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The most cost effective and flexible option to get to Rocket by train is to buy a 5 in 10 day Inter-rail pass. The map on the right shows our recommend route. There are many possible variations, but the one we've suggested breaks the journey in Spain's most dynamic and exciting cities - Barcelona and Madrid.

The perfect choice for an early summer low carbon getaway, taking this option lets you experience the romanticism of Paris, the playful charm of Barcelona, and of course the fun and frolics of Rocket Festival. On the way back, treat yourself to a night in a hotel and take in Madrid at a leisurely pace.

Start with the Eurostar from St Pancras to Paris. Leaving London at 15.30 on the 14th May gets you into Paris at 18.56 local time, giving you ninety minutes to make the short metro journey to Paris Austerlitz in time for the night-train to Barcelona, which leaves at 20.32.

Arrive in Barcelona at 08.24 on the 15th ready for a day of fun and culture. Then after wearing yourself out seeing the sights, grab a few beers (and a pack of cards) and jump on another night-train at 21.30. This takes you all the way to Granada, where you arrive at 8.40am on the first day of the festival. From there you catch the local bus from Granada bus station to Alhama de Granada (times can be found on the Rocket site) in good time to catch the festival bus that winds into the foothills of the Sierra de Almijarra up to the stunning mountain meadow where the festival is located.

After three days of festival fun, you can then choose to either do the same journey in reverse, or mix it up and go back via Madrid instead. If you choose this option, you change at Seville and will get the pleasure of travelling on an AVE train (see this blog post). If you leave Granada on the morning of the 19th you'll get to Madrid by the late afternoon. Spend a night there and explore the city on the 20th before getting the night train back to Paris at 18.15.

In terms of cost, it is unfortuantely still a lot more expensive than flying, but in our opinion, a lot more fun, and obviously lets you see and do a lot more. If you're under 26, buying a five in ten day rail-pass makes it pretty cheap, but note that the rail-pass doesn't include Eurostar or night-train reservations.

Buying tickets:

• If you want to change your itinerary from the one listed above, check alternative options using the Deutshce Bahn European rail timetable.
• Buy a 5-in-10 day Global rail-pass (you need a global one to get through France) using the button below. It's £125 if you're under 26. Specify 14th May as the start date. This lets you travel for any five days within ten until the 24th.

Book your inter-rail pass

• Once you've bought your rail-pass, contact Rail Europeto 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

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.

If you start your journey without purchasing night-train reservations, you should be able to get them on the way in Paris (or in Madrid on the way back), but there is a small 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.

If you're over 26, it may be cheaper to buy a point-to-point return ticket instead of the rail-pass, but it completely depends on the exact trains you want to take, and of course, getting a return ticket means you won't be able to be flexible and return via a different city to the one you went out on. To explore this option, search for trains using the Deutshce Bahn European rail timetable., and then check prices at Rail Europe

A few years ago, one man had a dream. That dream was to convert big red double-decker buses into portable festival entertainment units. But it wasn't all about fun and laughs. The very same buses traveled from London to Baghdad on the eve of the 2003 invasion to protest against the war. Next year (2009) we'll be offering you the chance to go to Rocket in those very same vehicles.

We'll travel down with a convoy: two 'normal' buses, and one 'playbus'. The playbus is a festival veteran complete with soundsystem and cafe. Note that you won't be sleeping on the buses - sleeping is scheduled at campsites for two nights along the way. With up to 100 fellow revellers on board, think of the journey as an extension of the festival.

The buses are capable of running on reclaimed vegetable oil (the good type of biofuel - for more on this read the blog). Even using normal fuel, the emissions per person will be less than the train, as long as we fill it.

Note that the bus has had tables fitted for your comfort, and that luggage will be towed in a trailer behind so there will be plenty of room. Each bus carries a maximum of 56 people, and the trip is under the legal responsibility of a licensed bus operator.

When the convoy stops for camping in the evening, the playbus will set up and play some music (as long as we don't get told off by the campsite we're at!). The cafe may also open to sell some reasonably-priced soup, but otherwise food costs are your responsibility.

The idea is to get lots of like-minded people together and have a laugh getting to know people and generally not releasing ridiculous amounts of CO₂.

Buying tickets

Unfortunately the bus isn't running this year and so it's not possible to buy tickets. We hope to run it next year so keep checking back. If you want to stay up-to-date, sign up to our newsletter.