How to Have a Stress-Free Edinburgh Fringe Holiday

The Edinburgh Fringe is the biggest arts and culture festival in the world, and every year thousands of people travel to Edinburgh for the chance of seeing some of their favourite performers, new talent, and soak up the fun festival atmosphere. So why not join them?

The Edinburgh Fringe is an event that has been running for over 60 years, and with every year it seems to get stronger and stronger, with more acts, companies and spectators travelling to the Scottish capital for a chance to see some of the best and most unusual acts in the world perform. But while the Fringe undoubtedly attracts visitors from every corner of the globe, UK residents, especially those that live in Edinburgh, can become far too accustomed to the presence of this leading event, and as a result, fail to see anything during the Fringe, or worst still, try to avoid the city centre altogether. But avoiding the Fringe is a bad idea, so why not pick out some shows that you want to see, and then make a holiday out of it?

What can put many people off coming to the Fringe is the crowds of tourists and other visitors, which can make it quite difficult to get anywhere quickly, but there are ways that you can avoid the crowds getting to you, and they are really quite simple. For example there are certain parts of Edinburgh that will be busier than others in August, namely the Royal Mile, Princes Street and the Mound. Knowing alternative routes is half the battle, so once you've bought the tickets to the shows that you want to see, get a map of Edinburgh and work out which routes to go to avoid the crowds.

Once you've booked your shows, you will have to consider your accommodation if you don't already live in Edinburgh. There is a wealth of fabulous hotels, guest houses and hostels in and around Edinburgh, and the hotel that suits you will of course depend on your circumstances, such as how many people you will be travelling with, your budget and the area of the city that you want to stay in. But remember to book your hotel room early, as hotels are likely to become fully booked in the months before the festival, so book them with plenty of notice, and let them know if you have any special needs or requests.

Once you've sorted out your shows, routes and accommodation, it's time to decide just what you want to do on the evenings or during the day when you don't have any shows to go to. Get online and see what else Edinburgh has to offer, venture out of the city centre for a day out, and head somewhere like Stockbridge for a meal, or go that little bit further out and head to Portobello or Musselburgh on a good day to enjoy a bit of sunbathing on the beach. If you have a show to get to later in the day, always check the bus times and find out how long your journey will take you. Remember that you will be encountering Fringe traffic on the way back into Edinburgh city centre, so some journeys may take longer than others, due to the increased amount of traffic.

During the Fringe it's vital to be prepared for every eventuality, and because the Scottish weather is notoriously unpredictable, pack a waterproof jacket and warm clothes alongside your summer clothes to make sure that you don;t get drenched in a sudden downpour. Whatever you see in the Fringe, from comedy, to theatre to dance, and wherever you stay, from a hostel, to boutique hotels in Edinburgh, the Fringe doesn't have to be a chore, so be prepared and remember to have fun.