Here are some of the questions I get asked most often about Sloppy Vltava, along with the questions I EXPECT to get asked this time round...

1 - How will the cabins work?

There have, in fairness, been issues with cabin allocation in the past - issues mainly caused by me being lazy and not bothering to actually ALLOCATE people into cabins.

But not this time - I already have the list of cabins and how many beds there are in each room in each camp, and 2 months before the event everyone who has registered will be emailed to express preference for roommates. There will be official ROOM CAPTAINS, and these will be the people I will speak to at the camps when I get keys - they can then go and grab their allocated cabin mates and go to the rooms.

This, I'm sure everyone will agree, will be much easier and less stressful than trying to work out who is rooming with who when we're all drunk already!

2 - What about boat allocation? That's also a shitshow sometimes.

Again, this is a thing I'm aware of and am determined to do properly this time!

Most likely we'll have ten four-person rafts and five 2-person canoes.

There will be official BOAT CAPTAINS, who will each be allocated a specific boat that will be their boat for the week. I will allocate the boat captains based on people who have experience on the river - that way we should be able to avoid having a boat full of virgins paddling round in circles!

Said captains will be asked to choose their day one crew in advance, then they can make sure they are taking care of those specific people in the morning, ensuring luggage is taken to the correct place, that everyone has life-vest and paddle, and helping to ensure a smooth launch without lot's of discussion about who is going in which boat with which people!

I will then speak to each boat captain in the evening to ensure they have a crew picked for the next day on the river, and that their chosen crew is aware of who their captain will be!

3 - How will the adventure day work?

I will set a hash trail from the Vyssi Brod camp to the nearby town where there are various things people can do - rope park, bobsled track, renting paddle boards on the lake, and probably some other things besides. You will all then have the freedom to choose your own plan for the day, although there will be an official meeting point and time for us all to head back to Vyssi Brod.

For those not wanting to do trail, there is public transport available going to the same place :-)

4 - Can you please explain how the luggage transfer works so I don't do a Messiah and lost my stuff?

It's very simple - at each camp there is a luggage collection point, which will be staffed by a person wearing a yellow shirt. I will approach him first of all and give him my name and tell him how many people are in the group. He will then write my name on tags and attach them to big white sacks where we should store our bags.

If you don't see my name on a bag, DON'T PUT YOUR STUFF IN THAT BAG! I will also ask the room captains to chaperone their cabin mates each day to ensure that luggage is put in the right place, but if in doubt, ASK SOMEONE BEFORE LEAVING YOUR STUFF!

5 - Do I need a tent?

No tent is required as we'll be staying in cabins. You WILL need a sleeping bag for a couple of the camps, but no other camping type equipment is required.

6 - How much money do I need to bring?

You will need to bring enough cash for the following;

Anything you might consume in Vyssi Brod

Anything you might want to buy/do on the Adventure Day

Beers along the river - some are covered, but not all
Meals along the river - while one lunch and one dinner are covered in Cesky Krumlov, all other meals are pay as you go.

Beer is generally around 2 Euros, perhaps slightly more by July next year. Meals are available in most places for 7-10 Euros. All camps have some sort of restaurant, and there are plenty of places along the river to get food too.

7 - Do I need cash or can I pay with credit card?

There are SOME places that accept cards, and more places are accepting them each year. However, the majority of places we stop DO NOT TAKE CARDS. So you will need to bring cash along.

There is an ATM in Vyssi Brod, and there are some in Cesky Krumlov. In between you are unlikely to find anywhere to get cash if you don't have it with you.

8 - Can I pay in GBP, USD or Euros?

In a word, NO! While some places MIGHT accept payment in Euros, they will give you an awful exchange rate to do so, so it's far better to have Czech Koruna with you. This can be gotten from any ATM you come across, but beware of ATM's owned by a company called EURONET, as they have many different ways in which to rip you off!