Essentials | Tickets | Ambiance | Next
👆🏻 ESSENTIALS
Our programme includes almost 60 events in 9 days, with an expected attendance of 3.000 bears and friends. Most events take place around Yumbo Centre in Maspalomas resort, and many parties are free to attend. However, our most popular events require booking at our online shop. You will receive those tickets by e-mail.
We organize additional events like Bear Wellness. Please don’t get confused as dates, locations, programme and tickets are different from the bear week.
If you have any pre-event question not answered on this page, please contact us.
- Regular events at terrace bars, pubs, cruising clubs (!) and pools, including Europe’s biggest bear pool party.
- Boat Cruises. Imagine hundreds of bears and friends dressed in disguise, partying… on a huge catamaran and floating disco, sailing along the coast!
- Carnival themed events. Most bears gets a costume or at least a hat, so don’t be shy those nights! We have a different theme every year.
- Signature events difficult to find at other bear weeks around, such as our waterpark excursion, cheese & wine tastings, scenic tours, neon beards party, bear tantra and yoga workshops, naked bear cruise, singles and dating parties…
All events are evenly distributed along the bear week, so there are really no “best” days. Please have a look at the programme and mark the parties that you may consider unmissable.
If you mean “busier” days, most visitors come for the whole bear week so there are no dramatic differences between days. If you can only come for a long weekend and you prefer busier events, then come for the second weekend, when the main pool parties, cruises and clubbing nights take place. However, please make sure to get your tickets well in advance, as those events sell out quickly.
Even then, we kindly recommend not to arrive on the first Saturday and not to leave on the last Sunday. We will explain this better:
- The first Saturday (afternoon and evening) could be coincidental with Maspalomas Carnival’s Grand Parade. This renders public transportation useless, so getting from the airport to your hotel could be a pain. We will only be able to confirm this when Town Hall announces Maspalomas Carnival dates, normally in Autumn.
- The last Sunday usually features a grand closing night, which unsuspecting bears leaving the resort that day always regret not to atttend.
Regarding accommodation, we don’t directly sell rooms, but we recommend to gather at specific, official bungalows and aparments, where some of the official events also take place. Please visit our accommodation page for more info. As official accommodation sell out quickly, any aparment not too far from Yumbo Centre in Playa del Inglés could do it. Bungalows in futher away districts like Maspalomas and San Agustín may not be within walkable distance from our events, but fear not: taxi service is fast, readily available and very cheap here. But whatever the area, please book in advance to avoid dissapointment and high prices!
All events are located in Yumbo Centre (Maspalomas) or at a walking distance. If you don’t fancy walking, we recommend you to avoid the unpredictable bus service and get a taxi. They are very cheap and efficient. The usual app for requesting a taxi is PideTaxi (download for Android or iOS devices).
Renting a car is also a possibility if you want to explore the island by yourself, but please book well in advance as availability during large events is very limited.
Regarding addresses, we have compiled all official locations and routes on a Google Map and on several infographics. Please get to maps.bearcarnival.com.
The gay beach (kiosk #5, ex €7) is accesible from the Dunes Viewpoint and from Maspalomas Lighthouse. Get routes at gaybeach.bearcarnival.com.
“Tantra” is the name of a deeply relaxing, ancient Indian technique, based on massage and erotic tactile sensations.Tantra teaches us how to enjoy a much richer loving experience in this agitated World with no time for real connections. Tantra therapy also reduces those sexual, self-acceptance and emotional blocks most men suffer, especially gay men and bears in particular.
“The Tantra Sessions” is Bear Carnival-produced programme, which is parallel to the bear week. It is the only tantra men-only festival in the World especifically catered for the bear community .
The Tantra Sessions consist on a pre-carnival 3-day retreat (called “Bear Wellness“) and a series of smaller 3-hour workshops along the bear week focusing on different aspects of acceptance, self-love and male bonding, with different levels of intensity and eroticism.
For more info and bookings on The Tantra Sessions, please visit:
No. We don’t sell flight tickets or rooms. Our airport (code: “LPA”) is a major international hub, and you will find no problem to get here. On the other hand, Maspalomas is Europe’s biggest beach resort, and there are always available rooms to choose from at any online travel agency.
