Unsound Italy Beach Party MAY 29th til JUNE 8th 2008
Here's what chalets are left available as of 15th April 2008. 4X 40 square metre with aircon available from the 28th of May til the 4th of june(morning), 1X 40square metre, no aircon available from the 28th of May til the 3rd of June(morning), 2X 22 square metre(sleeps 2) available for the whole party, and 2 bungalows on Julia campsite available for the whole party. There is plenty of camping space available on Julia campsite for the whole party... Camping space will not sell out, but the above chalets will be almost certainly gone within the next couple of weeks.
we are at it again-YES for the fifth time
we are organising a 10 day-long-non-stop-music-beach-party on the sandy beaches of southern Italy. The first four events went off a treat and many of those who came before have come back for more and more and have already booked their flight and accommodation for this time.Details of trip/event/ place/ accomodation and general info to follow in this lengthy mail, those of you who have already been there and feel like adding some details, please write to us.
if you are new to it all it might be better to have a look at the photos on this website
Here is a brief description of the place/ event- The party is in Metaponto a little seaside town in the still undiscovered region of Basilicata, in the instep of Italy, which particularly at the beginning of the season is a paradise of long uninterrupted sandy beaches, sandwiched between the clearest of seashores and a natural reserve. all you see for miles is the clear blue of the sea and the sky , the green of the woods and the golden colour of the sand and the sun. Unsand!!!The position couldn't be better,as each mornings we will be able to see the sun rising over the water- see last year pics for an idea of what it looks like.If we are lucky, like last year even the dolphins will come and join us.
This will be the setting for our 240hrs long party(serious shit!)-- we'll have music on 24/7, a bar serving cold drinks and food, a chill out area with 'authentic designer sand'-- cost us a fortune!!- to lie on + mexican hammocks, toilets+ showers nearby.
dj's, bands, mc's, sound systems confirmed so far (more to come):
So far confirmed dj´s are Deadlock, Hue Jah Fink, Jerome Hill, Miss Pink, Chris Liberator, Bigga, Dead Man Walking, Blackmass Plastics, Controlled Weirdness, Billy the Kid, Skarper, Dom the Bomb, Louise +1, DubWreka, Dj Fast, High Impact, LuSINda, Da Boogie, Sus, Maztek,M2J, 3PhaseGenerator, Maxx, Oxygen Crew, J Terrestrial(live),Babar Luck(live) and Captain Hotknives(live) , with 3 months for this line up to grow this is yet again gonna be one Mutha of a party! Like last year,we will have lots of time for open decks sessions, so bring your tunes/ cd's . open decks sessions are often in the afternoon or early evening.
Accomodation: There are a number of different solutions for accomodation. The most straighforward is booking with us for one of the two campsites we are using, which are also the closest to the beach. It's a walk across the woods-- about 10 mins. As you come up to the campsites from the beach, you'll find Riva dei Greci campsite on your left and Julia campsite on your right. The first one is what has been named the 'posh one'as it is really well set up and organised-- there is a link on our website to show you the site-- 'Camping Julia'on the other hand is- like it says on its slogan- ' the true old skool campsite'. the first one is sound the second is a bit unsound-- your choice.Julia is well set up 4 camping, with constant free hot water in the shower blocks You can use facilities such as bar, minimarket, restaurant from both campsites. They are both immersed in the woods- part of the natural reserve of Metaponto. please note : Booking through us in advance(before the 25th April 2008)will work out cheaper as there won't be extra administration costs. Advance booking will make things easier for us when we will be runnin the party--which will also result in a better service for everybody. Cheap and easy CAMPING options: you can choose to camp at Julia campsite for £6.00* (price to be confirmed)per night per person or at riva dei greci for £7.00* per night per person.Here you'll need tokens for a hot shower whereas it will be free on Julia campsite.Tents are not provided.If you have a car, a dog or a toddler there will be no extra charge.If you book in advance through us before the 25th April 2008 it won't cost you a penny more. those of you who turn up during the party without having booked or book after this date will have to pay £15.00* administration fee.
Renting a chalet:
Here are the details for Riva dei Greci chalets:
They have kitchen/livingroom (apart from the new ones with veranda kitchen),two bedrooms (1 bedroom with double bed, the other with 2 single beds or 1 or 2 bunkbeds), veranda and front patio with barbecue. All chalets have all the basics for self-catering, a toilet with shower + hot water. They accomodate 4 to 6 people.
The price is per chalet per night in pound sterling:
- 30 square meters chalet no aircon is £48.00. (sleep 4)- 30 square meters chalet no aircon, veranda kitchen is £ 50.00 (sleep 4)
- 40 square meters chalet no aircon is £52.00. (sleep 4 + 2 in bunkbeds*)
- 40 square meters chalet with aircon is £56.00. (sleep 4 + 2 in bunkbeds*)
*There is an extra charge of £10.00 per night pp for any additional person. There is a minimum stay of 5 nights. For bookings for less than 5 nights there is a 20% extra charge. For each chalet, there is an extra £15.00 charge for providing sheets and towels. The price INCLUDES cleaning charges and administration costs only for those of you who book before the 25th April 2008. After this date, provided there is still availability administration costs will be an extra £15.00.
Once at the campsite you'll need to show your passport to be signed in and you'll be asked to leave a returnable deposit of 100.00 euros with the campsite owner-. This is in case of damage to the chalets and it is handed back at the end of the stay--unless there is a damage--
To book
please write to us at
method of payment.
