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GUIDES & FIELD NOTES

First-timer guides to the world's great festivals with real costs from five major cities, plus the practical field notes: how to budget a trip, what to pack for the ground, when to buy tickets and how to survive the climate.

Field notes

The practical stuff: how to budget a trip, what to pack for the ground, when to buy tickets, and how to survive the climate.

The Real Cost of a Festival Trip (And Where It Hides)

May 2026·6 min read

A festival ticket is rarely the big number. Flights, surge-priced beds and on-the-ground spend quietly do the damage. Here is how to see the whole bill before you book.

Festival guides

First-timer guides to the world's great festivals, each with real costs from London, New York, Dubai, Singapore and Sydney.

The Oktoberfest fairground in Munich lit up at night, with the looping roller coaster glowing against the dark sky

First-Timer GuideOktoberfest2026-06-03 · 7 min read

Costumed performers in red and gold Inca dress during the Inti Raymi ceremony on the esplanade below the stone walls of Sacsayhuaman in Cusco

First-Timer GuideInti Raymi2026-06-03 · 7 min read

A dense crowd dressed in white with red neckerchiefs fills a Pamplona street during the San Fermin festival

First-Timer GuideSan Fermin2026-06-03 · 8 min read

The vast, ornate Tomorrowland mainstage lit up at dusk above a huge crowd in the De Schorre park at Boom, Belgium

First-Timer GuideTomorrowland2026-06-03 · 8 min read

A crowd watching a stage set among forested green mountains at the Fuji Rock Festival in Naeba, Japan

First-Timer GuideFuji Rock2026-06-03 · 7 min read

A huge crowd in Grant Park with the Chicago downtown skyline rising behind the Lollapalooza main stage

First-Timer GuideLollapalooza2026-06-03 · 7 min read

A large crowd on Obuda Island at the Sziget Festival in Budapest, hands in the air in front of the main stage

First-Timer GuideSziget2026-06-03 · 7 min read

Crowds and street performers along the Royal Mile during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, with the old town buildings behind

First-Timer GuideEdinburgh Fringe2026-06-03 · 8 min read

A crowd covered in red tomato pulp packed into a narrow street during La Tomatina in Bunol, Spain

First-Timer GuideLa Tomatina2026-06-03 · 6 min read

A large festival crowd watching the main stage at Reading Festival under a summer evening sky

First-Timer GuideReading and Leeds2026-06-03 · 7 min read

Art cars and cyclists crossing the dusty open playa of Black Rock City at Burning Man, with the desert mountains beyond

First-Timer GuideBurning Man2026-06-03 · 9 min read

A dancer in a vivid feathered costume leads the parade through a packed west London street at Notting Hill Carnival

First-Timer GuideNotting Hill Carnival2026-06-03 · 7 min read

A vast night crowd in front of the brightly lit World Stage at Rock in Rio in the Olympic Park, Rio de Janeiro

First-Timer GuideRock in Rio2026-06-03 · 8 min read

A giant decorated sugar skull float topped with paper marigolds reading Celebrando la Eternidad, above a crowd at a Dia de Muertos parade in Mexico

First-Timer GuideDia de Muertos2026-06-03 · 8 min read

A long-exposure firework bursting in golden streaks against the black night sky during Diwali in Gurgaon, India

First-Timer GuideDiwali2026-06-03 · 8 min read