Making the most of festival travel

Throughout many years of travel—from vagabonding with a backpack for months at a time to two-week vacations from a full-time job—I have found that creating an itinerary based upon visiting festivals around the world has resulted in the most memorable experiences. I have been able to see and meet jazz musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie in Nice, France while actively participating as a stagehand; feast with drunken police in local festivals while cutting up with the local petty criminals they might normally arrest; or just hang out with native artists while sharing bottles of wine or grappa as thousands celebrate in the streets.

Basically I see at least four types of Festival Travel:

1. Festivals such as the Jazz Festival in Montreux, Switzerland or the Jazz Festival of Nice, France, where great musicians congregate from abroad before an adoring audience in beautiful surroundings, or the great film festivals in locations such as Cork, Ireland or Ouagadougou, Burkino Faso
2. Country-specific festivals such as the Theater Festival of Avignon where largely French but some great international troupes put on their best show—both in the scores of impromptu theaters and on the packed streets.
3. Country-wide festivals such as those which honor the grape harvests across Greece and take place each September.
4. Local, highly-ritualized festivals where you are privileged as a guest to participate in the sacred space and time of the local community. See Jim Kane’s description and insights into this form of meaningful and memorable immersion travel in Living Festivals Abroad: Getting Into the Local Spirit.

TransitionsAbroad.com has compiled some background articles on festivals abroad and links to some excellent websites, such as 2camels.com, where databases of worldwide festivals allow searches by country, type, or month.

Follow these basic guidelines when traveling to a single festival or creating a longer-term itinerary guided by festivals in various locations:

• Plan ahead: Many of these festivals require advanced lodging – whether at local hostels or via short-term apartment rentals which are a fraction of the cost of hotels. Research the festival(s) via the Web or through guidebooks in order to know what to expect, how important knowledge of the native language is in order for you to be comfortable, and to offer proper respect for those holding the festival.

• Arrive before the festival starts: Allow yourself time to take in the local atmosphere and feel the incredible rush as the events move into full swing.

• Respect the local customs: If you plan to take photographs, videos, make sketches, or play music, be sure to respect the rights and mores of the natives.

• Try not to get so inebriated that you cannot recall the experience and risk offending those holding what is a very sacred or special moment for the natives. Perhaps the Oktoberfest in Munich might be an exception to that rule…

Above all, don’t miss a chance to celebrate life, experience the arts and rituals of other cultures and develop new perspectives—all the while quite possibly making new friends in the process.