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Rototom Festival 3rd-12th July 2008
www.rototomsunsplash.comThe name says it all. Rototom is full of sun, splashing down amongst the soothing sounds of reggae drums. Here's a couple of factoid's for you: Rototoms are drums which have no shell, and unlike most other drums, they have a variable definite pitch (I love Wikipedia). Factoid number two: saying "rototom" in a thick Welsh accent is highly amusing. Go on, really roll that first 'r'. Yeah!
The nearest train station is Gemona del Fruili near Udine. The festival takes place in the North-East of Italy so this gives lots of opportunity to visit the surrouning countries of Slovenia, Austria or Switzerland.
Taking the train, you can buy a straightforward return ticket, but if you don't want to stay for the full nine days of the festival then a 5 in 10 day rail-pass could work out cheaper.
The coach is cheaper at around £100 return (at time of writing) to get to Venice but they don't run every day so you need to be more flexible. On arrival in Venice you'll then need to buy train tickets locally to do the last leg.
The most direct route to the festival is via Paris and Venice, with a one-hour bus journey for the last leg from Udine to Gemona del Fruili. However, Ljubliana is very close by and it's a beautiful city well worth a visit. At the time of writing the necessary Italian train timetables are not available. The following itinerary is based on the current timetable and could be subject to change.
- Step 1: Depart London at 14.04. Arrive Paris at 17.26
- Step 2: Depart Paris Bercy on a night-train at 18.55. Arrive Venice at 09.26 the next day
- Step 3: Depart Venezia Mestre (the main Venice station) at 10.08, arriving Udine at 11.45am
- Step 4: Depart Udine on a bus at 12.00, arriving Gemona del Fruili at 12.55
- Step 5: A free shuttle bus takes you to the festival
Obviously staying to see a bit of Venice is an option, if you can handle the hoardes of tourists (which you will inevitably be part of!). Ljubliana in Slovenia is only five hours away and you can get Gemona del Fruili by train via Cervignano-Aquileia. To get to Ljubliana go via Paris and Munich - buying a railpass gives you the flexibility to do more exploring.
Buying tickets:
If you're travelling the most direct route via Venice then buying a straightforward return is probably the cheapest option. Check availability and book point-to-point tickets (including Eurostar) at Rail Europe
If you want to have a few days in Ljubljana or generally want more flexibility then a rail-pass is your best option:
- Check your route using the Deutshce Bahn European rail timetable.
- Buy a 5-in-10 day Global rail-pass using the button below. It's £125 if you're under 26. This lets you travel for any five days within ten from the start date.
- Once you've bought your rail-pass, contact Rail Europe
to make night-train reservations (these are compulsory and cost around £30 per night train).
- Buy Eurostar tickets. Your Inter-rail pass gets you a discount on Eurostar tickets, and on tickets from any UK station to London St. Pancras.
Things to note
If you choose the Inter-rail pass option, the main factor affecting the overall price of the journey is the Eurostar ticket. It doesn't matter where you buy your ticket, it will be the same price everywhere, but each train has a certain number of cheap tickets and once they're gone, that's it. The cheapest you'll get a return to Paris for is £60 minus the discount that you're eligible for with an Inter-rail pass.
Most night-train reservations are compolsory, but the cost differs, with the quickest/most direct trains having the highest fees. To save money, enquire about the possibility of not getting a couchette, and just spending a night in a seat.
If you start your journey without purchasing night-train reservations, you can get them on the way in major train stations, but there is the chance that the trains in question will be full. If you choose to spend nights in the cities and take trains in the day instead, then there will be fewer, if any, compulsory reservation fees (though obviously you'll have to pay for accomodation in the cities).
Note that for night-train journeys that begin after 7pm, you only use up one day of your inter-rail pass (as long as you haven't already made a journey using the pass on that day.
The coach is probably cheaper than the train but it's not possible to tell with absolute certainty because the final leg between Venice and Gemona del Fruili can't booked yet. The London-Venice leg costs £102 for a youth (under 26) return at the time of writing. The coaches don't run every day but there are convenient ones running that arrive in Venice on the 3rd and leaves on the 12th.
- Step 1: Depart 2nd July at 07.30 from Victoria Coach station in London.
- Step 2: Change at Paris (105 minute wait) and arrive Venice at 12.00 on July 3rd
- Step 3: From Venice take either a bus or to Udine and then on to Gemona del Fruili
- Step 4: After the festival travel back to Venice to catch the coach leaving at 16.00 on July 14th
- Step 5: Change in Paris again and arrvie back at 16.45 on 14th July
Buying tickets:
You can get tickets through Eurolines. The earlier you book, the cheaper it is.