Ozora Festival Guide 2024

Ozora Festival Guide 2024

In case you stumbled upon this by pure accident and need some kind of explanation as to what the hell I am talking about then here it is. Ozora Festival (O.Z.O.R.A.) is a “Psychedelic Tribal Gathering” which takes place across one entire week every summer in Southern Hungary.

It has established itself as one of the biggest and best-known Psytrance festivals in the world and is definitely amongst the top pick of Europe’s independent music festivals. Every year the festival attracts around up to 60,000 ravers who come to dance to some of the biggest names in the global Psytrance scene./a>

Ozora takes place during late July and early August each year. I attended Ozora a few times and am definitely planning to go again.

My Guide To Ozora Festival

In this guide, I will try to provide as much advice as possible regarding all aspects of attending Ozora including how to get there, where to sleep, what to eat and of course, how much money you will need.

I have tried to make this post as helpful as possible a resource. I have scoured Facebook and Reddit notice boards jotting down the most commonly asked questions in order to try and make this into the definitive guide to attending the Ozora Festival.

If you find this guide useful, then please let me know by leaving a comment. Also feel free to share this guide.

If you think I have missed out some important information which should be included, also let me know as I will be updating this guide from time to time.

This guide receives about 10k visitors per month and you are on of them. Did you find this guide to be genuinely useful? If so, then please be one of the 0.001% of readers to make a donation of just $1.00 to help me cover the costs of running this site, and to help me fund my ticket for O.Z.O.R.A. 2022! The donate button can be found on this page.

History of Ozora Festival

The first ever Ozora festival took place in 1999 on Ozora farm in the village of Ozora, near Dádpuszta.  The festival was organized to celebrate an eclipse. At this time, the festival was not known as Ozora but was called Solipse.

The Solipse eclipse festival was a big success so the organisers resolved to hold other festivals in the future. The first “proper” Ozora festival was held in 2004.

Ozora Festival has continued to grow each year and has now blossomed into a 30,000 strong temporary town with a weird and wonderful population drawn from all across the world. It has its own road network, water system and even a daily newspaper which is distributed for free throughout the festival.

Despite its success, the festival has stayed true to its roots. The original founder sadly passed away last year but his legacy is been continued by his sons and his original team so the spirit of Ozora will hopefully live on.

Ozora Festival resits corporate sponsorship and has kept ticket prices at a very reasonable price. It is also evident that the profits are re-invested into the festival and each year the infrastructure improves.

Ozora Festival Tickets

Ozora festival tickets generally go on sale early in the year and cost around 170 Euro. For OZORA 2021, tickets from the cancelled 2020 ARE valid for entry. As of April 2021, it looks like the Ozora Festival is going to go ahead.

Whilst admission may seem high, you need to remember that Ozora festival lasts for a full 7 days PLUS a 24-hour pre-party and then an after party. The Ozora ticket also permits you to camp out at the Ozora site for almost two full weeks.

When compared to prices for other, mainstream, music festivals, that doesn’t seem so bad, does it? For example, a one day ticket to Tomorrowland will set you back at least 80 Euro. But then again, if you are even thinking of going to the chavvy idiot fest that is Tomorrowland, you probably have more money than sense and you probably shouldn’t be reading this.

Furthermore, it is evident that the proceeds from the festival are re-invested and the infrastructure at the festival is always improving.

You can not buy Ozora tickets directly from the organisers Their website usually includes links to a number of online stores as well as the location of a few shops in Europe where you can physically pick them up.

Whilst ticket prices are the same in all of the online stores, some do charge higher transaction fees than others. Last year, I found Hadra to be the best value. Hadra is based in France but this was not an issue and I saved 5 Euro per ticket by buying from them rather than from the UK online store.

Tickets are sent electronically by email and you should print them off and bring them to the gate. You will then be given a wristband which you must keep on at all times during the festival. Security personnel do check that wristbands are visible and you will be removed from the site if found without one during the festival.