In short: the absolute minimum items to bring would be swimwear, flip flops, suncream, sunglasses… and a light jacket o long sleeve shirt just in case (most of our evening venues are open-air terraces, and some island trips make this advisable too). Only cruising clubs offer lockers.
Anyway, we recommend the read the following checklist according fo your favourite kind of event:
- Pool parties. You must bring a towel, flip-flops, suncream, a big smile and social attitude 🙂 A waterproof pouch bag could be a good idea as lockers are usually not available during bigger events. If you have not booked your ticket, you feel lucky and want to get a ticket at the door, please bring cash. Once you check-in, you only need money for extra drinks and food, as all facilities around the pool are free to use. The only exception are the luxury balinese beds at AxelBeach, which must be reserved. Sunbeds could not ne available but to the very first visitors.
- Boat trips. Just bring a towel, flip-flops or sneakers and suncream. Optionally, a pouch bag and a light sweater or jacket for the late hours of the trip could be useful if you are prone to feel chilly.
- Island tours. Please be punctual at the meeting point (usually around Yumbo Centre) and bring comfortable shoes, and a light sweater or jacket if the tour takes you into the center or the north of the island.
- Spa Evenings. Please bring a 1 euro coin for the lockers. Towels and drinkable water are available for free. However, bringing your own flip-flops is a good idea, especially if you wear an unusual shoe size.
- Cruising clubs: making use of the lockers or coat check room is essential to avoid robberies, which are rare but could happen in Maspalomas and elsewhere. Please never roam a dark room or sex club with valuables. If this is unavoidable for you, fanny packs and ankle wallets are usually the safest options.
Wearing closed sport shoes is mandatory (no flip-flops or sandals)- The Factory, Strong Construction, Basement: there are no dresscodes, but most men go at least shirtless. Please make use of the lockers.
- Reds and Zoo: “underwear, naked or fetish” dresscode at official events. All your belongings will be safely stored in a coat check room. You will be given a wristband with a number, to be shown at the bar when you order your drinks. You will pay for those drinks when you leave.
- Tantra Sessions and Bear Wellness: please read the specific list.
Of course! You can address any concern or any important question not answered here direcly to our coordinator:
Chat with the coordinator (by Telegram app)
Anyway, at least one member of the team will be available at every daytime event and most night time events. We are clearly identified with a lanyard and a big “Staff” red tag.
🎟️ TICKETS
Tickets for the bear week are usually available 4-5 weeks before the event at shop.bearcarnival.com.
However, certain tickets for events outside Maspalomas (such as Bear Wellness) are usually available a little before (6-8 weeks).
Please enter your e-mail here so we can update you when this happens.
After purchasing your ticket, you will receive an e-mail with a QR code. Our doormen will scan that code at the entrance of the event your booked for. Just show it on paper or screen (please set your screen to maximum brightness), and you’re in. If you loose your ticket, we will have a backup list with names and surnames, but your entry will be delayed.
Short anwer
It depends on your personal taste, as there are so many events to choose from! And actually many events are free to enter. However, online booking may be essential for some of the most popular events outside Yumbo Centre (pool parties and all sorts of trips)
Long answer
Unlike some other bear events, there is not one single pass or ticket forcing you to pay for the whole bear week. The programme features nearly 60 events (!), and you have complete freedom to choose which ones do you want to attend.
Many casual parties don’t need any kind of planning, while booking well in advance is required for some signature events. So what to do? Let us explain. Our events can be divided in these categories:
- Free access events: all regular bars and terraces. Say, for example, a costume party at Kiki, a drag show at Sparkles, o the daily “bear trail”.
- Paid access but no booking necessary: cruising clubs. Just pay at the door and you’re in (usually a free drink is included).
- Booking is recommended: pool parties. Yes, you can sometimes get a ticket at the door, but access is never guaranteed. Actually we sold out all pool parties in the last edition.
