As the name suggests, the Fringe Festival isn’t about the arts in the usual sense. Yes, there are theatre, music, and dance performances scheduled at venues throughout the city during the month of August, for which you can buy tickets and sit in the audience like you would in any similar venue around the world. In addition to that, however, there are street performances everywhere you look – and it’s this kind of artistic expression that the festival is perhaps best known for. Buskers are on every street corner, performance artists attract crowds on every pedestrian street, and the crowds that fill the city are never without entertainment.

Unfortunately, the month when all of this is going on is also one of the most expensive times to visit Europe in general. It’s more challenging to find good deals on airfare to Edinburgh or cheap hotels in Edinburgh during the summer when the city’s weather is most conducive to visiting. This is compounded by the popularity of the Fringe Festival, since people often book up the best budget accommodation months in advance. There are Edinburgh Festival Fringe travel deals to be had, though, if you’re willing to do your research.

It’s advisable to begin your search for accommodation at least six months before your trip (more if you’re on a tighter budget), and for a good deal on a flight you’d be smart to start looking at airfare even more than six months beforehand. Just by keeping an eye on what airfare costs you’ll know when the prices are going up or down, and you’ll know whether a so-called “deal” is all it claims to be.

As for tickets to the events themselves, if you’re intent on seeing specific performances then be sure to sign up on the official site so you know when tickets go on sale. Otherwise, you’ll never lack for entertainment even if you never buy a ticket to a show just by walking through the city and stopping to watch any street performers that catch your eye. Just remember to bring small change for tips.

photo by Shadowgate

Since Valentine’s Day is less than a month away, unless you’ve already planned your getaway, it’s time to do your research and book the vacation. Travel deals for Valentine’s Day can be found all over the internet (and in travel agencies) , so there are many choices.

First of all, look for one of the cheap flights within Europe ; many low-cost carriers offer special prices for this holiday, so make sure to get their newsletters and follow then on Twitter and Facebook. Typically, these sales don’t last for very long, so make sure to book a flight as soon as you find a good price.

When you look for accommodation, consider the things you want to do while in Paris. Rooms aren’t very cheap, but you can get away with a low budget if you don’t mind staying in private rooms in hostels or in budget hotels.

As for spending Valentine’s Day in Paris, there are plenty of romantic ways to do it, aside from the cliché dinner. Take photos on the river bank, walk hand in hand in parks or just soak up the atmosphere. It’s still winter in Europe, so you can plan a lovely evening at the ice rink (plus, you get to burn off the calories). Or, if you like chocolate, book a guided tour which features…sweet delights.

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In Europe, among the interesting places to celebrate New Year’s Eve are: Edinburgh, Paris and Barcelona. I’ve always had a soft spot for Edinburgh though, so celebrating Hogmanay this year sounds absolutely amazing.

Christmas and New Year’s Eve are busy traveling times and the rates are higher than during the rest of the year (but slightly lower than during peak summer season). So, start looking for the cheapest flight to Edinburgh ahead of time. You could easily plan to arrive in the city on December 29 (the celebrations start on December 30) and leave the city on January 3 (after you manage to see some of the city when it’s not overcrowded). A round trip flight from London starts at £95 per person (on easyJet); of course, that’s unless you manage to find a deal.

Also, look for hotels in Edinburgh while you plan your flight. Of course, it’s not hard to find expensive rooms but when you want cheap accommodation you need to spend a bit of time researching the options. You can find 2-star hotels at £86 per night but the hotel is located far from the center. On the other hand, hostels can be a good choice especially if you travel with your friends. Private rooms start at £40 per night and the hotel is located close to the city center.

If you’re lucky enough to already be in a major European city like Edinburgh, that means you have easy access to cheap flights to Germany – and since airfare is typically the biggest line item on a travel budget, being able to get there for a fraction of the cost of most flights is a huge incentive. Accommodation can be a bit tricky in Munich during Oktoberfest, as the cheapest and best places book up quickly well in advance of the start of the party, so if you haven’t already booked a bed somewhere you might be forced to pay for something that’s a bit more expensive than you ordinarily would. But on the bright side, when you save big on airfare you can afford to spend a bit more on your hotel or hostel room.

