISCs I think.
I usually booked 4-7 days ahead. It takes a bit of time to search. You can find affordable Airbnb and sometimes special hotel rates. You probably won’t find something in most optimal area. An affordable place can add 10-15 minutes to commute time to the venue. Private room Airbnb were most affordable. All within the city limits. I never stayed beyond the core city where rates can be lower for better quality accommodation.
During months like Dec, the rates are almost 2/3rd or less compared to summer. You can also book a whole appartment. If you share, it becomes cheaper. I don’t know what rates are now. A couple of times I had a whole 2 bedroom appartment to my self for about €75 to €80 per night. In nice neighborhood. Easily shareable between 2 to 3 people. One time I had a tiny studio off Champs Elysee for €60 a night during PISC. Once I found a nice boutique hotel offering a special rate of €80 five minutes walk from louvre. Before booking I always made sure there was a metro station close by. In Paris, you are almost always within less then 10 minutes walk to nearest metro.
I never booked a hostel but for dance events people do stay in hostels. That used to typically cost €20 a night for four or six bed shared room.
There are ways to go to Paris for an event in affordable way. Needs time to search for what fits your criteria and budget.
As I wrote the sunday location is 20 km (!) from the saturday location. Moving each day to a different place normally means leaving the accomodation at 10 a.m. which you don't want after a long night out. So there is a transport problem.
Paris metro stops at 1 am, so it won't get you home after a dance night. Night buses take more than one hour and are full of weird and homeless people. Uber is probably the best to choose, but I don't even have the app as they were forbidden in my area until this year.
Metropoles of 10 million people are never easy to handle. Add that saturday is an SBK party which doesn't give me confidence.
Is it outside the city limits? Where I come from 20Kms is not a big deal.
Most accommodations let you leave at 12pm. If you tell them earlier also at 2pm. You have to ask.
It would be hard to find something in the middle so both places are 10Kms.
Personally I will take best place that is least expensive and stick with it.
That’s true. Night buses will take at least one hour. I have taken the night bus more than half a dozen times. It didn’t feel unsafe to me. Sometimes there were weird people but I can’t tell if they were homeless. Most people were common folks. May be we have different tolerances.
Uber can be expensive but that works too. Is bolt no longer being used ?
I would skip SBK unless there is a dedicated salsa room.
El Sol festival 2025 was pretty good all in all
It is like a fifth the size it used to be (I haven't attended since they moved to Katowice since my flights were canceled both years).
The lighting is on point, the dance floors at the sound garden were great except the day social room. Bachata was split into a separate hotel so I didn't bother doing any workshops and apparently the day socials were in the hallway so no one danced. Salsa was solid, parties lasted till 8 every day. El Sol is not a follow heavy festival like it used to be.
The romantica room was awesome but on Sunday it closed at 1 since no one came to replace the DJ despite the room being full, argh.
Rooms at the sound garden kind of suck, tiny Norwegian prison cells with no fridge, kettle etc. Hopefully next year the festival moves back to the Okecie.
It wasn't too hot if you were strategic, a big improvement from at the Gromada.
Dance level was good. All in all a nice festival and I will return next year.
Has the age of salsa festivals with 5000 attendees ended?
It is like a fifth the size it used to be (I haven't attended since they moved to Katowice since my flights were canceled both years).
The lighting is on point, the dance floors at the sound garden were great except the day social room. Bachata was split into a separate hotel so I didn't bother doing any workshops and apparently the day socials were in the hallway so no one danced. Salsa was solid, parties lasted till 8 every day. El Sol is not a follow heavy festival like it used to be.
The romantica room was awesome but on Sunday it closed at 1 since no one came to replace the DJ despite the room being full, argh.
Rooms at the sound garden kind of suck, tiny Norwegian prison cells with no fridge, kettle etc. Hopefully next year the festival moves back to the Okecie.
It wasn't too hot if you were strategic, a big improvement from at the Gromada.
Dance level was good. All in all a nice festival and I will return next year.
Has the age of salsa festivals with 5000 attendees ended?
Rovinj still seems to be huge. I guess the BPM was the only festival competition for El Sol?
No competition as the crowds are completely different.
When I look at the people attending BPM, most wouldn't be caught dead at El Sol. BPM people want small and cozy.
Yes, and no. I first met organizer of BPM in Warsaw. And we spent time together in Warsaw many years after. Long time ago. Also both Warsaw and BPM orgs love romantica. Difference is that BPM organizes event for 2025, while Warsaw organizes event for 2010.
I also just came back from ElSol and will (mostly) agree with the above comment.
The attendance seemed to me to be ~1000 people (accounting for different rooms and the fact that the early/late dancing crowds don't overlap much, if at all).
There was always more than enough space to dance in the bachata room. The salsa room was more packed, but mostly had enough dance space. Cuban room also seemed to have enough space to dance the 2 times I went to see what it looked like. I didn't bother attending the other 2 rooms or the day socials.
Follower salsa dancing level was very good, I was pleasantly surprised. I had at least 20 dances I would classify as "great" and only 2 that were borderline bad (but I could call them mediocre if I squint a little).
Bachata follower level was not good.
The festival had slightly more leads that followers but by little (maybe something like 11:10 ratio). In the bachata room there were almost always twice+ as many free men than women. The salsa room was more balanced. Due to the higher number of people there, there was always a free follower to dance with.