- Booking is essential: the rest of events outside Yumbo, like boat cruises, spa evenings, island tours, bowling, waterpark, workshops… These signature events sell out every single year weeks before the event.
All official bookable events are available at our online shop. They are also highlighted with the following shopping cart icon on the programme:
If you find our shop is still not available for the upcoming edition, please get to the following links to be notified of the opening by: e-mail, Facebook group, Telegram channel.
All-inclusive tickets for excursions and boat trips mean bus transfer, food and drinks are included on the price. The only exception are long drinks, which are sold at regular bar prices, though a house cocktail is usually offered for free.
Complimentary drinks are given away on those parties marked with a beer mug icon on the programme (namely all pool parties and cruising nights).
This can range from a free beer or soft drink in most pool parties, to long drinks in most night clubs.
- The obvious thing to do is to click on “join waitlist” at the ticket page. You will be instantly notified by e-mail if new tickets are on sale, for example when some some previous bookings are cancelled or the event can be expanded somehow. We frequently schedule alternative events for those on the waitlists (frequently with a discount voucher!) This happens all the time, so please sign up to the waitlists!
- Just pop in (but be patient). Quite frequently, ticket buyers just don’t show up at the door of the party, or at meeting point of a trip. In those cases, some extra seats can be sold on a first come-first served basis. Please undestand that you will probably need to wait till we can assist you, quite a long time in the case of a pool party. Also, please bring exact change just in case and have an alternative plan for the day, as no one can guarantee you will be in.
No. You are a Bear Carnival’s guest too when you choose an official accommodation. You only need to show your room key card at the reception desk of the party, and you are in.
Probably yes, but the conditions vary according to the circumstances.
Force majeure: in case of events that are postponed or cancelled, including official weather alerts stopping you from accessing, or travel restrictions from/to your country, refunds will be gradually processed in the next few days. Partial refunds could be issued in case the event can take place but its schedule is just delayed (within the bear week) or its contents are reduced for unexpected and unavoidable reasons. The amount of this partial refund would be proportional to the difference between the advertised information and the actual event.
Personal reasons: situations such as personal problems, booking mistakes or a change of mind should be covered by an inexpensive travel insurance you can get anywhere. However, we can make an exception in case of sold out events, or events close to be sold out (see availability status). If you request a refund up to 48 hours before such a sought-after event, it will normally be processed with no further conditions. Please send us a message specifying the order number and events to be refunded. Only Bear Carnival can decide on when this applies.
In any of the above cases, a small fee will be deducted from the refund to cover administration cost and Paypal refund charges. This fee will amount for 6,5% or the refunded tickets, with a minimum of 3 € per refunded ticket
👯♂️ AMBIANCE
Yes. 52% of the ticket orders at our online shop are placed by solo travellers, so you get the idea.
How is that? Our bear week is probably the most social bear event in Europe. For the same reason, Bear Carnival is the ideal bear week for a first contact with this kind of event.
How did we get that?
- Not limiting our experience to drinking/clubbing/f*cking/showoff/catwalk events
- Organizing many fun open-air daytime events
- Offering smaller social gatherings where mingling is much easier: from the island tours and spa evenings, to the singles reception or the speed dating party.
If you still feel insecure about coming, please enter our anonymous visitor chat at Telegram and ask bears about the reasons they are coming for. You will see the main one is meeting new friends such as you! Actually, it’s this chat is also good to get some possible contacts in advance, to explore the bear week with.
Our surveys show the most appreciated trait of Bear Carnival (and Gran Canaria in general) is the complete lack of attitude. Trust us, the usual divides of other events do not exist here, and no one feels excluded because of his body or age, for example.
There are so many social events (biggest bear social programme in Europe, actually) that it’s nearly impossible not to fit in and meet new friends.
In one word: community. Bear Carnival is the opposite experience to a circuit party or a commercial Pride. It is not the sterotypical overcrowded, overpriced, bear catwalk you may have in mind. We just imagined the most fun and inclusive holiday possible for visitors to socialize among themselves… and according to our opinion surveys, it seems we achieved that!
