How to Make the Most of Your First Edinburgh Fringe Festival

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Planning your first ever journey to Edinburgh Fringe Festival? I’ve acquired you lined! Before I went, I had no thought what to anticipate and if it hadn’t been for a bit of assist from the organisers, I might by no means have seen half as a lot as I did.

There’s simply a lot on that it may well all really feel a bit of overwhelming – so I’ve put collectively a weblog publish all about profit from the Edinburgh Fringe. Enjoy!

My journey to Edinburgh was supported by Edinburgh Festival City. As all the time, all phrases and opinions are my very own.

First picture credit score – Marketing Edinburgh

When is Edinburgh Fringe?

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (official title) occurs yearly in August and runs alongside the Edinburgh International Festival. In 2023, the Edinburgh Fringe will run from the 4th to the twenty eighth August.

Fun reality: it’s known as the Festival Fringe as a result of it was arrange as a substitute for the International Festival and it ran “on the fringe” of the competition.

READ MORE: 25 Unusual Things to do in Edinburgh 

8 Tips for Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Below, I’ve rounded up some prime suggestions in your first Edinburgh Fringe, that can assist you profit from your go to. Hope it helps!

READ MORE: try Vicky’s publish about our go to to search out out extra in regards to the exhibits we went to!

1 – Do your analysis

With tens of hundreds of exhibits throughout actually lots of of venues, Edinburgh Fringe Festival is BIG. There’s a lot to see and do, and you may by no means do all of it, even should you had been there for the entire month.

So, the trick is to do some pre-planning to actually profit from your first Fringe. As quickly as exhibits begin being introduced, learn by the listings and see what takes your fancy. Big title exhibits can get bought out fairly quick so plan forward and e-book your tickets upfront. That mentioned, there’s often loads of availability on the smaller exhibits so even should you had nothing booked you’d have the ability to catch loads of stuff.

If you’ve no thought what you wish to see, examine the opinions from the yr earlier than, and try the winners of the varied Fringe awards. That’s a superb place to begin to provide you with an thought of who is likely to be good this time round.

2 – But don’t do an excessive amount of analysis!

You wish to have a number of issues deliberate so that you just’re not scrambling round in search of exhibits to go to. But you additionally want to depart room for spontaneity. Part of the enjoyment of Fringe is getting word-of-mouth suggestions.

Walk the streets across the metropolis centre, particularly close to the competition areas, and also you’ll be bombarded by leaflet-ers attempting to tempt you to return to their present. On event, you’ll even see forged members performing skits to tempt you in. Or you may simply overhear folks chatting in line on the espresso store and suppose “that sounds awesome”.

These suggestions might be hit-and-miss, due to course folks doling out flyers will say something to get you to purchase a ticket. We noticed a extremely naff cabaret act as a result of we believed a man who bigged it as much as us, however we additionally caught a fairly enjoyable present known as Comedy within the Dark. It’s all a voyage of discovery, which is a part of the enjoyable!

3 – Ask for particular presents

Often, you’ll be able to choose up a code to get a particular provide on a ticket. Some are printed on flyers or posters, others are secret passwords which you will get by asking the one that arms you a flyer! We picked up a 2-4-1 low cost on a number of units of tickets. Just ask if there’s a suggestion on and also you may get fortunate!

4 – Aim to go in the midst of the competition

There’s probably not a foul or good time to go to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. With a lot on all through the month, and plenty of exhibits doing the total run, you may go anytime and have a zillion issues to do. You might even spend the entire month in Edinburgh and never see and do all the things the Fringe has to supply.

But, should you go in direction of the center of the competition, as soon as issues have already been working for some time, it’ll be simpler to get word-of-mouth suggestions. Reviews can have been revealed, and other people will probably be speaking about their favorite exhibits.

This will make it simpler to determine what you actually wish to see, as you gained’t be shopping for tickets primarily based on the synopsis alone (these not often give a lot away).

5 – Pick up a free Fringe Programme

Every yr, the Fringe publishes a telephone-book-sized competition programme itemizing each single present and venue. And it’s completely free! You can order it on-line (you simply must pay for postage) or choose one up utterly free from numerous areas on launch day.

You can even use the positioning to browse exhibits, however there are SO MANY that typically flipping by {a magazine} is barely simpler. Plus, should you’re struggling to resolve, you may all the time simply let the information fall open on a random web page and level blindly at a present. It is likely to be the very best factor you’ve ever seen.

6 – Don’t miss the competition meals

During the Fringe Festival, a bunch of outside and indoor areas get creatively transformed into social areas. I liked the trellis and fairy-light-filled Underbelly beer backyard in Bristo Square – the right place to sit back out with a drink earlier than a present.

And George Square Gardens, which is seemingly just about abandoned the remainder of the yr, turns into an out of doors meals courtroom stuffed with pop-ups. You can discover superior meals from everywhere in the world, and the costs are fairly respectable (contemplating it’s a competition). This can also be an effective way to assist some unbiased native distributors!

7 – Try to go to a number of venues

Part of the enjoyment of Edinburgh Fringe is that most of the exhibits happen in venues that aren’t usually venues. Of course, many are in correct theatres, or upstairs in pubs, however others might be present in much more quirky locations – many venues solely pop up for the month of August. I even heard a couple of present in a public bathroom a number of years in the past!

