As a metalhead Ive always dreamed about taking a trip to the most amazing metal festival on the planet: Wacken Open Air. One problem is, I dont know how it all works, I dont get the Logistics, and I want to know about certain things. Could someone who has made the journey from America to Wacken Germany help me out with some questions that I cant find on the site?

-Where do you fly into, which airport is closest to Wacken Germany?
-Is airfare pricey?
-How can you get to Wacken from the airport?
-How are the camping arrangements? Do you get a tent, or should you rent an RV?
-How much money should you bring with you?
-Around how much did the trip cost you (for those who have done it)
-most of all, is it worth the ticket price/ airfare/ and whatever other costs?
-If Im under 21 can I drink?
-what do you do for food?
-do you have to know German well? I know some from taking the class for 2 years in school if that helps.

Please help me out, I hope to make the trip sometime during college years. That's coming up next year!

I can answer this one, though i've never been to Wacken. You can because the legal drinking age in Germany is 16 for beer/wine and 18 for hard liquor.

I've never been to Wacken, but it is in Germany, so yes you can drink. The drinking age is 16.

Also, I am entering college next year, and I am considering going next summer. So I am also wondering these questions. And HeathenThrone, this does sound kinda creepy but if you need someone to travel with and I end up going, maybe us 'mericans could work something out.

Although I'm no expert, I'm guessing the entire excursion will cost a few thousand dollars, including airfare, food, shelter, tickets etc.. You can't really decide if it's worth it or not unless you have the list of bands performing. This year it definitely would've been worth it (Iron Maiden, Alice Cooper, Slayer, Motley Crue!!), although for next year you'll have to wait to see.

Just a thought, ask your local Travel Agency, my parents have gone to Disneyland twice for Fall vacation and they've both had it taken care of through that. Granted this is a little more different, but they still could help.

http://bnm.podomatic.com/entry/eg/2009- ... 4_59-07_00

Here is a 43-minute radio show report from a Metalhead who attended Wacken '09. In addition to talking about the bands, he discusses different aspects of the trek, enduring the whole ordeal, as well as the different "markets" to buy merch. This could be useful to you.

I once went to Wacken, and I am from South America, so I will try to answer your questions.

1 - Hamburg is pretty close, from there you will have to take two trains, which will be almost full of metalheads anyway.. Trains fare are not that expensive, but you could consider buying then prior to your journey

2-Yes.
3- Read first answer.
4-You DON'T get a tent with the ticket.. you cold buy one in Germany or you could bring one with you (it's actually pretty small...) I don't know if you can rent it there, since I brought mine with me.
5-That's relative to how much you are willing to spend.. you should always have some money so that custom's on airport won't bother you... and enough for food/drinking..
6- Don't remember.
7- It certainly is
8-Yes
9- There are plenty of places selling food inside the festival, you shouldn't worry.. you can also make a 2 hour walk to the nearest city and buy some food there.
10- I did not know anything of german when I went there.. only enough to say good day and good night.. most germans (and europeans) do speak good english, so you should do fine.

i've been to Wacken twice, but as I live in the centre of Europe (Austria) I can't help you about the price of the flight, sorry.

Costs:
I paid approximately 300 Euros for each journey - 120 Euros for the ticket, ~ 100 Euros for the train and 80 Euros for food alcohol etc.
Usually, you can buy everything you need on the festival area or in the small village of Wacken - there are two supermarkets, but prepare to wait for quite a long time, as you might not be the only one who needs beer . The W:O:A offers a lot of merchandise articles, so for example even tents or camping chairs, but I wouldn't rely on getting one, as they are usually sold out quickly, so it might be a better idea to bring them with you or to buy them in Hamburg before you go to Wacken.
As I usually try to spend as little money as possible, I can't tell you how much you would have to pay if you spent all your time in the festival area, eat and drink there and buy tons of merch. I heard about people who spent more than 500 Euro without the costs for the journey and the entry.

how to get there:
From Hamburg, you have to go to Itzehoe by train and then to the village of Wacken by bus or taxi. The train is ~ 20 Euro (to Wacken and back again), the bus 7 Euro.

