Sziget Festival, Hungary

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

vernon

Harder than Ronnie Pickering
Location
Meanwood, Leeds
Anyone got any knowledge, direct or indirect, of the Sziget Festival in Budapest? I will be cycling to Budapest from the Black Sea this summer and I'm wondering if it's worth upping the pace to get a week's worth of festival under my belt or to make do with a couple of day's worth.
 

sazzaa

Guest
Yeah I went last year, what do you need to know?
 
OP
OP
vernon

vernon

Harder than Ronnie Pickering
Location
Meanwood, Leeds
Does it:
Really offer activities as diverse as it claims e.g. folk, jazz, blues and performance art?
Have a great atmosphere?
Have half decent toilets? Decent ones would be a bonus.
Have decent catering?
Merit seven day's attendance?
 

sazzaa

Guest
I wouldn't say you need to do 7 days, the non-camping tickets are 5 days anyway. There are a huge range of acts on the stages (I'm sure there was a dedicated jazz stage and a Hungarian music stage), a beach, a whole section for sports, food stalls everywhere (the food is the best I've had at a festival, really amazing), there's a kind of chill out section where they do massages, palm reading, art etc... a ruin pub quarter (if you know Budapest you'll know the ruin pubs are pretty cool), and the usual stalls and bars you find at most festivals... so there's plenty choice. Toilets weren't too bad, always had toilet roll and were usually queue-free. Atmosphere was pretty good, Hungarian people are excellent banter and super friendly, and apart from them there's a lot of Dutch people there. But it's a very international place, you'll see flags from everywhere. The only downside is that it's on an island which is fairly inaccessible, we ended up getting taxis to and fro every day. They have one taxi company which is recommended and you need to use them otherwise you'll get massively ripped off. If you do that it's pretty cheap (around 3k forints to the centre of town).
 
OP
OP
vernon

vernon

Harder than Ronnie Pickering
Location
Meanwood, Leeds
I wouldn't say you need to do 7 days, the non-camping tickets are 5 days anyway. There are a huge range of acts on the stages (I'm sure there was a dedicated jazz stage and a Hungarian music stage), a beach, a whole section for sports, food stalls everywhere (the food is the best I've had at a festival, really amazing), there's a kind of chill out section where they do massages, palm reading, art etc... a ruin pub quarter (if you know Budapest you'll know the ruin pubs are pretty cool), and the usual stalls and bars you find at most festivals... so there's plenty choice. Toilets weren't too bad, always had toilet roll and were usually queue-free. Atmosphere was pretty good, Hungarian people are excellent banter and super friendly, and apart from them there's a lot of Dutch people there. But it's a very international place, you'll see flags from everywhere. The only downside is that it's on an island which is fairly inaccessible, we ended up getting taxis to and fro every day. They have one taxi company which is recommended and you need to use them otherwise you'll get massively ripped off. If you do that it's pretty cheap (around 3k forints to the centre of town).

That's encouraging. I like Budapest having spent three or four days there a couple of years ago. My cycling buddy and I found the Hungarians to be very hospitable and the food and ale to be cheap along the Danube. The Dutch keep trying to claim me as one of their own from one of their former colonies - it amuses me. As for transport - I'll have my bike - I wonder if there's secure cycle parking.
 

sazzaa

Guest
I do remember seeing the odd cyclist on the island, no idea where they parked up though.

Is Budapest your final destination? Lake Balaton is pretty stunning and Bratislava was a really nice wee town... ahhhh I'm quite jealous now!
 
OP
OP
vernon

vernon

Harder than Ronnie Pickering
Location
Meanwood, Leeds
I'm flying out to Budapest in July, catching trains to Constanta on the Black Sea in Rumania and pedalling back to Budapest to complete the Eurovelo six route that I started four years ago. Bratislava was fine but a bit rough around the edges. Budapest was eye opening - such diversity in cultural offerings plus the thermal baths. I could be in Budapest for as few as two days or as many as eight or nine. The only fixed things in my itinerary are my flights to and from budapest from Leeds.
 

sazzaa

Guest
Did you go any further west at all? I went to Vienna (not the friendliest of cities but very majestic), drove through Slovenia which I found absolutely stunning (stopped at Lake Bled - magical place), then went to Zagreb (beautiful old town, rough as f*ck everything else) before heading back to Budapest. If you're interested in the grand prix theirs is at the end of July.
 
OP
OP
vernon

vernon

Harder than Ronnie Pickering
Location
Meanwood, Leeds
Did you go any further west at all? I went to Vienna (not the friendliest of cities but very majestic), drove through Slovenia which I found absolutely stunning (stopped at Lake Bled - magical place), then went to Zagreb (beautiful old town, rough as f*ck everything else) before heading back to Budapest. If you're interested in the grand prix theirs is at the end of July.

I've cycled the full route from the Atlantict St Nazaire to Budapest through France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary. I too found the Viennese rather distant and welcomed the approaching border with Slovakia. F1 doesn't appeal. I make do with the 24 hour motor cycle race in Le Mans.
 
Last edited:
Top Bottom