Tickets are also issued in the name of the person purchasing the ticket and you have to produce ID at the gate to prove the ticket is yours. If you are purchasing tickets on behalf of other people, then this is absolutely fine as long as you arrive at the festival gate together. If you are arriving separately, then you must contact Ozora and ask them to change the name on the ticket.

If you sell a ticket, you must also arrange to change the name on it. If you buy a ticket from somebody else, then they must arrange to have the ticket assigned to you.

The deadline for changing ticket names is usually one week before the festival begins.

Ozora Lineup & Music

Astrix

Ozora is primarily a Psytrance festival and the main stage plays Psytrance pretty much 24/7 for the festival’s duration. Typically, the main stage opens each night at around 8 pm with a live act, usually some kind of “world music” group utilizing a laptop for loops, who then hand over to the DJ’s.

As the night comes in, the music gets darker ranging from Dark Forest to Hi-Tech. By 3 am, the sounds ruminating from the main stage are akin to the jaws of hell being prised open.

As dawn breaks, the set moves to “morning music” and the mid-morning sets are usually progressive (the best music playing whilst everybody is in bed).  The afternoon headline sets are usually given over to leading names playing “Full On”. The Ozora  line-up is always very impressive BUT it does tend to be significantly better in years when Boom festival is not happening.

The 2021 line-up includes Shpongle, Carbon Based Lifeforms, Ajja, Freedom Fighters, Ace Ventura, Man with No Name and John 00 Fleming.

Is It Only Psytrance?

There is not only Psytrance music playing at Ozora. The other stages play Techno, Chill and World music

That said, if you don’t like Psytrance then I doubt you will particularly like the ambient or Techno sounds at Ozora either as they are heavily inspired by Psychedelia. If you don’t like Psytrance, then I would not recommend Ozora to you at all; after all, there are plenty of other festivals catering to other tastes.

Pum Pui Stage

The Pum Pui Stage is the second biggest stage at Ozora. It is contained inside a large tent on a little hillside. It typically plays mid-tempo psychedelic flavoured Techno and Deep House. The Pum Pui stage is a lot smaller than the main stage but this is not a reflection on the quality of the music which is excellent. In fact, some of the best stuff I heard at Ozora was in here.

You should definitely spend some time at Pum Pui. It has its own unique vibe and makes a change from the main stage.

Chill Dome

The Chill Dome plays Psy-chill & Ambient sounds and is the perfect counterpoint to the relentless energy of the main stage. This is where some of the more interesting stuff happens. Last year I caught Tangerine Dream live, and Aes Dana, who played an enthralling, slow-jam Techno infused set.

There are several hammocks swinging in the Chill Dome and it is not unusual to catch people sleeping even when the dome is rocking at capacity.

Dragons Nest

Dragons Nest showcases all kinds of weird wonderful live music. Here you can catch Reggae groups, Mongolian throat singers as well as more conventional Psych rock outfits.

The vibe up at Dragons Nest is very relaxed with most of the audience seated.

Ambyss

The Abyss is situated out passed the swimming lake so is a bit of a walk from the other stages. It showcases new and unsigned bands playing a breadth of styles. The stage is small and intimate with none of the crowds found at the other stages. You may stumble across a real gem here.

There is no bar at the Ambyss stage though, so do come prepared or go thirsty.

Other Stuff

In addition to the music, there is a lot of other stuff going on at Ozora. There are daily Yoga and Meditation workshops. There are regular lectures about sustainable living and alternative ideas, art galleries and healing centers.

There is now a lake for swimming in which opened in 2018. You must shower before bathing and are not allowed to swim whilst under the influence of anything stronger than coffee.

Traveling To Ozora Festival

Ozora from Budapest

The Ozora festival location is fixed. The festival takes place on a working farm in Southern Hungary.

Budapest To Ozora

Dádpuszta can be reached by train from Budapest; the ride takes around 2 hours and costs around 10 euro. If you are taking the train from Budapest make sure you check which station it is leaving from and that you have enough time to get there – one of them is out on the suburbs and is a 20-minute bus ride away from the center.

You can also check for busses to Dadsputza to the Ozora festival location. It may mean making a few changes but will probably work out a bit cheaper than the train. I generally use Rome 2 Rio for this.

