This one caught my eye when I saw the poster and checked out the price. An incredible lineup over five full days, three stages and only about £135 including camping, showers and phone charging? What, really? Wow…
It turns out a couple of our Crew have been in the past and recommended it as well, though the couple of warnings I was given included “it’s not all sunshine, expect rain” and “you have to get there early to get the warm water for the showers”. Because I’m expecting to do a fair bit of work when I’m there I opted to try and get some accommodation rather than crashing in a tent.
But first, travel. There are festival shuttles for €25 to €40 each way from various places such as Venice, Trieste and Ljubljana. I’ve not been to Trieste before so I’ve booked a flight there from Stansted (about £85), will sort out some couchsurfing over two days and get the coach to the festival on the Sunday.
On the way back, I’m going to Ljubljana where I’ll spend a night and see the Slovenian capital before flying back to Luton (around £25). I’m in Glasgow and have already sorted trains to/from London at £30 a pop, so just the airport transfers to worry about which are cheap enough.
Accommodation was a little tricker as I left it a little late and it seemed everywhere in town had already gone. It’s not just the festival, Tolmin is a tourist hotspot for hikers, bikers, parascenders and so forth. It is, frankly, beautiful.
After looking a little further afield (20 min drive, half hour bike ride), I put in a couple of emails through the local tourist office which seems to conveniently bring together every hotel, hostel and guesthouse in the area under one website roof. I got offers back for six nights in both places, one a hostel in town (20 mins walk) and one a bed and breakfast but some distance out. Pricewise there was little in it, but I’ve gone for the hostel. They’ve been in touch to sort out deposit and so on and have been fantastic so far. I’m really looking forward to getting there!
Cost – around £150 for 6 nights which, for a premium site and booking late in the day, is cheap enough. If you’re sharing and book a little earlier, you can find very nice places for around £100 per room for the same period. I may be going back another time just to explore the place!
So five days of metal, one day to chill and then back home to see some friends in London before getting the train back to Glasgow. Can’t wait!
Metal Days: official
Hey, what was the website for the local accommodation? Cheers
Lukas, the link on the festival website worked for me. Takes you to a page with loads of guest houses and hostels in the area. I notice the link isn’t up as the official page is being rebuilt for next year, but I found it for you:
https://www.soca-valley.com/en/accommodations/all-accommodations/
Awesome! Thanks a lot man! We are looking to go to Metaldays and then to Wacken from there \m/
That sounds like a trip! I was thinking of Wacken myself next year, though I won’t manage Metal Days as I missed my daughter’s birthday to go this year :(