Attended a total of 6 workshops, standard festival stuff. Johnny Vazques' sunday partnerwork workshop was too crowded.
The hotel was overall meh - decent breakfast, the room was basically the size of a rich man's closet than a regular bedroom, but at least it's functional for an airport hotel. (It's more interesting that the same room is also sold as a standard double room - I have no idea how that works; it's obviously only for couples as one bed, but I would not be caught dead forcing a girlfriend sharing that room). The main problem with the hotel is that it's overpriced - 340 euro for 3 nights + breakfast. This is Warsaw, not Copenhagen.
I didn't attend the live concert on Saturday (the band were some cubans who apparently live in Poland - so were probably hired for convenience; no idea if they are good or not) but made the mistake of going to the Saturday shows. The MC was annoying as hell and I really did not need to hear about the organizer's 28-year old boyfriend.
Overall, I'd rate it as a positive experience but I'm not sure it's really worth the money.
The attendance seemed to me to be ~1000 people (accounting for different rooms and the fact that the early/late dancing crowds don't overlap much, if at all).
There was always more than enough space to dance in the bachata room. The salsa room was more packed, but mostly had enough dance space. Cuban room also seemed to have enough space to dance the 2 times I went to see what it looked like. I didn't bother attending the other 2 rooms or the day socials.
Follower salsa dancing level was very good, I was pleasantly surprised. I had at least 20 dances I would classify as "great" and only 2 that were borderline bad (but I could call them mediocre if I squint a little).
Bachata follower level was not good.
The festival had slightly more leads that followers but by little (maybe something like 11:10 ratio). In the bachata room there were almost always twice+ as many free men than women. The salsa room was more balanced. Due to the higher number of people there, there was always a free follower to dance with.
Attended a total of 6 workshops, standard festival stuff. Johnny Vazques' sunday partnerwork workshop was too crowded.
The hotel was overall meh - decent breakfast, the room was basically the size of a rich man's closet than a regular bedroom, but at least it's functional for an airport hotel. (It's more interesting that the same room is also sold as a standard double room - I have no idea how that works; it's obviously only for couples as one bed, but I would not be caught dead forcing a girlfriend sharing that room). The main problem with the hotel is that it's overpriced - 340 euro for 3 nights + breakfast. This is Warsaw, not Copenhagen.
I didn't attend the live concert on Saturday (the band were some cubans who apparently live in Poland - so were probably hired for convenience; no idea if they are good or not) but made the mistake of going to the Saturday shows. The MC was annoying as hell and I really did not need to hear about the organizer's 28-year old boyfriend.
Overall, I'd rate it as a positive experience but I'm not sure it's really worth the money.
Reminds me to Magic where the level difference between salsa and bachata room was also huge. Very good salseras are mostly also pleasant enough in bachata, so I can only explain this with only beginner followers going to the bachata room. I lack experience with mixed festivals but it doesn't seem to work well.
At Magic they haven't learned anything, they just copy&pasted the program from last year - including the typos, that's why you'll find "salsa somantica" on friday evening, I smiled about it already last year. The bachata room was also a waste of time there.
I really don’t know anyone who used to go to Magic for dancing bachata. Very few attendees would peek into bachata room, if at all.
El Sol used to have a big bachata room. For me the first El Sol in 2016 was the best. It felt magical. By time I attended the last one in 2019, I could see it losing some of its sheen. Afternoon socials had expanded and were very crowded. About 200 people on bar (one of the higher floors) of Okecie hotel. In 2016 and 2017, only few of us would be at afternoon dancing that took place in foyer of main hotel. Hardly 20 or 25 people showed up. It was the same at Berlin congress afternoon socials in 2017.
El Sol used to have a big bachata room. For me the first El Sol in 2016 was the best. It felt magical. By time I attended the last one in 2019, I could see it losing some of its sheen. Afternoon socials had expanded and were very crowded. About 200 people on bar (one of the higher floors) of Okecie hotel. In 2016 and 2017, only few of us would be at afternoon dancing that took place in foyer of main hotel. Hardly 20 or 25 people showed up. It was the same at Berlin congress afternoon socials in 2017.
RandomBeat
Changui
The Novotel directly opposite Soundgarden was a better bet. Deluxe twin room double the size for €280 with breakfast for 3 nights and you got fridge, kettle and selection of teabags & coffee sachets. But more importantly, the shower and separate toilet rooms had solid walls so you could share with a friend.
Which is why, by the time I booked in late August, it was already sold out on their web site.
What is BPM?
I think I wrote to you last year about it. It's romantica overdose event in Ljubljana. Happened last weekend.
Was it that Farid guy? I remember him from 2019 (last time I went to El Sol), he is annoying as hell wherever he shows up. That time he had a similar running commentary, about one of the organizers female assistants, and how "hot" she had become.
So is Magic worth attending still? It is the only long running festival I have never been to. I was thinking of going finally for the first time.
Many of the other well known festivals I have lost interest in, El Sol, Berlin, Rovinj..
Yes, it was him. I didn't check out who it would be before, otherwise I wouldn't have gone to the shows at all, his schtick is cryptonite to me.
There was no answer yet to this question - shows that people have mixed feelings about Magic.
I would say: yes, it is worth going there at least once, although I don't plan to return. Beautiful location, great dancers. Preparty is nice, you may consider already arriving thursday. Don't forget earplugs. Evening dresscode is chic.