From Dádpuszta station, there is an Ozora shuttle bus which is synchronized with arriving trains – it will, therefore, be waiting outside the station when your train pulls in. It costs 5 euro per person.

Alternatively, there are official and unofficial taxis queued outside the train station who will take you. Barter hard and do not pay more than 10 euro. The unofficial taxies are not legally permitted to take you to the festival but the risk is on them, they will be fined if caught but you will not get into any trouble.

Alternatively, you can take the Ozora shuttle bus directly from Budapest airport. This can be booked online through the Ozora website and costs 30 euro each way.

Ozora From Mainland Europe

Budapest is well situated within Europe and is a reasonable drive from Vienna, Bratislava, Belgrade, and Prague. If you are coming from Europe and have a vehicle, I would consider driving as that way, you can take a good amount of camping equipment with you.

You can also try to arrange to share a ride with somebody who is driving to the festival. Either check Reddit boards or join the “Ozora” and “Travel To Ozora” Facebook groups. Note that these boards are also frequented by locals trying to sell spaces in unofficial taxi’s. They often charge the same as the official Ozora busses and you have no guarantees about who they are so please be careful.

There are also “Goa Express” buses running directly to and from Ozora from a number of European cities. These can, however, be quite pricey and time-consuming. For example, the one from Paris costs 70 euro and takes nearly 24 hours; I would personally prefer to fly.

Flights To Hungary

Flights to Budapest from major European cities can be picked up relatively cheaply if you book far enough in advance. Alternatively, you could consider flying to Bratislava and then taking the train down to Budapest. I flew return from Manchester to Budapest for 130 Euro. However, on both the out and inbound flight I had to spend the night sleeping in Zurich airport. It wasn’t that bad though and the money saving was well worth it.

If you are flying to Hungary (Budapest) then I suggest checking on Skyscanner or signing up for Jacks Flight Club. Jacks Flight Club is a members-only platform which collects insanely low faires and shares them with its members. London to Paris for £10 anybody?

Hitchhiking

The Ozora notice board is filled with people asking for rides away from the event. I also saw a few Hitchhikers by the road during the last few days but have no idea how successful they were.

Gates Opening

Opening Ceremony

In 2018, the festival officially opened on Monday 30th July and ended on Sunday 5 August. However, the gates opened on Friday 27th July and a “pre-party” commenced on Saturday 28th. The festival follows a similar pattern each year. I would advise arriving at the festival a few days before the festival officially begins in order to secure yourself a decent camping spot – more on this further down.

The festival site then stays open a few days after the festival ends. You may, therefore, wish to hang back a few days to deal with the come-down and wait until the crowds at the train station and on the road have thinned out a bit. There is an “after party” taking place around Pum Pui stage on Monday after the festival ends.

Money at Ozora

On-site, both Euro’s and Hungarian Forints are accepted. Note that if you are purchasing banned substances, some vendors may insist on Euro. This is the only exception I am aware of and there are very few issues with using Flortints.

Cards are generally not accepted. A few of the more professional stalls may accept them but don’t count on it.

There is no ATM on site. I presume that there are a few in Dadsputza but I personally never saw them. Bring enough cash with you before you leave Budapest to be safe. How much money you need depends on a number of things. Here are some rough price guides though;

Ozora Bus from Dadsputza – 5 euro

Can of beer – 2 euro

Soft Drink – 2 euro

Rice (at canteen) – 1 euro

Chilli (at canteen) – 5 euro

Burger from Van – 7 euro

Mars Bar – 1 euro

Hippy shirt – 30 euro

O.Z.O.R.A. T-shirt – 15 euro

Albert Hoffman – 10 Euro

Dancing Crystals- 40 Euro

It is generally better to bring too much cash than too little. As a rule of thumb, maybe try to calculate how much you will need and then double it so you won’t be stressing about running out. However, if you do bring a load of cash then please, please, please hire a locker and leave it there. Also invest in a money belt to stop pickpockets.