The preferable method of payment for us is through internet banking/transfer to our account or just pay straight into any Abbey's branch. No paypal account I'm afraid. Please write to us in order to get bank details.
How to get there???
There are several ways of getting down there either by train, plane or car -
TRAINS
here's a link to Seat61 which is a booking agent for trains across europe - it's eurostar to paris-sleeper train to Bologna or Rome and then train in the morning for a few hours through italy - nice- it costs around £140 return.If you are coming by train consider travelling in the daytime. It is hard to keep track of where you are otherwise, as the names of towns are not lit.Under Your Own Steam
Here's a link to Seafrance where you can book for cars including 4 or 5 people for less than £50 return , or for a van including up to 9 people for less than £60 return.The best route in our opinion is Dover-Calais, Calais-Bruxelles,Bruxelles-Luxembourg, Luxembourg-Strasbourg, Strasbourg-Frieburg, Frieburg-Zurig, Zurig- Gottard tunnel, Gottard Tunnel-Milan, Milan-Bologna, Bologna-Ancona, Ancona-Pescara, Pescara-Bari,Bari-Taranto, then follow for Reggio Calabria but turn off for Metaponto (roughly a few km past Ginosa. once in Metaponto follow for the sign 'mare' the sea, and look out for signs for Riva dei greci. Then follow the music:D
By Plane
To fly you can either get ryanair to Bari or Brindisi -they are the closest airports to metaponto-There are ryanair flights from stansted airport every day - flights are still pretty cheap at the moment. If you take this route,there are shuttle busses to take passengers from the airport to the railway stations of both cities and then trains to Metaponto-altogether a couple of hours trip.
VERY IMPORTANT :
Ryanair flights into Bari and Brindisi are expected to change schedule and arrive late in the evening, by which time it might be too late to catch the train to Metaponto. Taxis are very expensive as it is about two hours trip (150.00 euros last year). As in previous years, we will be able to provide transfers from the airport to the party but YOU MUST let us know by the 1st of May 2008 if you need this service. This will allow us to book the suitable size minibus/coach/coaches in advance. Cost will vary depending on numbers. After the 1st of May we will be able to let you know the cost, but generally it will vary from 20 euros to 40 euros per person. After this date we cannot provide transfer but you can try by ringing 00393478772463 as soon as you book your flight if you are stuck. If there are any available seats we will be happy to help but we will NOT be able to book a last minute taxi/minibus/coach etc... Please do not expect us to arrange transfer during the party, they will have to be arranged before the party,before the 1st of May 2008. Notice is essential. We have some available seats on a coach on the 28th of May 2008. There are also BA flights to Bari. If you are in Italy already there are lowcost airlines flying into Bari (Easyjet, Ryanair,Volareweb).Flying to other italian cities
An interesting alternative could be flying somewhere else in southern Italy -where flights can be as cheap as a few pounds and then jumping on a train to metaponto.Trains are very cheap in Italy but unfortunately not always on time-small price to pay for booting old Mussolini out!!Renting a car at the airport can also work out cheaper between 4/5 people with the added bonus of having wheels once in Metaponto, which for those who like to explore the area is pretty much indispensable (busses from Metaponto are not so frequent).
ROME
Quite a lot of people are flying into Rome with ryanair- there are 5 flights a day in and out of Rome - easy. . The airport is well served with shuttle busses to the railway station (stazione TERMINI)and there are direct trains from rome to metaponto that work out pretty cheap- it's a nice way to do it. We advice travelling by day, as at night it is difficult to understand where one is as the stations have poor lighting .It will take you down to Naples and then inland through the beautiful hilly landscapes of Campania and Basilicata, which it would be a shame to miss...There are also BA flights into Naples for £85 return at the moment, with regular trains from Naples to Metaponto (the same route as the Rome train). To check details about trains/routes/ costs the best way that we've found is through Seat61.com There's a link at the top of the links page on this website..Or if you are brave enough try google trenitalia, the italian railway site (scary).
Once in metaponto the campsite is 5 mins drive from the station and there will be transport either by minicab Italian style, or lift-if you are stuck you can phone 3478772463 and we´ll send a car.
general advice:
If you are thinking of coming, do come prepared:
There are cash points there but they didn't seem to work last year, so comin with some cash in euros will help. Metaponto is a seaside town, packed out in the summer and ghost town in the winter.In the time of the year we will be there, it is just waking up after going dormant throughout the autumn and winter. For this reason, the sudden influx of people at the very beginning of the season has created some difficulties in the past. For example, there have been problems before with cashpoints running out of money,and with shops running out of goods such as :
Rizlas:D (first on the list-disgraceful!!!),bog rolls and the like.
The campsite has a small safe for documents and small valuables.
The weather should be good, nice and sunny but not too hot (25-30 degrees, althought by the end of last year's party it went up to 40 degrees!!!). do expect some cool evening expecially on the beach, so bring a jumper or two, as well as your swimming gear and suncream!!
Areas of interest to go and visit in Basilicata are:
the sassi di matera(try google it) and the greek ruins sites in metaponto,
or check out i trulli di alberobello, grotte di castellana and the beautiful itria valley in nearby puglia .
There is also the possibility of doing rafting in nearby calabria or sailing boat trips from the beach to different destinations in Italy and abroad(you'll be mad to leave that beach once the party is on, but you could end your holiday in style:).