My Fringe Programme listed 540 venues the yr I visited. So whilst you ought to positively try the massive venues, just like the Underbelly theatres, it’s value exploring a number of the smaller locations for an expertise that’s completely distinctive.

8 – Don’t neglect the OTHER festivals

August is Festival month in Edinburgh and there’s a lot happening. Make positive to go to a number of of the opposite festivals to see extra of this good metropolis and its unbelievable creativity.

The Edinburgh Military Tattoo

Next dates: 4th-Twenty sixth August 2023.

The Edinburgh Military Tattoo is an iconic spectacle and actually, I feel it’s a must-do.

Hosted on the fort each evening, the Tattoo options navy performers from the world over in a critically uplifting present.

Images are projected onto the fort all through, and the entire thing culminates in a fireworks show. It’s loopy spectacular – everybody ought to see it at the least as soon as. Read all about The Edinburgh Military Tattoo in my weblog publish!

Edinburgh International Festival

Next dates: 4th to twenty seventh August 2023

Before there was the Fringe Festival, there was the Edinburgh International Festival. Three weeks showcasing creators and performers from the worlds of arts in Edinburgh’s six main theatres, in addition to a number of the metropolis’s smaller venues. Think music, theatre, opera, and dance – on an enormous scale, throughout a complete metropolis!

Edinburgh Art Festival

Next dates: twenty seventh July to twenty seventh August 2023

A month-long celebration of the humanities, the Edinburgh Art Festival brings collectively over 40 museums, galleries, and pop-ups.

There are dozens of exhibitions to find, and a few spectacular venues to get pleasure from them in. Better nonetheless, a lot of the exhibits are free – so it is a nice option to complement your time on the Fringe Festival.

Edinburgh International Book Festival

Next dates: twelfth – twenty eighth August 2023

Once upon a time, a then-unknown writer learn the primary chapter of a brand new e-book known as Harry Potter to an viewers of eleven-year-olds on the Edinburgh Book Festival.

It’s a celebration of books previous and new, with writer signings, workshops, and debates. It’s additionally a very nice space simply to take a seat, have a espresso and uncover a brand new e-book. And you may simply meet the following JK Rowling!

READ MORE: 19 Epic Cultural Festivals Around the World

How Much is Edinburgh Fringe?

Wondering how a lot Edinburgh Fringe Festival goes to price you? I’d all the time assumed that it was fairly costly – nevertheless it doesn’t must be.

The predominant prices would be the journey there and the lodging (extra suggestions for that within the subsequent part). Try to e-book flights or prepare tickets as early as potential to safe an honest worth as they’ll get a bit expensive. Luckily there are a number of flights a day from funds airways like FlyBe, so should you plan proper it shouldn’t be too dangerous.

The exhibits themselves aren’t truly too dangerous. Tickets vary from free to about £20 (for the extra well-known names), and most appeared to be on the £10 or much less mark. In reality, there are such a lot of free exhibits that you just might by no means pay a penny for leisure. And you’ll be able to usually blag reductions for paid exhibits as talked about above.

READ MORE: Check out my Edinburgh Weekend Guide for recommendations on what to do (and the place to remain) whilst you’re not festival-ing! 

Edinburgh Fringe Accommodation that Won’t Break the Bank

Edinburgh Fringe Festival is notoriously costly. But it IS potential to search out funds lodging should you’re intelligent. Here are a number of suggestions for you…

Book early

First off, you wish to e-book as far upfront as potential. The nearer you get to the competition, the extra booked up in every single place will get and the upper the costs will probably be. While I used to be in Edinburgh, we checked out lodging costs for subsequent yr they usually had been about regular – however costs for the week we had been there have been trying steep. The earlier you’ll be able to e-book, the higher.

READ MORE: B+B Edinburgh Review

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If you’re travelling in a gaggle or as a household, you’ll be able to cut up the price of an condo or an enormous lodge room. It usually works out lots cheaper than staying in a personal room. Have a glance on AirBnb or reserving.com for residences – it will also be a good bit comfier than staying in a lodge.

PSST! Use my referral hyperlink to get £25 AirBnb credit score so as to add to your financial savings. 

Some hostels, like Safestay Edinburgh, even have dorm rooms that may be booked by personal teams. Have a hunt on Hostelworld for triple or quadruple rooms and chances are you’ll discover a severe discount. And should you’re not travelling in a gaggle, take into account staying in a dorm room – the costs are a LOT cheaper than lodges.

Student Accommodation

At the Fringe this yr, I stayed in a room at Unite’s Student Accommodation in Salisbury Court. They’ve began renting out rooms to non-students in the course of the summer season when all the scholars are away. The room we stayed in was £250 for 3 nights and their web site is displaying rooms from £59 a day for the time being.

It was a primary, no-frills room nevertheless it was clear, quiet, and PERFECT should you’re solely actually planning to sleep at your lodging. I’d positively advocate it as an affordable and cheerful lodging possibility for the Edinburgh Festival. Great location and all the things you want!

Check costs on reserving.com

Read More

If you could have extra time in Edinburgh – or wish to see a bit extra of Scotland after the Fringe Festival – try these posts:

Local’s Guide to Glasgow

How to Plan a Weekend in Edinburgh

Best issues to do in Dundee

Have you bought a terrific tip for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival? Scroll down to depart a remark!

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