Euro’s are generally more useful than Florints so bring any excess/contingency money in Euro. Note that a lot of the ATM’s in Budapest charge ridiculous fees for withdrawals, especially the ones in and around the tourist areas.

It is therefore worth looking around to find a proper bank or a Western Union office. If you are coming from anotherEuro-zone country, then get the money at home from your own bank.

Note that there are some pick pockets and thieves operaring and you should take precautions to proect your money.  Do not carry large sums with you and do not ever leave cash in your tent. Instead, use the lockers available.

Pre Paid Travel Cards

If you are travelling to Ozora from outside of Hungary then I would definitely recommend getting yourself a pre-paid specialist travel credit card. These usually offer far better exchange rates than banks and also often do not charge any transaction fees. I personally use a Monzo card which makes each purchase or cash withdrawal about 5%-10% cheaper than it would otherwise be.  I  have been using for Monzo for 2 years and have taken mine to around 20 countries.

Food at Ozora Festival

There is a pretty good chance that you will be onsite at Ozora for over a week. Therefore, you are probably going to need to eat something in that time. There are a number of places to buy food in Ozora catering for most tastes and budgets.

Firstly, the festival owned canteens sell decent food at acceptable prices. Queues can be quite long during peak times and, when it rains, tables can also be hard to come by. A lasagne costs 5 euro, French fries 2 euro and a portion of rice is 1 euro.

Then, there are the privately owned vans and cafe’s selling all kind of foods ranging from pizza and burgers to Thai and Indian. These are a little more expensive and you can typically expect to pay around 7 – 8 euro for a meal. In my experience, the Vegan Pad Thai was very good value, the gourmet burgers make a worthwhile splurge, but the Shakshuka places are best avoided altogether.

As a rule of thumb, I would budget 15 euro per day for food if you are going to buy all of your food on site. If you are content to eat raw fruit and veg, then obviously this will be far less.

Interestingly, for a hippy-fest, I was left rather disappointed by the choices of vegetarian and vegan options on offer. At Ozora, I ended up eating meat for the first time in over a year purely because I was so utterly sick of rice and veg.

There is a festival, shared kitchen you can cook in but this can get pretty busy. If you are happy to use this then you can save a lot of money by bringing your own food and preparing it here. There are plenty of supermarkets back in Budapest and a few near to the train station in Dádpuszta. There are also a few little “village stores” selling dried pasta, noodles, fruits and veg at the festival site.

If you want to cook your own food at your campsite, you will need a proper camping stove to do this. Campfires are not permitted.

Drinking at Ozora Festival

There are several bars selling hot, soft and alcoholic drinks 24 hours a day. A can of local lager will set your back 2euro, a black coffee 1euro and a bottle of local wine 5 euro. Ozora is a Psytrance festival so does not have the same boozy culture as many other festivals. I, therefore, found that a few beers a day was enough for me and was able to budget an average of about 6 Euro a day on alcohol.

There is also a tea shack which offers a wide variety of herbal tea’s on a donation only basis.

Drinking water is available for free from various water points and taps throughout the site. Bring a bottle with you at all times, fill it whenever you can and remember to stay hydrated.

Camping at Ozora Festival

Camping at Ozora

Camping, whether in a tent or a van, is the only accommodation option at Ozora.

There are no rooms of any kind available to guests at the festival. The nearest, small, town is 5km away so visiting to and from the festival every day isn’t really viable. Besides that, camping is an essential part of the Ozorian experience and spirit!

If you have a camper van, then there are many places to park this. Likewise, if you are coming by car then there are many places where you can park and then pitch up your tent near to the car. Alternatively, you may wish to pitch your tent away from your car.

As for tents, you can pitch these pretty much anywhere you want. I would estimate that around 90% of the festival site is available for camping and there are very few “Do Not Camp” signs around. That said, picking a suitable spot for camping is a different thing altogether.

Firstly, ideally, you want to camp in the shade. Ozora can get very hot and if you don’t have shade then your tent may feel like an unbearable cooker by 10 am each day. Try to pitch up near to trees or bushes and pay attention to which direction the morning sun comes from each morning.

