About us
- What to expect
- Why Surfing?
- Jobs and how to get involved
- Suggestions/contact and feedback
- Boring corporate stuff
- Information for travel agents
- A little note on stoke and the travel industry
- Download the stoke brochure
What To Expect
Stoke does travel your way. Stoke won’t herd you around with inflexible itineraries, Stoke doesn’t lose track of the beauty of travel. None of Stoke’s trips are identical, but there is a consistent theme. We like to consider our guests to be participants in the experience, not observers. We create an environment where you feels you ‘own’ your trip, with enough flexibility in our schedule for you to make your own decisions as to what you do.
We also consider ourselves to be ‘fun’ merchants, we believe that fun can be created, and is indeed valuable to the traveler. When you’re looking back on the travels you’ve done, surely the trips where you’ve had the most fun will be the trips you remember most fondly. There is not set formula for fun, and everybody enjoys different things, but we make sure the environment is there for you to enjoy yourself while you’re traveling with us…
Why Surfing?
A long time ago a well known surf brand ran a long running ad campiaign with the slogan “Only a surfer knows the feeling”. In this day and age we can, rightfully, view that sentiment as a pile of sentimental tripe. Nevertheless, the marketing gurus were onto something – surfing is a special pastime, one that transcends the boundaries of sport and art, that inspires the most primal feelings in your latent flippers (we came from the sea, 70% of us still calls the sea our close cousin). To surf is not just to do something overwhelmingly fun, healthy or cool, though it is all of those things, it’s a quasi spiritual pastime, a form of meditation that doesnt require you to stink like a hippy, a way to clear the mind, bring yourself closer to the great creator, to retrace our steps from sea to land, to dance the cosmic dance that our ancestors did all those eons ago…
Or maybe, just perhaps, we’re being self indulgent wankers and there isn’t more to surfing than the quite simple act of riding waves, looking cool, scoring babes and getting sand in your ears (amongst other orrifices). In any case, it’s what Stoke Travel does, what got us on the road in the first place, and something we will continue to do until we are old and sultana like. It is for these reasons Stoke takes special pride in its surf camps, it’s where we started and where we want to end up. You should join us for a surf sometime…
The sport of kings* is our thing. We started out in Europe chasing waves, and we haven’t even thought about slowing down.
*Polynesian royals were the first to get it on, but the British monarchy soon picked it up.
Jobs and how to get involved
If you love to get involved, love travel and think you have the required skills to improve the travel experience for thousands … Stoke wants to hear from you!
Jobs
Jobs range from logistics and trip planning, trip management, surf instructing, event promotion, bar tending, kitchen dazzling, DJ’ing, Video producing, bus driving… and whatever your role may be.. you’ll be in charge of good times.
Internships
An Intern position at Stoke Travel, is a full time seasonal job. An internship is a freelance position at Stoke Travel. Interns reside in their respective departure city, however travel frequently throughout Europe.
Please write to [email protected] or call +34 695 487 603
Suggestions/contact and feedback.
Some of the best ideas have come from crew traveling with us.. if you have any suggestions on improvements or would like to see stoke open up somewhere newor simply ant to air a wacky idea.. please let us know!
Write to [email protected] or call +34 695 487 603
Corporate stuff
Stoke Travel is registered in Spain with ACAV under the name Sirowek s.l.
Our fiscal address is c/pelai, 12. 3c. 08001. However if you are mailing something to us please send it to our bar:
‘stoke bar’, 8, c/ Banys Nous. 08002. Barcelona, Spain.
Key Company Contacts
Sales and Bookings. Barcelona office manager: Lisa Parsons
Email: [email protected]
Phone +34 625 304 703
Graphic design and Artistic Production: Jacqui Hendricks
Email: [email protected]
European Marketing Manager: Tim van Brussel
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +34 610 063 891
Barcelona Events and Promotions Manager: Kelly Crompton de Gallego
Email: [email protected]
San Sebastian Events: Leigh Abigail / Jamie Turner
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
San Sebastian: Dave Campbell
Email: [email protected]
Stoke Surf Manager: Josh Kirkman
Email: [email protected]
I.T. Manager: Kamal EL BAHI
Email: [email protected]
Company Directors
Brand Manager. New media. Advertising. Destination Management: Wade Gravy
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +34 665 040 072
Legalities, Accounts. Strategy: Stuart Jones
Phone: +34 695 487 602
Email: [email protected]
Production. Human Resources. New Business: Toby Paramor
Phone: +34 695 487 603
Email: [email protected]
Information for travel agents
If you are a travel agency or in a position to organize bookings for people that may be interested in Stoke Travel’s trips, tours and events then we should talk!
Stoke Travel works with travel agents in North America, Europe and Australia. We pride ourselves on creative arrangements and consider travel agency’s or group organizers to be our partners in communicating and executing the best possible experience. Our company set-up enables flexibility and we are able to consider amended itineraries and inclusions to suit your market perfectly.
Please contact [email protected] for more information or call +34 695 487 603.
A little note on stoke and the travel industry
‘If you are to briefly look into our segment of the current travel industry.. that is to say- providers of trips, tours, activities and destinations- you will come across a plethora of entrepreneurial brands striving to carve out their niche.
By our best count.. at the time of writing there are about 7600 travel companies around the world providing services for students and backpackers.. people who want to have loads of fun on a budget between roughly the ages of 20 and 40.
Some of these brands are subsidiaries. Cogs in the wheels of giant corporate behemoths offering hundreds of itineraries, options and schedules. These guys generally don’t get into the personality side of things all that much. They aren’t a barrel full of laughs, but their purpose to you is that through their organization they can erase the anxiety that can come with planning a trip. They take away the doubts and fears by taking you there. Fair enough, there is value here and it is a considerate service to offer.
And then other travel companies are small independent operators specializing in particular activities or locations- like hang-gliding in the Norwegian fjords or chasing breeding whale sharks off the coast of the Seychelles. Stuff you wouldn’t ordinarily get up to on a Tuesday afternoon (whale shark porn being a weekend activity) so it’s pretty handy to have a local experienced operator on your side.
And then yet other travel companies are catering only to individuals, or only to couples or only to families. The idea being that people at a similar stage in life are going to be attracted to similar things..
And then there are the travel companies catering to groups and aspiring to make their travel party as big as possible. A noble ambition.
And let it be noted that all these different companies have got their merits. If you do your research you will surely find something that suits you well.. a good option that can increase your experience and decrease your spending. That, after all.. is kinda the point with these here travel companies.
What is really rare and lacking in the industry is a legitimate option that provides a big party (groups), no patronizing and condescending attitudes (i.e, not treating adults like school kids), an ephemeral experience balancing organization with spontaneity (i.e no ‘factory travel’, no 2 trips being the same), guests who are not merely observers but central and necessary participators to the whole she-bang. YOU. And most importantly, a real option that brings together groups of travelers from all over the world. It is a great big shame to see bus loads of people from just the one nationality eating, partying and traveling together. We all know why it happens. Because the travel company specializes in marketing to it’s own country of origin.. or, indeed, travelers feel more comfortable in groups of their own kind. Either way it just isn’t on. – The general rule of thumb is that people from other lands are always far sexier than people from our home countries. Always. Plus, they generally know about things that we don’t know about at home. . and you can normally get away with a bit of exaggeration of your stories. who can argue with that?
And that observation, coupled with a van and some surfboards, is how Stoke Travel was accidentally born.
So shed your skin, take a fresh breathe of foreign air, try something new today, take our up-front advertising with a pinch of salt (slice of lemon and shot of tequila if that is what the doctor has ordered) and get involved with Stoke Travel.
We can’t wait to meet you.