Food and drinks:
there are a lot of market stands in the festival area, but they are quite expensive. It might be a better idea to bring a camping stove with you and cook your own meal (tins etc.). I don't know exactly, but I can't imagine that you are allowed to take a camping stove with you in a plane, so you might want to buy one in Hamburg. Same with the drinks: they are expensive in the festival area, but quite cheap in the village of Wacken, as in nearly every front garden the house owners sell every kind of alcohol you can imagine and also cheap breakfasts. The beer in the supermarkets is very cheap and there's always enough in store during W:O:A. But don't forget that you have to pay deposit on bottles and cans in Germany.
About the alcohol: Noone cares. You could be 15 and totally drunken and noone would care. But for legal reasons: as already said, you are allowed to drink beer and wine once you are 16, and you might drink every kind of alcohol once you are 18.

Language:
Don't worry, you don't have to know a single word in German. There are people from all over the world and most of them don't even know English. Nevertheless, they don't have any conversation problems (this might be because drunken people usually find a way to express themselves).

hope this helps a bit

links that might be useful
http://www.wacken.com/en/woa2010/main-info/anfahrt/
http://www.wacken.com/en/woa2010/main-i ... tival-abc/

Heck it would be prett awesome if a shitload of dudes from this forum went together and setup a metal-archives tent or something. I would be down.

Thanks guys for all the advise this REALLY helps, and I read each one of your posts. It seems like it's gonna be pricey but whatever, I'll work my ass of this summer and make a wacken fund. I really wanna bring my friend too though. I think like a devout Muslim goes to Mecca, as a devout metalhead I should go to wacken. It would be the highlight of my life lol. Thanks again for all the info guys and I hope this thread can help others out too!

Going this year, but with some people who have done it before, so i'll try to answer this in accordance to what i've been told about the trip:

- the airport in Hamburg is supposedly the closest.
- airfare depends on when you book it. Just from our watching this year we've found flights as cheap as $850 and as high as $1290 in the past couple months, and right now it's around $950-1000 ranges. However my friend made it last minute when running wild announced it was their farewell show, he got his for about $600 because the airlines need to fill those seats at the last minute sometimes. Also keep in mind the time of year is a factor. July-august are major traveling season months so flights are more expensive than they would be if you booked this say in the fall or winter.
- Train and public transport. I guess there's a train to Itzehoe then a bus to wacken or something, but i'm not entirely sure. Best to ask someone whose done it.
- Basically you pitch a tent wherever, though it's not provided, just the camping itself is included with the ticket. You can buy a cheap tent and discard after the trip like some do, bring something from home, or you can rent an RV if you don't want to sleep on the ground.
- This depends on your spending habits. You'll need money to eat/drink for a few days, but then the merch booths and market would make it bad to go empty handed. Some people spend hundreds there i'm sure, others might just buy a couple t-shirts and call it a trip.
- So far the trip i'm planning I figured it to about $2,500 between airfare, passport, ticket, transit, food, drinks, booze, and spending money for merch, and that's assuming i have to pay higher end airfare. If I can get cheap airfare around $800-900 then i can probably make do on $1,800-2,000. I've heard of some people making the whole trip on under $1,500 as well though, because it depends on how much you want to spend.
- If it's worth it depends on yourself. I've found it worth it because while i've seen most of the major bands numerous times, the experience in itself seems fun, especially as i'm going with about 5 other people, and it's likely bands will play a top notch set for a festival like this (like iron maiden and Immortal for example). If it wasn't for that though, i'd have stayed home this year since their lineups have been in a decline and going alone would not have suited me.
- Germany's drinking law is 16+ for beer/wine and 18+ for hard liquor. Seeing as you're making the trip alone, i imagine you're at least 18 in which case you can drink til you puke for all they care. Though of course be responsible my friend. A little fun fact is apparently there's a euro redemption on the beer cups/glasses, so if you save them you can turn them in and make a few bucks back as well, at least this is something i was told from a friend, so i'm hoping it's true.
- Buy food from the village, or i'm sure the festival grounds will have something. My friends and i were thinking of getting a mini grill and cooler and buying meat in the village, though i'm one of those guys who could live off of sandwiches and vodka the whole trip.
- Learning some basics wouldn't be a bad idea. I'm going with someone who has an intermediate level of understanding at least if not better, and some Europeans will have pretty good English that you can communicate with them. My friends tell me the Germans who go are pretty friendly too so not to worry.