Try to avoid camping at the bottom of hills and ditches. The rains that hit the festival are very hard and each year, somebodies tent is badly flooded or even washed away.

If you are a light sleeper, you should also get as far away as possible from all of the stages. The music plays through the night. The main stage, is particularly fast, hard and intense during the nocturnal hours. Earplugs may help with this.

Wherever you camp, you will probably soon end up closely surrounded by other campers. You will have to get used to this and get used to peeing, semi-visibly against trees and bushes.

The chances are that the drinking water facets will be a good walk away from your tent. Make sure you fill your water bottles at night before going to bed so you have something to drink in the night.

Alternatively, you may wish to consider buying 5-liter camel sack, filling it with water at the fountains, and hanging it from a tree next to your tent so that it acts as a private water fountain for your campsite.

Camping at Ozora

Buy or Bring a tent?

Tents can be bought in Budapest for 20 – 30 euro. There is a large Decathlon store and Tesco also sells them during summer, festival season. It may, therefore, prove cheaper to buy a tent in Budapest rather than pay to check it as luggage if you are flying.

I also recommend some kind of inflatable mattress or a good roll-mat. If you are lucky enough to find a few trees, then throwing a hammock for afternoon naps would also be a great idea.

When I attended last year, I and my girlfriend had a 3 person tent which comfortably fit us and our bags. We used an inflatable, swimming pool “Lilo’s” for a mattress and had our sleeping bags. We also managed to find a tree to hang our hammock from. To be honest, 9 days was a very long time to be living in such basic conditions with very little personal space. We ended up looking on very enviously at the Ozora veterans who had brought larger tents, gazebo’s, deck chairs, cooking stoves, and portable tables to create for themselves little homes away from homes.

Accommodation NEAR Ozora

If camping gets a bit too much for you, then you may be able to find a hotel in Dadzputsa or one of the nearby towns to get away for a few days. The city of Simortoryna is one of Hungary’s most bohemian, charming and welcoming cities.

 

Facilities at Ozora

There are a number of toilet blocks dotted around the festival site. Relatively few of these are anywhere near to campsites though so you will have to get used to taking nocturnal leaks in the nearest bush or simply behind your tent. That includes you ladies, unless of course, you fancy a 10 minute round trip whilst half asleep.

There are more than enough toilets and you will not have to queue for them. There is no sewerage system and the toilets are built over natural compost heaps which may not be emptied during the festival. The smell can get pretty bad. The toilet openings are also pretty wide so take care not to drop anything down (for example do NOT use your phone whilst sat on the toilet) and definitely take care not to fall into them yourself.

Toilet roll is provided but does run out. Get into the habit of carrying some of your own with you as well as hand-wash.

There are quite a few shower blocks although again, these are not near to campsites and you will have to make a little outing to visit them. The queues can get quite long during peak times (10 am – 12 pm) and you may end up waiting out in the hot sun with no shelter for up to 30 minutes on particularly bad days. The showers are very cold although this will often feel quite refreshing given the heat.

There are some medical facilities but I have not personally sampled them. Hopefully, you won’t have to either.

Drugs at Ozora

Drugs and mind-altering substances of both the legal and illegal variety are an integral part of the festival scene. Some would say that they are especially integral to the Psytrance scene.

There are indeed a lot of drugs circulating around Ozora. The most popular ones are LSD, MDMA (Ecstasy) and of course, Cannabis. Ketamine is also very popular in the rave scene and if you see somebody inexplicably passed out under a pounding bass speaker, this may well be the culprit. In addition to this, you may encounter Cocaine, Magic Mushrooms, DMT and Changa. I am not aware of Opioids been widely used at any festival.

I neither condone nor condemn the use of any drugs including alcohol. It is your body and your mind, put in it what you will.

All of these drugs are illegal in Hungary. In recent years, the hard-right Hungarian government has begun taking drug use more seriously and there are now severe penalties in place for the possession, carrying and distribution of banned substances.

I have personally not heard of any festival goers been arrested inside the festival site but it is possible that under-cover police may be operating; therefore, if you are taking drugs at the festival, please be discreet.