For those of you who are more inclined to buy a package deal whenever possible, there’s probably still time to sift through the Oktoberfest deals out there to see if one suits your needs. Again, it will likely cost more than if you booked the entire trip yourself, but if you have money leftover after buying your plane ticket you might still come out ahead. Depending on the deal, you might just get accommodation and entry into an Oktoberfest tent – in some cases you might also get airfare, so you’d have to make sure it was a better deal overall than you could get if you bought the flight separately.

Before you land in Munich, be sure to read this Oktoberfest travel guide so you’ll have all the background on what to do and see – not to mention what to expect and how to behave – at Oktoberfest this year.

photo by uLe @ Dortmund

The festival is an open-air arts fest that brings together theatre, visual art, music, comedy and performance art that spills out onto the streets of the city. The festival developed “on the fringe” and continues to be a venue for lesser-known and more avant-garde artists.

Visiting during the Fringe Festival is difficult, but worthwhile. Hotels and hostels book up well in advance and rates are much higher than during other times of year, but the trade off is the chance to see random art just about everywhere you look in the city.

With large city-wide events like this, we tend to notice two trends. In order to score good Fringe Festival deals, you either need to book very far in advance, or you need to wait until a month or so before the date. Waiting until the last minute like this is a gamble and there’s a good chance all the best hotels are sold out, or priced far beyond your reach. However, it is still possible to find cheap Edinburgh hotels willing to cut a deal on some unsold inventory. The hotels may not be your first choice – they may be located farther out of the city center or may be more basic that what you prefer – but when there is so much going on in the city, you won’t be spending much time in the hotel room anyways.

Likewise, you can often find some excellent deals on flights to Edinburgh if you wait till just a a few days or weeks out. Low cost carriers like RyanAir are notorious for waiting until the last minute to slash their fares and get rid of unsold inventory, and in those circumstances, it definitely pays to wait until the last minute to finalize your travel plans.

Photo by www.theedinburghblog.co.uk

Because the festival is so popular, planning a vacation for this occasion is complicated – or shall I say quite a nightmare? Edinburgh accommodation books up really fast (starting with the cheapest places first, of course!) and the cheap flights to Edinburgh are sold as soon as they come on sale.

You might want to play it “dangerously” and wait until the last minute to book the flight. Airlines such as Ryanair, BMI and easyJet do offer quite a lot of flights to Edinburgh for low rates but you have to book them within a very short time frame (2-3 days) and at most one month before departure.

In short, if you want to be there, you need to plan in advance. Way in advance! Edinburgh festival travel deals come in handy if you don’t like to plan everything on your own.

If you travel with friends, booking a dorm for the entire gang is an excellent idea. You already know each others’ nocturnal habits and there won’t be too many frustrations along the way. Plus you can pitch in for an excellent meal cooked in the hostel’s kitchen. Bed rates start at £17 per night (in dorms). On the other hand, if you travel with your significant other and prefer the private rooms, you can find them in hostels at rates starting at £23 per night.

If you are a student make sure to carry your documents with you because you’ll be able to get some discounts (at shows, transportation, landmarks). This surely comes in handy when your budget is not exactly high. An easy way to save money is by shopping at the farmer’s market and cooking in the hostel or planning picnics. It’s romantic, it’s cheap and fun.

But what about taking a big leap and choose one of the inspirational travel locations to cure the writer’s block? I’ve definitely done it and let me tell you there’s nothing like writing in the train or at a café in the middle of an old town.

Europe is filled with beautiful cities which can inspire you even when you think nothing else could. So, the first step is to look for cheap tickets to Europe. Paris, Moscow, Ljubljana and Edinburgh are excellent choices to get you started. And if you have enough time on your hands, you can plan to visit them all. After all, low-cost carriers and trains are the writers’ best friends. And by the way: in some trains there are electrical outlets so you can work while you enjoy the scenery.

You can fly into Paris, spend several days there to soak up the atmosphere and then catch a flight to Edinburgh. Look for Edinburgh hotels before you leave because they tend to get expensive and crowded during the summer. And if you think the city is a bit too exciting for you, you can always plan a trip to the Scottish Highlands.

Then you can make the transition to Eastern Europe, stopping in Vienna for a weekend getaway. You’ll fall in love with the city and you’ll surely unleash your imagination. Then take a train to Ljubljana and explore the old city and the surrounding landscape. Last, but not least, go to Moscow (tip: choose summer if you hate cold as much as I do). There’s something intriguing about this city and you’ll surely get some interesting ideas.

