I spent a week at Sziget and had a brilliant time, despite the crazy weather the year I was there. We really didn’t know what to expect before I went so I wanted to put together this Sziget survival guide so you can prepare for all events, and know what to expect. 

Genuinely, I was like Simba in the ravine on my first day at Sziget, there were people coming at me from everywhere. I couldn’t quite get my head around the Sziget payment system and I definitely hadn’t had as much to drink as some of the people I saw strewn around the site.

As I got to know the festival and people had obviously got over the excitement of arriving at Sziget, I got in the swing of things. I want to help you avoid that initial WTF? stage and get straight in there to the good vibes and great feelings I ended up getting from the festival.

1. Dress for warm, cold and rain

The temperature suddenly drops in the evening and you’re going to want something warm, no matter what the weather was like in the day. During the week I was at Sziget it rained (torrentially), was scorching hot, freezing cold and at time just ‘nice’. Pretty much like being in England actually.

Make sure you bring some spare clothes – a long sleeved top / tights – to keep you warm at night. Even if you’re not cold at the festival I can guarantee you’ll want it for walking home. 

2. Don’t stress about money

Thanks to the exchange rate into Hungarian Forints the price of things is confusing at Sziget.

My advice would be just to hand your Sziget payment card over and be done with it. If you think too much into all those zeros you will literally blow your own mind. All the drinks are around the same price – cheap.

If you want super cheap go local (beer and unicum), and stick with pizza for the best satiation for your forint.

3. Take trainers or CAT boots

Even when it was raining it was too hot for wellies. I ended up wearing trainers every day, despite taking an array of planned flip flops for a few reasons:

• Too many people in an enclosed space is not good for your toes.
• Some areas were really muddy.
• You’re standing around a lot.
• It was cold at night.
• They’re comfy and protective.

I guess if you’re camping at Sziget Festival you can be a bit more relaxed with your footwear, as you can keep spares at the tent. If you’re staying in the city, like I did, then you’ll only want to bring one pair of shoes to the festival. I’d recommend hiking boots.

4. You can smuggle in booze

Apart from the first day they seemed pretty chill on the door, although they did have a quick glance in my bag to show willing. You can definitely smuggle in a hipflask or two, or try one of my many other ways to smuggle booze into a festival. So long as you didn’t have crates of the stuff they didn’t seem to mind.

5. You can pre drink right up to the gate

The route from the tram to the entrance gate was littered with people knocking back drinks. Although from what I heard and what I suspect, not many Brits were involved. For us, the drink inside was so cheap it wasn’t worth it.

For the Hungarians however, the drinks were four-fold the prices they were used to.

This is just what I was told and to be honest, since I went the whole Brexit bollocks has kicked off so it’s probably all the more expensive now. 

Either way, Sziget Festival alcohol will be cheaper than in England, but obviously it’s even cheaper to pre drink. 

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Where is Sziget Festival? 

Sziget Festival location is:  It is held every August in northern Budapest, Hungary, on Óbudai-sziget (“Old Buda Island”), a leafy 108-hectare (266-acre) island on the Danube.

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6. You don’t have to camp

Yes, camping is fun and you’re definitely deeper in on the festival action, but there’s so much cheap accommodation in Budapest you really don’t have to put yourself through this.

Trust me, I love camping, but I really don’t think I could’ve done the 8 nights at Sziget. With the whole spectrum of weather to deal with, the 415,000 people and the crammed in feral tents… no thanks.

If you do camp though make sure you pick somewhere in the shade with some cool neighbours. The people you meet at Sziget will make or break it!

Or, you could try VIP camping. It’s around 200 euros and you get a swimming pool, easy access to showers and toilets, apparently don’t have to queue for anything and the bar is private. You’ll get a wristband and need it to access the site.

Instead of camping at Sziget Festival, I got an apartment with my friend in Buda. It was £10 each per night and door to door from the festival it was 30-40 minutes. Public transport runs all night during Sziget Festival. 

Some of our friends pitched a tent at the Sziget site, which they said was still 40 minutes from the main stage. The crafty fellas also got a cheapo apartment in town though, so depending on how their night went, they could choose where to sleep.

GENIUS! 

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7. The food is brilliant

You don’t have to worry about taking camping equipment to cook, or anything like that. The food at Sziget was plentiful and cheap, for Brits coming from the pound anyway. It might be nice to have a few cereal bars and dried fruit, but you can easily get into Budapest for cheap supplies. The nearest supermarket would be about 20 minutes on the tram, or there’s one on site too.

I can honestly say that the spread at Sziget Festival was the best I’ve ever seen. There were a range of prices too – you could get a slice of pizza for 500HUF (1.25) and a kebab for the same.

One of the best things I ate during the whole 11 days I spent in Budapest was one of these chicken kebabs from the food of Transylvania stall. There was definitely enough for two there and I did end up sharing with my friends. It also cost a tenner, but just look at all that juicy meat. That’s the kind of protein you need to make it through a festival.

The stalls were dotted around the site and there was also an International Food Village serving up the best cuisine from all over the place. You could get a plate absolutely stacked with paella, or my friend tried one of the Indian dishes complete with naan bread and rice.

You could also get pastas with different toppings, trays of fruit (never seen that at a festival before!), a range of local delights and a sweet crepe to top it all off. Jack Daniels had a whole area at Sziget and were cooking JD-inspired dishes, which sadly I never got to try.

And a bakery! I’ve genuinely always thought that’s what festival food in England lacks, a good old cheapo bakery.

Top tip: don’t try and eat between 6-8pm from the festival stalls, it all gets a bit crazy at feeding time. Tell your stomach it can wait another few hours.

Sziget food and drink prices: cheap!