However, police do surround the festival site and most busses and some taxies are stopped in the road en route to the site and searched with sniffer dogs. Therefore, I do not recommend carrying any illegal substances into Ozora with you. That said, the reality is that aside from Cannabis, all banned substances are difficult to detect even for dogs.

Drugs can be bought inside the festival relatively easily. Beware of scammers though as counterfeit and bad quality products are widely on sale. At best, this will mean you are sold a placebo but at worse, you could be sold a truly nasty substance. Avoid buying anything from strangers on or around the dance floor. Also, avoid buying from anybody who doesn’t quite look like they “belong” at Ozora.

Anecdotally, I heard that the most difficult drug to come by at Ozora is Cannabis presumably because of the difficulties in bringing it into the site.

Whilst Hungary is a relatively cheap country, you can still expect to pay Western European prices for drugs inside Ozora. 1 tab of LSD may be around 10 Euro and a gram of MDMA around 40 – 50 Euro.

If you do take drugs, please be sensible. Do not overdo it, do not mix too many substances and stay hydrated – water is freely available across the site.

If you end up having a bad trip or feeling unwell after taking drugs, please head to the Haven Hut. Haven is a safe area where you can speak to a qualified medic and a counselor without any judgment.

Weather at Ozora

Summers in Southern Hungary can get very hot and you can expect temperatures to stray into the 30’s on most days. As such, make sure you bring plenty of sunscreens and stay hydrated. Drinking water is freely available across the site.

However, it does rain on a few days most years. The summer rains are heavily torrential and usually last a few hours at a time. The rains can turn the stage areas into a mud bath and can flood campsites situated at the bottom of hills. Make sure you bring a raincoat or poncho and a change of clothes for when you get wet. During the storms, the bars and enclaved areas tend to fill up.

It is not entirely necessary to bring wellingtons as you would at British festivals as the rains usually abate within a few hours, and then the hot sun dries the ground out pretty fast. However, do take care underfoot during the rainy periods.

Packing For Ozora

What stuff and how much stuff you choose to bring to Ozora will, of course, depend on the kind of person you are. It will probably also be influenced by how you are getting there.

For example, I flew to Budapest and then took public transport to the festival. Therefore, I took my 45-liter backpack (as it can be taken on a flight as cabin baggage) and then bought the camping gear in Budapest. I arrived at Ozora heavily laden, but still able to carry everything I needed.

Bring A Backpack

I recommend bringing a 45 litre backpack. These are big enough to fit all you need, light enough to comfortably and can also be taken on a flight as cabin luggage. Ideally, you want one which allows you to attach a tent. I recommend the Osprey Kestrel 48. You can buy it on Amazon for under £130 using the icon below.

Bear in mind that you are going to be on site for a week or more, are going to put your body through a lot, and experience some weather extremes.

As such, you will need the following;

Tent – Bear in mind this will one your home for a week or more. It needs to have sufficient room for the people sleeping in it plus any bags.

Inflatable Mattress or roll mat – Normally, I would sleep on the ground but as you are going to living in your tent for a week, a mattress is worth the investment.

Sleeping Bag – Pretty much any will do. Nights are cool but the days are hot.

Inflatable Pillow – Again, you’re gonna be here for a week. You want to be comfortable.

Clothes – Festival wear is generally shorts and vests. Ozora is very hot, even when it rains but it does cool down at night so bring a jumper or a hoody.

Shoes – I wore Converse All-Stars and these were fine. However, if you have a pair of comfortable, breathable walking boots, then wear these.

Sunglasses – Essential.

Rain Jacket/Poncho – You will need this at some point. I recommend a fold up one which you can pop into your day bag like the one you can buy here.

Bum Bag/Fanny Pack – Ideal for carrying all the stuff you need day to day. They are also harder to pickpocket.

Money Belt – Ideal for both cash and any banned substances you may choose to carry on you.

Portable Charger – The more powerful the better. I use this one below from Amazon which is a lot of juice for the money. There are cheaper ones available but you get what you pay for. Cheaper ones don’t charge your devices fast enough, that run down too fast and ultimately the break way too often.

