Festival Hopping In Europe: The Electronic Edition

A trip across Europe is always a delight, especially if you can do it through the medium of festivals! Last week we had a look at following guitar gods via our Rock Festivals Edition, now this week it's time to follow the beats and drops of adored DJs and Sound production wizards...

Hideout - Novalja, Croatia: 28 June - 3 July

Fast becoming the electronic capital of Europe and a popular alternative to Ibiza, it would be unacceptable to travel the electronic festivals of this continent without starting in Croatia. With a lineup featuring Duke Dumont, Eats Everything, Gorgon City and Jamie Jones, Hideout is a 6 day beach festival holiday where you will be ultimately spoilt for choice. Taking over Novalja, from the wild boat parties on blue waters, to the intimate beach parties on yellow sands, there is a slight possibility you might not want to leave!

Getting to Hideout: On the first stop of our trip, you will need to land at either Split or Zadar airport, and with our packages you can book direct transfers to and from the airport with a choice of times.

Exit Festival - Novi Sad, Serbia: 9 July - 12 July

From the beaches of Novalja to this majestic Petrovaradin Fortress in Novi Sad, get ready for an insane 4 day experience at EXIT. While all music genres feature at EXIT there are tons of unique stages dedicated to Electronic sounds, with last year's lineup offering tastes such as Disclosure, Rudimental and Skrillex. With the music running from 4pm to 8am, there is a chance to visit Serbia during the day, or nurse your hangover by the banks of River Danube.

Getting to Exit Festival from Croatia: The quickest option at 10hrs would involve a ferry from Novalja to Rijeka, a bus from Rijeka to Zagreb Airport, then once you land at Belgrade you can get a bus from Belgrade to Novi Sad. This would cost between £131-£216. Or the cheapest option at around £36 would take 19 hours and would involve 4 buses on a route that involves the changes: Novalja - Zadar - Banja Luka and then onto Novi Sad.

Melt! Festival - Gräfenhainichen, Germany: 17 - 19 July

Next in our journey we will arrive at a festival set in another unique setting, amongst the old machinery of an ex-coal mine surrounded by a lake is where Melt! festival takes place. Mixing electronic beats with epically large metallic structures around you, all vibes are to be found at Melt! from the never ending "Sleepless Floor", to parties and swimming by the lake. 2015 acts are yet to be confirmed, but 2014 included Portishead, Röyksopp & Robyn, Moderat, Darkside, Fritz Kalkbrenner and Erol Alkan.

Getting to Melt! from Serbia: The quickest option at 6hrs 31 mins would be to get a bus to Belgrade airport, then once you have landed at Berlin Tegel, get a train journey that involves the stop and change journey of Berlin Tegel - Berlin HBF - Lutherstadt Wittenberg - Gräfenhainichen, this journey will cost between £113 - £268. Alternatively the cheapest option at £51 will be a train journey that will involve the following stops and changes: Novi Sad - Praha hl.n - Dresden Hbf - Leipzig Hbf - Gräfenhainichen.

Nature One - Kastellaun, Germany: 31 - 2 August

Having one more love affair with Germany, travel from the metallic sites surrounded by lake vibes of Melt!, to the former NATO missile base on Nature One for an equally explosive time. Providing the whole spectrum of electronica from trance to minimal, there is something for everyone at Nature One. Attracting over 50,000 attendees be sure to check out some of the camping parties as they can get just as wild.

Getting from Melt! Festival to Nature One: The quickest journey of 6hrs 45 min using public transport will cost between £98 -£213 and will involve a train to Leipzig, a flight to Cologne,a train from there to Köln then a bus transfer to Kastellain from Koblenz. Alternatively the cheapest option will cost £58, with a train to Gräfenhainichen, then a bus to Leipzig, a train to Mainz HBF then 2 buses to Kastellaun.

With over 10 days to kill between Melt! and Nature One, we'd recommend perhaps altering your trip to spend some time in Berlin, the metropolitan capital that has an endless wealth of exciting things to see and do.

MEO Sudoeste - Zambujeira Do Mar, Portugal: 5 - 9 August

We've seen festivals in fortresses, events in a metallic museum surrounded by lakes, and parties in former missile bases, so we thought with this trip we would end where we started, a gorgeous beach!

For over 19 years, this EDM, techno and pop spectacular has grown into one of Portugal's biggest festivals, providing sounds from international and national greats, along with an atmosphere that oozes infectious fun. Take a dip in the nearby beach, and party under the sunset with the first phase lineup featuring Calvin Harris, Showtek and Jimmy P.

Getting to Nature One to MEO Sudoeste: Depending on flights, the cheapest option would be to get the bus from Kastellaun to Hahn, fly to Lisbon, get the train to Lisboa Orente and then a bus from Lisboa to Zambujeira Do Mar costing £93. However once again depending on the flight this could potentially cost up to £273, so there are also several bus journeys that will cost between £173 - £186. Several of these journey pass thorough Switzerland or France, so perhaps a stopover in Zurich or Paris might ease the 2 day stretch.



Are you interested in festival hopping this summer? If so, drop us a line at helpdesk@festicket.com and we'll help you design your perfect trip.