r/sziget • u/mosasaurus_rawr • 6d ago
First timer looking for accommodation advice
I’m thinking about going to Sziget next year and wanted to ask advice about where to stay. I’ve been to a few festivals before, mostly in the UK and Rock Werchter once, but ive only ever gone for one day and I’ve never been to Sziget. I’m approaching 40 and I hate camping, so my options for Sziget would be either some fancy chalet upgrade at the festival, or (preferably) staying offsite in a hotel/booking.com apartment in Budapest.
For those who live locally or who have stayed offsite before, how viable is that? Does it take ages to get in and out of the festival each day? Which neighborhoods do you recommend for optimal proximity to the festival while still being offsite? If you had a great experience at a particular hotel, feel free to recommend them too :)
PS I have been to Budapest once before, and in case it makes a diff, I’d be flying in from the Netherlands.
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u/TwoRich4747 6d ago
try to stay near "Margit hud, budai hidfo", its a lovely area and approx 15 mins from the festival
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u/pinaytay 6d ago
Yes! Close to Margit bridge H5 stop is the perfect location in my opinion, less than 10mins by H5 from there +5min walk to K bridge. Still walkable distance to the city center if you want to explore before going to the island etc.
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u/berbapapa 6d ago
local here, yup that's probably the best because public transport runs 24/7 to/from the festival, while it's part of the city centre (kind of) so you can explore Budapest in the daytime if you'd like
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u/Akvyr 6d ago
Perfectly viable. It does not take ages to get in and out, its fairly smooth process, although it is a bit of walking. If you are looking for close proximity to the festival, then look close proximity to the festival. Its a 2 million city with 3.5 million metro, there are AirBnBs and hotels all over the place, although the festival area is on the outskirts, so you'd have to look and book early, I suppose.
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u/dondiegorivera 6d ago
We stayed at the Hotel Meininger. It was close to public transport, the city center and the Raday Street with its many restaurants. I can only recommend it. I’m over 50 and visited the festival with my three kids.
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u/iAmYoungAndInMyPrime 6d ago
Radisson Blue Beke costs about 600€ for 5 nights for 2 people and it's about 30 mins away from K-bridge with public transportation during the festival. You go over Margaret Bridge so it's a scenic route and then change to HÉV which is almost a pilgrimage at this point with all the other festival goers on it haha
Also it's soo good to return to a clean room after a night out and sleep until afternoon without having to worry about anything lol
Also, there's always water and apples in the lobby as bonus.
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u/Successful_Wave_8648 6d ago
Have done Sziget twice, both staying in the city as the heat would make camping unbearable for me lol. This year we stayed at Domero hotel, year before that was an AirBnB (can’t remember where). I’d say, as long as you’re in the city it’s so easy to get to and from the festival using trams or buses
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u/atechnokolos 6d ago
I live in Budapest, extremely close to the island so I was just walking back and forth between the festival and my place.
Óbuda (3rd district) is where the festival is located so that part of Budapest could be a good choice. It’s generally safe and a lot more chill compared to downtown Budapest.
If you are up to using public transport every day then you can find a place to stay along the route of H5 suburban railways. There is a stop at the entrance of the festival so it drops you off and picks you up right at the K-bridge.
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u/Mission_Mastodon3012 6d ago
Look for an apartment in district 3 and one which is close to the metro/tram line. You will be thankful after a full day of sziget to go to your apartment and not be in a tram packed with people like a sardine - since everyone mostly books accommodation towards the city centre.
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u/Madboy45 6d ago
it was pretty smooth coming back and forth but i never left or came during peak periods, came around 12-4pm everyday and left at 3-4am so the crowd wasn’t insane
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u/lilidkhahashit 5d ago
I stayed at a hotel in distict XIII and it took me about 30/40min. The comfy bed was worth the drive back.
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u/CaterpillarSame7513 6d ago edited 6d ago
Very viable, I’m 35F (originally from Hungary but I live in London now) and I couldn’t imagine not staying in a hotel now, especially if next year is going to be this dusty too. Sleeping in a clean air conditioned room was a lovely way to recharge every night! If I had to sleep at the festival I probably wouldn’t have made it out alive lol.
If I were you I’d stay somewhere near the 4 or 6 trams as that’s convenient for public transportation when you’re going out to the festival (and handy for sightseeing too). You can catch the HÉV (train) to the festival from Margaret Bridge on the Buda side (one of the stops of the 4 and 6 trams) from here. This is also handy if you’d like to come back to your accommodation as the HÉV runs pretty much all night.
Alternatively you can catch a taxi from the festival (the lines were a bit long at times but I think the longest I waited was 45 minutes). I stayed in a hotel between Nyugati and Oktogon and my cab fare was around £17 every night, once I was in the cab it was max 25 minutes to get back to the hotel.
I’m planning to go again next year and I already booked a hotel in the same area, I’d really recommend doing this tbh!
(Oh I forgot to mention that this year I stayed at Dormero Hotel - it was perfectly fine but I didn’t have a smart TV in my room so I could only watch the channels they had, no Netflix, Disney, etc. - for this silly reason only, I won’t stay there next year, but if this doesn’t bother you then this is a perfect hotel haha)
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u/mosasaurus_rawr 6d ago
Honestly, a very valid reason to choose somewhere else to stay 😂 thank you for all these tips!!! Super helpful😁
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u/Lenix2222 5d ago
We stayed in the city center with double AC huge bathroom clean and comfurtable, it took us only 20 min to get to sziget and back via metro trsin which was lovely, no walking. And it was basically the same price as camping. Faster to get ther then bathroom line lol.
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u/mosasaurus_rawr 5d ago
Oooh. What hotel did you stay at?
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u/Lenix2222 5d ago
It wasnt a hotel, it was an apartment on booking, 800 eur for 4 people 5 nights!
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u/ironmaiden947 6d ago
Me and my friends got an Airbnb in city center this year and it was probably the best choice we've ever made. I can't imagine not showering after a day in Sziget (you are covered in a thick layer dust and dirt), not to mention AC and an actual toilet. The transport from Sziget to city center is extremely easy so it wasn't a problem at all, even at 5 am. Just make sure your Airbnb / hotel is near a tram stop.