If you like music, and you can't quite bring yourself to fork out your life savings for a ticket to one of the UK festivals, then go to Hungary in August. The Sziget festival is simply brilliant. It's held on a stunning island in the middle of the Danube river just out of the centre of Budapest. They always have a varied programme of music, in 2007 this included the Killers, the Hives, Chemical brothers, Faithless, Nine Inch Nails, Pink and Razorlight to name but a few. They also have great world and dance music, and local Hungarian music. but even better than the lineup is the civilised way in which the festival is organised. You can get to a clean toilet at any time. The food is delicious, cheap, and easily available. Everyone is really friendly. A lot of the island is a beach, so you can walk around in bare feet and really feel like it's a holiday too. Accommodation is easy, either on the island - or do as we did and rent a beautiful and cheap apartment in Budapest itself. It's so easy to get to and from the island. Don't miss it. Get there before anyone else finds out about it!

Óbudai Island, Budapest, August every year. www.sziget.hu

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Open air music and culture festival every August. Cheap and excellent food & drink of all varieties. Popular, traditional, world and leftfield music as well as cabaret, puppets and theatre. Also has frequently cleaned flushable toilets, showers and its a week long. This year you got a week's worth of holiday on the Danube for 70 quid.

www.sziget.hu or Sziget Island North Budapest

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An (allegedly) 5* hotel right next to the Arpad Hid HEV. It has a great spa downstairs, a big buffet restaurant and a lot of elderly guests.
But it is fantastic if you are going to the Sziget festival. Super near to the festival island (one stop on the HEV, 20 minutes walking or 5 minutes if you have a cycle or will pay for a taxi to use the nearby vehicles entrance). You can catch the HEV or a bus into town too. Service is very friendly and it is so nice to detox in the spa all day and then to dance all night.

We got a very good price by booking early on www.booking.com. The website does make it look a bit more tranquil than it is tho'. If you have a front facing room then be aware that not only the HEV but also a major road is between you and the river.

www.corinthiahotels.com/hotel.asp?h=4

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