Adaptor – Hungary is in Europe and so you will need a European adaptor if you want to use any devices. I personally recommend a high-quality world adaptor with multiple USB ports like this one here. It will last you years and you can take it all over the world with you. The one below is the exact same one I use so I recommend it – it is OZORA tried and tested.

It is very good value and once again, if you buy it through the below icon I can put the commission towards a beer (or something stronger) at O.Z.O.R.A. 2019!

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Mosquito Spray – Get the decent stuff. You can find it in Budapest but I would think about buying it at home unless you are flying with cabin bags only, in which case get it in Budapest.

Sunscreen – As above. You absolutely need this. You can buy it on site but will pay more.

After Sun – Hopefully, you will not need this but it is useful in case you do get burned.

Water Bottle – Fill this at the free drinking fountains. Buying a proper water bottle is infinitely better for the environment than constantly buying thruway plastic ones. It may seem to hit your wallet at the time but is good for your karma.

I recommend a Life Straw bottle which comes with a built in purifier so its protects you form contaminated water sources – the water at OZORA is usually very good but you never know. It will will last you for years and many an adventure. I had one until I recently lost it. I will buy another one as soon as I get some cash together. You can buy yours via the icon below.

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Day Pack – I bought a 15l liter daypack which screwed up into a tiny ball. We used this every day to carry water, sunscreen and our rain gear around the site.

Toiletries – Toothbrush & toothpaste, soap, shampoo, moisturizer and whatever hair product you need.

Quick Dry Towel – In case you don’t already have one, these make a great investment. They fold up very small, they dry your body quickly and then they dry off extra quick. I have about 3 of these and use them for festivals, backpacking and even the gym. Buy one now by clicking the icon below.

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Hand-wash, Wipes & Toilet Roll – No Comment.

If you are driving, then you can also bring a few little luxuries such as a camping stove, deck chair, portable table, and even a gazebo. This may seem excessive but after a week of camping, you will be very grateful for these homely little extra’s.

Charging & Devices

There are charging points situated throughout the site in the bar and canteen areas. Of course, with 30,000 people needing to use them, demand is very high and during peak times, you may struggle to find a vacant charge point. If you go early in the morning you will have a better chance of finding one available to use.

Charge your devices whenever you can but be mindful of other people needing to use them and don’t hog them. If you can bring a multi-point extension then this will be useful. In case you missed it before, you can buy the exact same one I use.

I also advise bringing a portable power bank and making sure it is fully charged before you leave home. The one I used last year.

Finally, there is little phone signal in the festival site so I would also recommend turning your phone to battery save mode as well as airplane mode in order to preserve it.

Remember that Hungary uses the European style plug so you may need to bring an adaptor before you can charge anything. One with multiple USB inputs may also earn you some friends.

Phones

If you have an EU sim-card, it will work in Hungary just as it would back home. However, note that signal inside the Ozora festival site can be a bit patchy. In some areas, your phone will get any reception at all.

Because of this, be sure to agree on a meeting point with your friends in case you get lost (which is easily done) as you may not be able to call them.

Shopping

Ozora effectively has its own little high street consisting of boutiques and roadside stalls where vendors peddle all kind of weird and wonderful wares and services. You can find hippy clothing, jewelry, dream catches, wooden speakers, bags, hash pipes and far too much stuff to mention. There are also services on offer such as massage, tarot reading, and dreadlock making.

You could very easily spend a whole day simply shopping at Ozora. However, very few of the wares are exactly cheap. If you plan on picking up some souvenirs then be sure to bank an extra 50 – 100 Euro’s. I bought one vest and it set me back 30 Euro.

Dangers of Ozora Festival

Ozora is, for the most part, a safe space and it is unlikely you will have too much trouble.

The biggest dangers are sunburn, dehydration, excessive chemical consumption and the biting insects which frequent the site. All of these dangers can be counter-acted by carrying sun-cream & bug spray, drinking water and by being mindful of what you consume.

Crime at Ozora!

The most common crime at Ozora is the possession of banned substances which I’d guess around 90% of the attendees are guilty of!