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Spring is a lovely time to travel because the crowds haven’t “invaded” the cities yet and the prices are relatively low compared to the summer. The bad news is that you should plan for some rainy days no matter what city you plan to visit; weather can be either sunny and warm or gloomy and rainy.

Once you are in Europe, it’s easy and cheap to plan your next stop. The United Kingdom in particular is an excellent start point for your vacation because there are countless cheap flights to large European cities. Flights to Amsterdam are incredibly cheap especially if you like to search for the low-cost airlines’ deals. There’s always something to grab your attention but make sure to keep your eyes open and act fast.

When it comes to accommodation, hostel beds are the cheapest choice but you can always look for cheap hotels in Amsterdam . It’s true that you get what you pay for but sometimes it’s possible to find some great deals offered by 3 or 4-star hotels.

Other expenses to consider while visiting Amsterdam are those linked to the entertainment and food. Happy hours will save you quite a lot of Euros if you like to enjoy a few drinks now and then. And it’s quite easy to find cheap food (especially if you are not into healthy eating).

By the way, you can burn off some of those calories by checking out the many trendy stores. You may never know when you find a good bargain and it’s surely better to come home with a cute new tank top rather than a tacky souvenir.

>>If you are like me and want to find the cheapest possible airfare, accommodation and don’t plan to spend too much on food and sightseeing either, then you’ll surely appreciate reading this cheap Amsterdam guide .

Shrouded in mystery and myth, the Isle of Skye is a magical place with enough history to fill more than one text book. Join Macbackpackers, an independent Scottish owned tour company, on their 3 day exploration of legends and history, faeries and warriors, love and war as you journey from Edinburgh through the highlands and up to Skye.

Day 1

Leaving on a Friday morning we are met by our kilted guide, Neil Mclennan. After picking up the rest of the troops we head out of the city on our faithful steed, the Macbackpacker bus. Neil is a fantastic story teller and is soon entertaining us with legends and stories. Our first stop is “The Hermitage” (see photo left) , where, Neil reveals, he was possibly once approached by faeries who hoped to lure him to their kingdom. There is certainly a strange magical feel about the place for sure.Killicrankie is our picnic spot where Neil enthusiastically recreates the highland charge that scared the shite out of the British troops. A brief stop at Culloden Battle Field to pay homage to the many men who lost their lives in this historic battle, a battle that was surely a turning point in Scottish history. Nearing the end of a long day of traveling we search for Nessie at Loch Ness and dip our feet in the frigid water. Finally pulling into Kyleakin Town on the Isle of Skye in the early evening.

Our home for the next 2 nights is Lochbuie Guest House and we have it all to ourselves, with a fantastic view of the harbor and just a hop skip and jump from Haakons pub and restaurant. After claiming our beds we all head over for a delicious meal and a traditional Scottish Ceilidh (kay-ley). With bagpipes playing we all dance the night away and sleep very well that night.

Day 2

Day 2 start with a visit to the Skye Backpackers to pick up a set of willies for all those without waterproof shoes. At the river Sligachan, Neil once again entertains with an enthusiastic recreation of the meeting of Sciath and Cuchaillien and encourages to put our face in the river with the promise of eternal youth. The epic adventure came when climbing to the “Old Man of Storr” (see photo right), just 30minutes Neil said… I think the old man was hiding in the mist, but it was great climb and as long as you listen to instructions and don’t wander off the path there should be no need to call search and rescue. At the end we all formed a circle and toasted each other as we passed around a much needed swig of whiskey. You certainly form great friendships on this trip and after a great group meal of pasta we all sat around and chatted, listened to music and recalled the exciting events of the day.

Day 3

Day 3 was a farewell to Skye as we headed home via stunning Glen Coe where we sat and had lunch and looked out for wild red deer. Stopping to get a picture of Hamish the Hairy Coo/Cow was a highlight to the tour, just don’t get too close to his horns. Our final stop was the Wallace Monument in Stirling and then home to Edinburgh.

Conclusion

A great tour, great leader and friends for life. The only downside is the amount of travel time, but that can’t be helped and you are never on the bus for more than 2hrs.

Where to book

To book your tour check out MackBackpackers , or book at either Royal Mile Backpackers , High Street Backpackers or Castle Rock Backpackers . There are many tour options to choose from.

More photos from the tour:

How many backpackers can you fit in a phone booth?

Hoping Nessie won’t grab us

All backpackers think alike

If legend is true…7 seconds and stay young