Cost Saving Travel Options for Festival-goers in 2023.

In most countries the economic pressure on inflation and rising prices has been brutal over the last 12 months. Prices for just about everything have risen and especially transport costs which is a concern for festival-goers who are already facing more expensive festival ticket prices. What is the easiest and cheapest way to get a festival this year.

When festival-goers select their favourite music festival to attend they invariably will have to make arrangement to travel to the festival site. There are numerous options available for budding travellers attending festivals in the UK and each has a significant cost attached but there are a variety of ways that potential travel expenses can be minimised. 

Festival Travel Deals. 
Most festival organisers include travel deals with options from major conurbations direct to the festival site. Organisers will usually pre-book a large number of coaches that provide a variety of timetables to cover all days and times over the festival dates. By bulk booking the costs can be reduced and most represent good deals and savings against booking directly with an operator. In addition to providing coach travel most festival organisers provide shuttle service buses from local train stations direct to and from festival sites. The number of transport deals available from each festival organiser can be limited and they do get sold out quickly.

Public Transport. 
Public transport in the UK is limited to train and bus travel but there are numerous options available from different operators and online booking platforms. With careful selection and planning good deals can be obtained by travelling off peak and booking early. Additional savings can be obtained if travellers also have access railcards which are available for the 16-25 or 26–30-year-olds. An example cost for weekend travel to Creamfields Norh from London by a private coach an operator quotes a return fare of £91, alternatively the same dates using the Trainline booking platform gives a more reasonable £33 return. If considering trains, the return fares can be obtained for about £100.

Private Transport.
Using a car can be very cost effective if there are 4 or more people travelling, the same trip from London to Creamfields North would cost £96 in petrol (£24 each) but there will be a charge for parking onsite which varies from festival to festival but could add another £50 for the weekend making a total or £146 (£36 each). There are numerous online platforms around that can help people connect to ensure that a car is full, reducing the costs for each festival-goer.

Carbon Footprint. 
All transport incurs a carbon footprint but varies hugely depending on what is chosen. Train travel has the lowest impact with cars having the highest carbon footprint, however, this can depend on the number of festival-goers that can get crammed into a private car. Festival organisers do their best to encourage travel by public transport as it helps reduce their overall impact on the carbon footprint for the entire event. Festival-goers can also make a personal choice to reduce their own carbon footprint when choosing how to travel.

Although Train travel over long distances is generally the fasted way to get to a festival it is also the most expensive and does rely on shuttle buses from stations to a site. Many festival-goers still prefer using private cars as they are convenient being able to travel door to door with a cost that is comparable to the cheapest bus fares.

For festival organisers planning their events using a software management platform like Festival Pro gives them all the functionality they need manage every aspect of their event logistics. The guys who are responsible for this software have been in the front line of event management for many years and the features are built from that experience and are performance artists themselves. The Festival Pro platform is easy to use and has comprehensive features with specific modules for managing artists, contractors, venues/stages, vendors, volunteers, sponsors, guestlists, ticketing, cashless payments and contactless ordering.

Photo by Ott Maidre via Pexels

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