Aside from this, there is, unfortunately, some theft each year. The success and reputation of the festival have attracted some professional criminals who come to the festival solely to steal from revelers. The most common form is tents and even vans been robbed whilst their residents are out partying.

If you have a van, keep it locked, keep the windows closed and keep all valuables out of site.

There isn’t really all that much you can do to protect a tent. Just don’t ever leave anything valuable inside it when unattended even for a short time. Also be vigilant, if you see something suspicious then report it to security and alert your neighbors.  Some people have even had tents robbed whilst they were sleeping inside them! Therefore, sleep with your valuables either under your pillow or inside your sleeping bag.

There is also some pick-pocketing and bag theft. Again, be vigilant. Consider using a money belt and a bum/fanny pack so that all of your valuables are stored in front of you and not in your pockets or handbag – if somebody slips there hand in the area around your genitals then you will know about it. Also only carry enough cash to last you the day. Keep the rest of it locked up in a locker.

Get Insurance

I would also recommend obtaining Travel Insurance in case you are robbed. This will also come in useful if you miss your flights or get sick and need serious medical attention.

Another piece of advice I will give you is to make sure all of the pictures on your phone are backed up. If your phone is stolen then that’s bad enough without also losing 2 years of treasured snaps as well.

Lockers are available for 1 Euro per day. Use them to store anything valuable including laptops passports and cash.

Other Things to Note

I was not prepared for how crowded Ozora was. The festival has grown over the years and has a capacity of 60,000. Therefore, don’t’ expect to have much personal space for the duration. Even if you head far away from the main stage and out into the woods for some quiet time, I guarantee that somebody will be sharing that quiet time with you. If I am totally honest, I would have enjoyed the festival more if there were maybe 5000 less attendees but I suppose the secret is out now…

Other Psytrance Festivals in Europe

Modem Festival

Here are a few others;

Boom Festival – Portugal

Boom Festival is possibly the biggest and widely considered to be the best Psytrance festival in the whole entire world. It takes place over 15 days every 2 years. Boom will next take place in 2020. Boom usually takes place shortly before Ozora and the 2 overlapped this year. Manrevelersrs turned up at OZORA midway through the festival coming straight from Boom.

Personally, Boom is much too big for my liking and it doesn’t really showcase enough of the really exciting underground stuff going on in the Psytrance world.

Modem – Croatia

Mo:dem generally takes place shortly after Ozora finishes and you will find many people seeking friends to it. Mode:m is fast establishing itself as a major Psytrance festival and a worthy rival to Ozora Festival. Many describe it as Ozora’s dark, little brother on account of its edgier sound aesthetic.

Mo:Dem is still a lot smaller than OZORA but will probably grow massively in the next few years as its legend spreads.

Nosily Festival – United Kingdom

The British love a good festival which is ironic as our summers are terrible. Nosily Festival is a small, boutique Pay festival taking place in July. The vibe is welcoming and the music showcases the best of the British scene such as Hypnocoustics, Aphid Moon and Laughing Buddha. Bring wellingtons.

Budapest

There is a good chance that you will be passing through Budapest and even spending a few nights here. It is definitely worth hanging around for a few days to break up your journey and to see the city. Budapest is made up of 2 cities (Buda and Pest) situated at either side of the Danube. It was the capital of the Hungarian empire and boasts a lot of history. There are castles, museums, and monuments at every turn.

The highlights of Budapest include the legendary hot spa’s, the impressive architecture (especially the government buildings) and the Socialist Statue theme park.

There are loads of hostels charging around 10 euro per night for a dorm bed, and quite a few Air B n B’s available starting from around 30 euro. Budapest is now very popular with travelers, it is a prominent stop on the summer inter-rail circuit and tends to fill it with young backpackers. Booking ahead is advisable during the summer.

Budapest is also famous for its “ruined pubs”. These were derelict buildings which were turned into bard and clubs at the turn of the century. The ruined pubs are indeed aesthetically very quirk,y but they are a victim of their own popularity and fill up every night with tourists and organized pub crawls. Nevertheless, you can still have a fun night here.