I plan to attend after my country's goddamned mandatory national service. Should be a cool experience, going to a festival to see metal bands, lots of metalheads around. I'm trying to sound nonchalant about what will likely be the most exciting thing in my life lol.

You don't have that kind of events in Singapore?

Thanks for the extra info. ANd to clarify I didnt expect for them to provide a tent, and I wouldent be making the trip alone. I think I definately will do this sometime in college. I like how the Wacken town is fairly accessable from the concert grounds. SOunds like a ton of fun!

Been there three times - 06-08. I must say I'm not going anymore because of the line-up and the price, but if you like the bands, more power to you.

I can't comment on flights/airports, since I've gone with busses the times I've been there. Supposedly Hamburg is the closest airport.

As others have said, you have to take a train from the airport. The German national railway company's site is www.db.de - I am not sure if it has an 'In English' option, but you might have a friend that can make do in German, and then it's very useful for train schedules and the likes.

Beer - I went by bus, as said, and we always bought beer for the entire festival at the bordershops between Denmark/Germany - very cheap. You'll have to buy beer at the festival area or in the town. I haven't actually been to Wacken town, since we bring all the shit we need and just abandon everything when we go home, so can't comment on prices. On the festival grounds though, a draught beer (0.5 liter/pint) is 4 euroes IIRC. So that can end up pretty expensive.

There are TONNES of food stalls all over the place, with all kind of different food. Count on paying 4-5 euroes/meal. You can, as others have said, by a transportable or maybe even disposable grill and buy your own food, which could be a good idea, since your stomach won't like eating festival/junk food and drinking alcohol like a pig for 4 days.

Toilets - there are festival toilets scattered all over the area. It's a REALLY good idea to bring your own toilet paper.

About language - generally all Europeans can make do in English. In my experience, the Germans (at least those at Wacken) aren't very good at it though, so it won't hurt to learn a few German words/sentences ("where is X", "I would like to order X", "how much is this" etc). You don't need it at all though, everybody working at the food stalls and so on understand sign languages. I SUCK at German (though I know/knew the very basics) and they aren't too well in English, but I've never had any problems.


About 'was it worth it' - yes, I've had such great times there. Now, the price has gone up and, to me, the line-up has been getting worse. So now I would say it is not worth it for me. If it will be worth it for you - how the fuck are we supposed to know?

I hope you'll have a great experience if you end up going!

Dude, singapore is the crappest place to live. I'll let somone from Singapore answer though.

Im making the trip in a few years, interesting to see how much it will cost.

Are you kidding? I was made for junk food and beer!

There's a company called Metal Travel that runs buses from, among other places, Hamburg airport straight to the festival. I used it once, but it was 6 years ago and I don't know how much it costs now. Anyway, I'm pretty sure there's info about it on the WOA website, and they have their own site as well.

Like others have said, you can get supplies in town, but get there as soon as possible, as the lines are long and things sell out. The only big supermarket that I found was on the opposite end of town, maybe 20-25 mins walking, but there are a few smaller shops as well. I also remember there only being one ATM in the whole town, which is a pain in the ass. You can rent lockers for the weekend, and I left my extra cash, passport and other valuables in there most of the time. Somebody watches them the whole time, so it's pretty safe.

The toilet paper suggestion was definitely a good idea.

Another thing about the camping areas - it's a good idea to get there as early as you can, so you can try to get a spot on high ground, especially if you don't have a pretty decent tent. It rained like hell one of the days I was there last time, and parts of the camping area were basically underwater. Luckily I went two days early and got a prime spot.

As far as money goes... It seems like once you're in, you should be able to survive on about 30£ a day, just for food. Maybe less. A few euros more if you want to take a shower, which I broke down and did the last day both times I was there. I actually don't drink, so I have no idea about beer prices, but I would imagine that the suggestions about bringing your own are probably right. There's a big marketplace selling anything from medieval clothing to bullet belts, and then there's another market within that market that costs a few euros extra that's basically a huge record and cd market. I probably spent about 300£ in there both times I went to WOA. so if you've got a sweet tooth for hard-to-find (or even not-so-hard-to-find) vinyl or cd's, start saving your pennies now.

