Planning for Summer
If you have always wanted to visit the Edinburgh Festivals but have never managed before, or if you have been every year and are already dreaming of next summer, now is the time to plan for your summer festivals break.
Although tickets can frequently be nabbed until minutes before many of the shows (depending on what you want to go and see), a little bit of forward planning never hurts. If you are thinking of your trip to Edinburgh in 2012, here are some elements to consider:
What festivals do you want to go and see?
There are 7 festivals that run throughout the Edinburgh summer season. Kicking off with the Edinburgh International Film Festival and finishing off with the Edinburgh Mela and the International Festival fireworks, when you choose to visit will provide you with a vastly different experience. Dates for the 2012 festival season are as follows:
Festivals in the Summer:
Edinburgh International Film Festival- 20 Jun- 1 July 2012
Edinburgh Festival Fringe- 3rd – 27th August 2012
Edinburgh International Festival- 9th Aug – 2nd Sept 2012
Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival- 20th July – 29th July 2012
Edinburgh International Book Festival- 11th – 27th Aug 2012
The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo- 3rd – 25th Aug 2012
Edinburgh Mela Festival- 31st Aug – 2nd Sept 2012
Edinburgh Art Festival- 2nd Aug – 2nd Sept 2012
Most of the festival tickets go on sale roughly 6-8 weeks before the start of the festivals, so sorting out accommodation and travel before booking tickets is best for most, with the exception of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Tattoo. The Tattoo will begin selling tickets on the 1st December 2011 and the tickets for the Edinburgh International Festival will be on sale in March.
How do you want to get to Edinburgh?
Many airline partners have already released their 2011 flight selection. See specific flight providers for details, or why not use an aggregator site like www.skyscanner.net to find the best deals to Edinburgh. For those travelling from the UK, the train is the greenest way to go. Why not look at National Rail or Thetrainline for pricing.
Where do you want to stay?
Edinburgh has a great range of accommodation, from 1 to 5 stars, as well as hostels, bed and breakfast and guest house accommodation. Although there are good specials ahead of the main summer festival season, the rule of thumb in Edinburgh is that the later you book the more you are likely to pay more for traditional accommodation. Early booking will ensure you a range of accommodation. However, there are also non-traditional accommodation sites such as Couchsurfing and Spare room which offer homestays at affordable prices. Other good sites to look at are: Gumtree, visitscotland.com, Laterooms,and Hotelscombined. Scotland is also very compact with good transport routes, and Glasgow, Scotland’s biggest city, and Perth, the ancient capital of Scotland are only 45 minutes by train, and the accommodation is frequently cheaper than in Edinburgh city.
Edinburgh Festivals also recommends a range of packages including accommodation and the Edinburgh Festivals Passport, which includes 3 tickets to the summer festivals in a day. Learn more about them here.
Festival programmes
In general programmes for the summer festivals are released roughly 6-8 weeks before the festival period starts, so it is sometimes necessary to take a leap of faith and decide to come to the summer festivals before you are really sure what to see. The exception to this is the Edinburgh International Festival, who announce their programme in March, ahead of the festival in August. However, a leap of faith can frequently be rewarded, and with more than 2000 shows and exhibitions across the month of August, there is definitely something for everyone. Keep an eye on the individual festival pages to know when the programmes will be released.
Do you want to see a bit of the rest of Scotland?
Edinburgh is an excellent base from which to explore the rest of Scotland, including the mysterious Highlands and Islands regions that have captured the imagination of so many around the world, with soaring mountains, deep lochs and majestic castles. Hiring cars or going on coach tours is easy and affordable. Why not visit sites like Rabbies Trailburners and Highland Explorer Tours for more details. visitscotland.com also has a great guide to what to see and do around all regions of Scotland.