None of the parties has a costume dresscode. You would be very welcome with your costume (or uniform, or fetish gear!) at carnival parties, which are marked with the following “mask” icon on the programme.
The suggested theme for Bear Carnival 2024 is “sportsmen”, so any sporty gear will do the trick (especially tight rugby shorts and shirts 😉
There are plenty of choices in the land of Carnival for costumes or just smaller accessories.
- Party Party [directions] Tirajana Avenue (Aloe Apartments, near Cita Centre). Just ask for Bear Carnival discount!
- Bazar Ani [directions] just behind the new Burger King in San Fernando, opposite Playa del Inglés.
- Carolan [directions] in Bellavista shopping centre.
Not as such. Our bear week includes 50+ events, including social events, fun events, relaxing events… and yes, also daily cruising events where meeting likeminded men is probably easier. Those events are clearly identified in red on the programme. But, as a whole, Bear Carnival is an event catering for all possible expectations you may have for a holiday, also including social, relaxing, funny and cultural ones.
Obviously, all cruising parties are also clothing-optional too, and those at Zoo and Reds include an “underwear or naked” dresscode.
All clothing-optional events on the programme are clearly marked with the following icon:
Photos: if you don’t want to appear on any photo, please just wear any lanyard on your neck. We will not take photos of any man wearing a lanyard on his neck, at least not without consulting him first. If someone is accidentally photographed with a lanyard on, the picture will be discarded, or at least he will be digitally obscured before publishing. We will have some free lanyards at the Info-Kiosk and at the reception of the bigger parties, if needed.
Bank statements: tickets sold online will only show “BCARNIVAL” as the vendor. If that’s not discreet enough for you, please get your tickets locally when available.
E-mail: you may receive an e-mail message on upcoming events after you have bought a ticket. If that’s a problem, you can contact us beforehand, o just unsubscribe when you receive such a message.
We too, honestly. Unlike other events in which everyone is expected to be on a single place at the same time, our programme scatters our 3.000+ men attendance into 50-60 different events catering for different needs. There are events with few dozen men (ie, spa, workshops, island tours) , some with maybe 50-100 men (lunches, socials), and also boat trips with 100-200.
Regarding bars, don’t worry about the cramped venues usual to other events. All our bars are open-air terraces with plenty of space inside and especially around. Yumbo Centre has that name for a good reason!
However, in all truthfulness, there are indeed some super-popular events maybe you avoid if you dislike crowds:
- All pool parties (especially Wet & Hairy, with around 1.000 bears)
- All sex clubs (250-450 bears)
- Any Maspalomas Carnival event (not related to us)
No special recommendation is needed apart from using common sense. We don’t have reports from usual pickpocketing during the bear week, but please don’t leave your belongings unattended. Don’t be shy to ask another visitor to have a look at your stuff while swimming; this is a community event and no one is a complete stranger here.
However: please pay attention to your pockets and bags during Maspalomas Carnival biggest street parties, if they overlap our programme (which is unusual). They can attract thousands of people and additional caution is necessary.
All bear weeks in the World fill the historical need for a safe place in which non-stereotypical queer men can interact with each other. So these events usually have a men-only access policy… “men” including any person who identifies himself as a man. This makes sense when a sizable part of bear events are clothing-optional (especially in sunny Gran Canaria!)
However, we are happy to suggest the following official venues in which any person will feel welcome regardless of their gender identity, partly because nudity is not frequent or not allowed in their premises:
- Aqualand
- AxelBeach
- Barack’Afé
- Buddies
- Divinity
- Holiday World
- Kiki
- Mardi Gras
- Na Und
- Sparkles
- Wunderbar
Even then, please also expect a 99% male attendance at the above venues during the bear week.
Smaller social events such as island tours by CanCanaria have a similar treatment. We usually reserve a couple of them for our bears, so please consider them “men-only” too. However, the rest of the bear week tours are open to anyone. Examples usually include Red Canyon, Rainforest, Volcano and VIP Yacht excursions.
NEXT EVENTS
The online shop features an additional set of frequent questions, terms and conditions (you know, the serious stuff you must accept before booking)
Do you still have any doubt? Please contact us