There’s no doubt you’ll enjoy your week at Sziget Festival, but there are always those little annoying things you wish you knew about beforehand. This is precisely why we put together this list, so you can pack smarter, and come armed like true veteran.
It’s gunna be HOT: suncream!
Budapest tends to see the temperature soaring to crazy heights in the summer months. It’s often above 30 degrees, and doesn’t go below 20 at night either. This makes it much easier when thinking of the clothes you should pack, but it can also be quite unpleasant if you’re not prepared for the heat. Suncream is essential even in the city, plus, most people don’t wear a top at the festival when it’s so hot.
Think twice where to set up your tent
The placement of your tent is a more strategic decision than you realise. The spot you choose will be your home in good times and bad, in sickness and in health for the week to come. Trying to find a shady spot which is not in immediate proximity to any stages that have morning wake up sessions, and also upwind from the nearest toilets. As the island will be completely full, it is unlikely that you will be able to relocate after a day or two, and people already start rushing in and taking the best spots the minute they open the gates. So overall: good luck, you’ll need it.
Hammock and ear plugs
Tents heat up very quickly and extremely annoyingly as soon as the first rays of sun reach them in the morning. Sweating out all the poison that you consumed the previous night is one way to get back on your feet, but if you aren’t a fan of boiling in the sauna that your tent has become, then listen up.
Years of experience have taught me that the best way to get a good night’s sleep is by bringing a hammock. Just hang it up between two overarching trees, put in a pair of earplugs, and you’re ready for some much needed shuteye. If that doesn’t sound appealing you can grab an eye mask and your sleeping bag to shut yourself away from the outside world.
Smuggling your booze in
You are allowed to bring in food and soft drinks, basically any amount since you are camping at the festival, and limiting you to only what is sold on-site would be too cruel.
This opens up a great and exciting opportunity to test out your smuggling skills, see if you could have made your fortune during the Prohibition 😉 Classics include rolling a bottle up in your sleeping bag or tent and vodka-infused watermelons, but the only real limit is your imagination.
It’s a delicate cat and mouse game: security checks all stuff at the gates, but they also don’t want to hold up the crowds for too long. They often sniff into bottles, and have a trained eye for these tricks. BUT the goal is far from impossible, I smuggled in one bottle of vodka every day to the festival last year, only spending money on beers and drunk snacks. Cheers to that 🍻
Ridiculous clothes (potentially a flag)
It’s truly a challenge to stand out from the crowd at Sziget. When unicorn onesies and bright coloured morph suits are the norm, the temptation kicks in to put in the weirdest, funniest looking stuff to become part of the hype. Make sure you hit the nearest charity shop before coming to Budapest to stock up your wardrobe with pieces you’d never thought you’d EVER EVER put on.
Anything goes, bohemian cross dressing, spider man costumes, rainbow colour hairdos, and of course an infinite amount of piercings and tattoos. Bringing a flag with you is also a potentially good idea, for example if you want to showcase your country above your tents, attracting your compatriots (or basically anyone else).
UK flags will be approached for free English lessons, Russian flag by vodka-seekers, Dutch for khm, well… tulips, must be the tulips. Another use is so that your friends will find you even in the thickest crowds in the middle of the biggest concerts.
Head over to Waffle to chat about Sziget Festival. Meet people before going to the island of freedom, or join the conversation and give YOUR two cents.
