Cashless Bars & Top-Up
We are operating a cashless system at Explorations. It’s safer and easier than using your bank card or cash. It also means less queuing and more dancing.
Your festival wristband will have an RFID chip that can be topped up and used like a prepaid bank card across all festival bars, the market area, the merch stand and selected restaurants. All prices will be in Euros.
You can top up your wristband by creating a cashless account either online before the festival, or at one of our top up stations across the festival site. These stations accept card payments only. When collecting your wristband any pre-loaded credit will be added at this point.
The top up stations will be busiest during the first few days. We advise topping up in advance online as much as you would like, as any leftover is refundable online after the festival.
Please take a photo of the 6 digit code on the back of the RFID chip as this will be required to claim your refund - it is a good idea to have a record of it.
Refunds will open at midday on June 20th at 12:00 BST and the refund system will close on Monday, July 8th at 23:59 BST. Apply for a refund via this LINK.
Please note there are some small fees to cover part of the costs of running the cashless system and the commissions charged by the credit card providers:
Activation fee: 1€
Refund fee: 1€
Need more help?
Please email [email protected] where a member of our cashless team can help you answer any queries. Thanks!
Set up your cashless account
If the below form is not working, you can access the form directly here: LINK
Opening hours
Top up stations will be located across the festival site and will operate from 11am - 5am. The top up locations and opening hours are :
- Empire: Thursday - Monday from 20:00 -05:00
- Splendor: Thursday - Monday from 21:00 - 05:00
- Yacht club: Friday - Monday from 11:30 - 15:30
- Pool Parties: Friday - Monday from 13:00 - 20:30
- Cashless cabin, The Terrace: Wednesday - Tuesday from 11:00 - 04:00
What happens if I lose my wristband?
Your wristband should remain securely fastened to your wrist. There shouldn’t be any reason for you to remove it, until the event has ended. You should treat your wristband as you would cash or your bank card.
From our experience, it’s very very rare for one of the wristbands to break. If you lose it, please make your way to the Info Point where it will be down to the Info Point Manager to make the decision if they are able to replace itreplace. If the request is granted, there will be a 50 euro charge. Please also be aware; we won’t be able to recover any balance but if you have taken a photo of your 6 digit code on the back of the RFID chip you will be able to claim a refund after the festival.
Reusable cups
In order to reduce plastic waste, certain drinks such as spirits require you to buy a reusable cup the first time you order at the bar.
Your first cup will cost 3€. Once you have your reusable cup, you will be able to use this cup for your drinks. You will be able to exchange your reusable cup for a cup token at any of the bars.Next time you need a cup, you will be able to get a fresh one with your token at any festival bars. This will massively help us reduce the amount of plastic used at the event so please hold on to your cup for the night or exchange it for a cup token instead of disposing of it. Cups are not refundable.
Restaurants and bars
There are some great restaurants and bars in Dhërmi and Drymades. Albanian food is the meeting point between Italian, Turkish and Greek cuisines. Above all, pride is taken on the use of fresh and locally sourced ingredients. Expect heavenly Mediterranean dishes, fresh salads, fish, pasta and delicious stone-oven pizzas. Opening times are flexible and it is not rare to see some of them open until midnight.
Empire, Splendor, Gjipe, Grand Boutique, Chilli Peppers, Platinium, Pirate and onsite festival traders will be accepting RFID. All other restaurants accept cash and cards. Cash points are located on the map if required.
Further afield we have Yamato (Drymades), Ulliri & Nazar (Palase) in our list of recommended restaurants. These are not part of the festival so will require cash/cards.