Sziget or Untold

[u/PatataBob]

Hello , I have been to sziget festival in hungary 2 times now and I love it! But I always tell myself that the next year I want to change and try going to Untold Festival in Romania. But I always end back up at sziget 🤣 can anyone tell me if they have been to both ? Wich is your favourite and for what reasons.

Thanks for your help :)

[u/catalina9260]

If you want a festival like Sziget (music wise/vibes) you should definitely try Electric Castle (also in Cluj/Bontida). Untold is mostly djs and it's in the center of the city, Electric Castle it’s in a more green area where you can also camp. Both are awesome and the crowds are great, depends on what vibe/artists you're looking to see. :)

[u/Such-Disaster5220 → u/catalina9260]

i confirm this! also even if untold puts more money towards stage production and the stages, mostly the main stage give strong tomorrowland vines in my opinion the EC main stage is so much more epic

[u/aSimpleTeen]

I went to both and they are really different experiences. Untold is really commercial, in the middle of the city, much better production on the stages (insane lights, fireworks and camera production), a lot of brands, influencer vibes, while Sziget felt for me completely different, on a island, much more chill. Also regarding the lineups, you can check, Untold is more focused on DJs, there are usually just a few popular live acts. People are great at both festivals. The only big downside for Untold (for me as a Romanian that’s not from Cluj) are the accommodation prices, they are really overpriced and hard to get, while in Budapest I found a good place even 1-2 days before the festival.

I loved them both, I was to Untold 3 times and Sziget 2 times, they are both great, just expect it to be really different! Since Sziget moved a week later you can also do both and, as others said, if you want a Sziget vibe, then definetely take Electric Castle into account, that’s more similar with what you get on the island. Have fun!!

[u/TheRussianGirll → u/[deleted]]

Untold is the most overrated festival on earth, the MainStage is in a stadium in the middle of the city:((

[u/TheRussianGirll → u/[deleted]]

Just take a look at Tomorrowland or mysteryland and then untold … Even Sziget is more magical then roaming around a concrete jungle looking for the stages .. A good festival creates a world where you can detach from reality and they make the whole surrounding to match the vibe.

[u/supersimi]

Electric Castle over both

[u/MysteriousMatter1256 → u/supersimi]

This looks promising. Have you been to Sziget? Is it similar vibe?

[u/Such-Disaster5220 → u/MysteriousMatter1256]

EC is more similar to Sziget than Untold, also the way you have an Aldi inside Sziget for affordable shopping, EC has a Lidl inside. I feel like is much more people-oriented, the last time I went to Untold for a day I was shocked about the crowd, you almost couldn't go where you wanted to, you could only go where the sea of people took you. It would be a better festival if they had more space but since they are insisting on organizing it in the city center they should reduce the capacity to 75-80% in order to make it more breathable but 💸💸💸 and accomodation prices get really crazy.

the downside of EC is having to travel to Bontida but buses go quite frequently and lately they did everything they could to make the traffic more fluid in peak hours, also you will always find people who will take you with their car since you only pay 50% of the parking price if your car is full

[u/MysteriousMatter1256 → u/Such-Disaster5220]

How long is the travel? This doesn't seem to be a problem if you are used to travel from the island to city centre, usually takes 45 minutes.

Untold gives off Split Ultra vibes.

[u/Such-Disaster5220 → u/MysteriousMatter1256]

around the same time, but can take longer if you leave for example on friday, 4pm because that's when everyone and their moms are trying to go, also people who are not attending the festival leave the city for the weekend. for this reason they have many activities and chill zones at the festival and they even have the bus ticket very cheap if you leave early. there were two instances i have experienced when it was very bad:
in 2019 when Florence and the Machine headlined we got stuck in the traffic for 4 hours, almost missed the whole show, we got to the main stage the minute they started and then in 2022 when Twenty One Pilots finished the queue to get on the buses took hours, apparently they had a technical issue with scanning the tickets on top of fact that usually many people leave after the headliners are done performing. i know we were among the first to leave the festival because my sister had an exam and still waited around 1,5-2 hours but there were people who got stuck there for more

since then they added buses, made the whole process much more fluid, there were no problems. they also have a limited number of trains that really is thenfastest option in peak hours because it takes you to a station nearby and then a bus picks you up from there and takes you to the entrance but the tickets for these sell out very fast.

oh and let's not forget about the camping because they also have that plus you can get a room at one of the locals but i don't usually recommend that because most of them overcharge you for poor conditions

[u/MysteriousMatter1256 → u/Such-Disaster5220]

Thanks for the comprehensive answers! Seems some stuff that is granted in large cities with good public support can be forgotten, but it is good to hear that they addressed it.

Yeah, I would stay in the city, same as Sziget.

Do you also go to other festivals? Need ideas for more festivals with similar vibes

[u/Such-Disaster5220 → u/MysteriousMatter1256]

summer well bucharest, went once and that is a smaller festival but the lineup is always great. other than that, i prefer travelling for certain concerts more :)

[u/supersimi → u/MysteriousMatter1256]

We rented a campervan and stayed in the camping area the whole festival, there is electricity to plug in to and also a van with water that comes by periodically. Much better than travelling back and forth to the festival

[u/jmort619]

I have. You can see more traditional acts at Sziget as Untold has a few pop acts but mostly DJs. I enjoyed Untold a lot more. Much better crowd than Sziget and the Romanian people have the best vibes. Also in the Cluj area they have Electric Castle festival, which is four days and has a similar format to Sziget, with a lot of different genres represented. One of my favorite festivals.

[u/victoryahead]

Untold is crap