8. Everyone is really friendly

As I said, at first I was overwhelmed by the people but I soon got to realise it was a really friendly festival. People are here from all over the world – usually with their patriotic flag across their back – and everyone just wants to have fun.

Chat to people, be nice, make friends, don’t get angry with pushing people at the main stage and you’ll have a great old time.

The key to this Sziget festival guide, as in any festival, is just don’t be a dick. We’re all here to have a good time so don’t spoil it for anyone!

9. Don’t just stay at the main stage

Around 75% of my Sziget was spent at the main stage but it was actually when we went about off-piste that we had the most fun. We wanted to see a lot of the headliners, that’s cool, but the main stage was just so, so busy you couldn’t enjoy being in with the crowd.

When we went to the Stonehenge Stage, the Irish Stage or the Village Stage we had a great time dancing around to whatever it was they were playing up there. I’d definitely recommend you get out more.

There are different workshop and dance / theatre / circus performances during the day and night. There are also random pop-up stages around the island as well, probably around 20-30 different types of program venues.

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Tips for Sziget Fetsival

10. Take a look around in the day

This is something I would’ve liked to do more of, and I guess is one of the few benefits of camping. There’s a whole schedule of cool stuff going on in the day time. Unfortunately the earliest I ever managed to make it in was about 4pm for the bands. If I went again I’d definitely try to make the most out of this.

11. Time your visit to the Sky Bar well

The Sziget Sky Bar goes 50m above the ground, giving awesome views to be enjoyed with a cocktail of your choice. If you want to give it a go, you need to time it well. Thankfully for us we just caught the end of the Outkast set, but the people behind us would’ve gone up there to see, nothing.

Top Sziget Festival tip for you: make sure there’s going to be something to watch when you’re up there! 

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12. Buy the Sziget-Budapest Citypass

With all the tram travel I did, and the Budapest activities during and after the festival I definitely would’ve saved money by getting this. You can buy the pass for 2 or 13 days and it covers all transport, discounted spa and beach entrance, free shuttles passes, free boat passes and other discounts throughout Budapest too. The Sziget-Budapest Citypass starts from 19 euros.

13. Learn some Hungarian

Just knowing a few words seemed to work wonders with the bar staff. They’ve got a tough job behind the bar trying to work out what all the different nationalities want from them. Showing some sort of effort to communicate in their language was appreciated, or at least the probable mispronunciation made them smile.

• Two beers – két sört
• Two wines – két bor
• Please – kérem
• Thank you –  köszönöm
• Cheers – Egészségedre!
• Goodbye – búcsú

1. Get sporty

Burn off the beer calories by heading to the Summer Beach Sports venue where you can shake your tush at zumba, downward dog at yoga, whoop your friend at table tennis or slam dunk in a volleyball match. A quick game or exercise sesh and you’ll be refreshed and ready to return to the top musical acts.

2. Join the circus

Circus group, Cirque du Sziget, are a regular act at the festival wowing Szitezens with their crazy tricks and acrobatics. Lucky onlookers are sometimes invited to take part in the Hungarian group’s act and even when the curtain falls, you’ll still spot fire acrobats hotting things up around the festival grounds.

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3. Test your ability

Ultra inclusive and encouraging people to experience what it’s like to live with a disability, Sziget’s Ability Park offers activities like blindfold walking and wheelchair basketball. Although addressing a serious topic, the park is still all about having fun and and is a great way to break up the day. Go on, check it out and learn something about yourself. 

4. Listen up at the LGBT Center

Again, all about the inclusivity and spreading the love, Sziget has an LGBT Centre. This is where talks, debates and acts are performed by people from the community and as well as helping ensure that every festival goer feels the freedom to be themselves — totally on board with that — there’s lots to be learned as well.

5. Check out the art installations

Taking a leaf out of Burning Man’s book, Sziget hosts cool and quirky interactive art across the Island of Freedom. You can climb in works like the Tarot Labyrinth, where the route you take is determined by the fate of the tarot, and the Luminarium, where futuristic vibes and psychedelic designs make a relaxing inflatable chill out zone.

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READ MORE: Survival Tips for Your First Time at Sziget Festival

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6. Do good on the NGO Island

Injecting a bit of goodwill into the Budapest fest and channeling more of those peace and love vibes, the organisers invite different NGOs each year to set up and run some activities on the NGO Island. All of these will either promote peace, a green planet or human rights – another chance to learn about the world!

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7. Don’t shy away from the shops

And here you were thinking you’d completed your festival shopping weeks ago. Turns out Sziget and its WAMP Design Market have other plans. Full of crafty items, eco friendly goods and unusual design pieces, you’ll want to save some of the beer money for a festival splurge. Go glitter, go sequins and go sparkles – it’s totally what festivals are for. You can pick up some great Budapest souvenirs!

8. Watch The Living Statue Championship

Between the 10th and 14th August from 4pm to 8pm, ten living statues showcase their stillness skills. You can check out the crazy designs and judge for yourself just how statue-like they really are. I’m not suggesting you spend long here by the way (doesn’t sound like the most fun in the world) but could be fun to look at?!

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9. Set sail

This island party doesn’t have to stay on the sands. Expand your horizons and board the daily 10am boat party for just €24. A city tour with a twist, it’s a great way to tick off seeing top Budapest attractions like the Parliament Building and Fisherman’s Bastion all to a great soundtrack.

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10. Get in some beach time

After ticking all of this off the list, it’s time for a rest. Exactly what Sziget Beach is there for. With beautiful views of the city, plenty of cushions and the option to take a quick dip, Sziget Beach will help you regain some of that festival energy. And you can even get a massage for your aching bones.

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