Is it worth it? Wacken was the first big open air I'd been to, and I was completely blown away. Even if you've been to metal festivals in the States (I'm also originally from the US), you have no idea what you're in for. Hell, the second time I went I wasn't even that stoked about the lineup, and I still had an amazing time. If you can do it, you should.

i wonder how to recharge my camera/handphones battery over at the camping site? i'm attending this year's Wacken by the way.

I'm planning to bring my compact camera since they don't allow attendees to bring DSLRs in.

I will be attending my second Wacken this summer, but it looks like all your questions have been answered. All I can say is that every metalhead needs to go at one point. You could not watch a single band and still have an amazing time, although that would be incredibly silly, you get the point. It's just a blast from beginning to end. Also, the metal market has every metal CD/t-shirt ever made, ever.

Survivor of Wacken 07 and 08, with the wristbands still on my left wrist to prove it!

I just thought I'd clarify, there are two airports close by. One is the big Hamburg airport which handles all the international flights, the other is Lubeck, which is smaller and caters to the budget airline crowd like Ryanair etc. Lubeck is further away from Hamburg town centre than Hamburg airport (I think...certainly felt like it!) I just mention this in case you want to do other festivals before or after Wacken and are travelling using internal European flights (which are cheap if you book early, check out Ryanair or Easyjet, they're the most popular).

I couldn't agree more about it being a metal pilgrimage akin to Mecca or Lourdes or what have you. The feeling you get from being surrounded by 60K metalheads is spine-chilling - I saw Iron Maiden there in 2008, and we heard reports that 10K people couldn't get in and had to watch from the football field next door! 70K people belting out 'Fear of The Dark' - it's giving me goosebumps just reminiscing...

Eurekast: I'm sure your digital camera and mobile phone will last 3 days! Bring spare batteries if that's the case.

To the OP: if you don't want to drag a tent all the way from the States, you could buy one from Hamburg town centre, but I would imagine that prices would be skyrocketing in anticipation of the incoming festival crowd. Those roll-up one-man tents aren't too much of a bitch to handle, you should be fine.

The supermarkets there are well-packed and it's not uncommon for them to sell out of stuff way before noon. If there's only one thing that you should buy, it's water. Water is at a premium in festivals, so buy all the water you can carry (but don't waste!) unless you plan on not brushing your teeth and living on litres of beer.

Merch is fucking exorbitant and yet they sell out by the second day. I didn't get a Wacken 08 shirt because of that (although I still have my 07 shirt as a treasured possession!) and I remember an Iron Maiden hockey shirt costing about 80 euro. That's madness. The metal market is not bad but other festivals like Hellfest definitely have better metal markets.

German food is awesome if you're not vegetarian. German beer comes in litres. That's all you need to know. Ein bier, bitte is all the German you're ever going to need. Oh, and Danke, of course.

Toilets are awful, no surprise, although you can pay a couple of euro to get into the nicer toilets as well as get a cold shower. I took enough immodium to freeze my bowels for weeks, and so didn't have to take a shit until I got home to London.

Other essential items:
Money - I spent about 150-200 euro over five days, including internal travel, food, booze etc but minus merch, the flights and the cost of the ticket.
Toilet fucking paper
Print out the running order or buy a schedule
Protection from the rain + sun + warm clothing - the sun was crazy in 07, in fact, there was a small fire in front of the stage because the straw they put down was so dry. Conversely, it's freezing at night. In 08, it was boiling hot the first day and pissing down the next two days.
A good sense of fun

Enjoy what will likely be one of the best metal experiences of your life. As someone above said, the music is almost secondary to the people you'll meet and the fun you'll have. Good luck!

Last (and only time) I went there I only took one shower, at day one... so I could save a few euros.....

It was not that cool to wear the same mud-dirty jeans for 3 days.

Is a lock on your tent zipper a good idea to keep the Germangays from sneaking in with you at night?

Don't worry, it's a metal festival. Not a schiza expose.

As if we'd want to.

Hey, what´s with the hatin´ on the manlove? Denim and leather brought us all together!

I'm more of a spandex guy myself. So that's what brings me together.