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Decent-but-disposable camping gear
Let’s face it – the Sziget Festival is a camping-gear graveyard. While Óbuda Island’s many forested expanses provide plenty of places to set up comfortable campsites (alongside countless spots that are terrible for a week of temporary shelter – see our 10 tips to get the best Sziget Festival campsite for more info), it would be foolhardy to bring high-quality camping gear to Sziget; most tents, air mattresses, and sleeping bags get completely trashed by the time the last concert concludes. So, the best solution is to bring camping gear that is good enough to withstand a few days of outdoor living, but which you won’t be heartbroken about leaving behind at the end of your stay – either really cheap new gear or good-but-worn-out equipment works well. Among these items, make sure to bring:
- A tent that can withstand heavy downpours – Hungary’s summer rains sometimes come in the form of heavy storms
- A compass – this is crucial for picking a campsite with some sort of shade-providing object to the east to block the morning sun
- A medium-weight sleeping bag and a light blanket – nighttime can get cold here, even in August, but after sunrise it heats up quickly
- Some sort of mattress – a roll-up mat is durable, but not too cozy; we prefer inflatable pool floats, which cost little and are quite comfy
- A flashlight – many festivalgoers use their phone for this, but recharging points are scarce at the festival, so a flashlight saves phone-battery power
- Earplugs – if you want to get at least one decent block of sleep at Sziget, these will be a huge help
- OPTIONAL: a pillow – your bundle of clean clothes can suffice for this purpose, although clean clothes will run out as the week goes on, and sleeping with your face in a pile of dirty duds is no fun
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Personal items
Sure, you can buy everything that you need for daily hygiene and survival here in Budapest, but do you really want to bother with tracking down toiletries all over the Magyar metropolis when you could be chilling out or rocking out at Sziget instead? We thought not – so, before you head to Hungary, make sure to stock up on these everyday items that become treasured commodities at the festival:
- Toothbrush and toothpaste – your mouth (and any potential romantic partners) will appreciate it
- Sunscreen – attention gingers: the Hungarian sun can be brutally bright during August, especially in front of the Main Stage
- Over-the-counter medicines – in Hungary, you must visit actual pharmacies to get a lot of everyday remedies, like aspirin or eye drops
- Wet wipes and deodorant – shower facilities are located around the Sziget festival, but lines are usually long; these items keep BO to a minimum
- Vitamins – if you plan to survive on pizza slices for the whole week, you’ll need these supplements to power your partying without getting sick
- Basic first aid – you’ll be very lucky if you don’t end up needing plasters and antibacterial ointment at some point during Sziget…
- Toilet paper – ’nuff said
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Clothing
If you are the type of festivalgoer who wears an outlandish outfit comprised of myriad Halloween-costume cast-offs, you might presume that this will be the only clothing that you need – but sudden storms and chilly nights are quite common during Sziget, so your week’s wardrobe should definitely include more than bunny ears, angel wings, and a tutu.
- Festival shoes – while flip-flops are all you need most of the time, a pair of solid-but-expendable closed-toe shoes are crucial for both nighttime warmth and to prevent your toes from being stomped
- Rain gear – it’s almost certain that rain will fall on Sziget at some point during the festival, so at the very least, bring a durable plastic poncho
- Sweatshirt – if you bring one tried-and-true comfy hoodie, this will soon become a treasured item
- Jeans – most of the time you’ll be fine wearing shorts, but don’t forget a solid pair of denim pants
- A very distinctive shirt – if you are planning to meet friends, or reconnect with new acquaintances, this will help you stand out in the crowd
- A swimsuit – even if you don’t dive into the Danube, this is an extremely versatile and useful garment to have
- Hats for daytime and nighttime – something to protect your scalp from the sun, and something snug for cold nights
- Extra underwear – ’nuff said
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Miscellaneous items
Every Sziget szitizen has their own special list of items that are necessary for surviving their week on the island, so it’s impossible for us to include everything that you might need here in this article, as much for practical reasons as for legal reasons. However, the following miscellaneous essentials will almost certainly be useful for you, or they can at least save you a little time to enjoy the festival while other party people wait on long lines to get them.
- Hungarian cash – while there are bank machines and currency-exchange offices scattered around Sziget, the lines to use them are usually long, and the fees that they charge are high
- Portable battery for your mobile phone – if you have one of these, bring it; you probably will end up using your phone frequently to connect with fellow festivalgoers, and while public recharging stations can be found at Sziget, they are almost always packed. By the way, make life easier for yourself and leave your laptop and tablet at home
- Smoking supplies – if you are a tobacco smoker, it’s wise to bring cigarettes with you, as the few tobacconists operating at Sziget are always crowded; if you smoke something else, bring plenty of rolling papers, as these are a precious commodity at Sziget
- Sunglasses – make sure to bring at least one pair that actually blocks sunlight, because many “party” sunglasses are useless against UV rays… but Sziget is not the place to bring expensive designer shades
- Personal accessories – be it a flag from your native nation, a string of battery-powered Christmas lights, or body paints, Sziget gives everyone a chance to show their true colors – let them shine!
Megjelent első bookazine-unk, ne maradj le róla!
Már 15 éve lélegzünk összhangban a fővárossal. Jubileumi kiadványunkban mindent megtalálsz, ami magazinunk és eddigi munkánk esszenciája. Gasztronómia, kultúra, városi legendák és Budapest arcai, interjúk, történetek és a legjobb helyek – úgy, ahogyan mi látjuk a fővárost.
Rendeld meg itt vagy keresd a nagyobb könyvesboltokban!
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