Best way to get to wacken? Help

Hi,

Anyone who can help thanks in advance!!!

Right this is my first visit and I am organising the trip for me and a friend, we are staying in hamburg but camping on sight. Is it best to get to the festival site by getting the train to itzlehoe and then getting the shuttle bus or just getting a bus from hamburg.

I am camping and heading down the day before it starts. If I get the bus from hamburg it does not leave til 4pm and by the time I get there and check in all the good camping spots may be gone. Advise please

 

Well, if you come without a car, you will usually be allowed to camp on the "Camping Only" campsite, which is quite close to the festival area with the stages and so on. So don't worry about that one.

 

bus

I'll tell you right now, the shuttle busses from Itzehoe to Wacken SUCK. You could be stuck waiting to get on, for hours (untill you give up, and pay for a cab, which costs more than a case of beer....like I do) to actually get onto a cram-packed buss.
It's guaranteed to be a better value (even if it's a longer ride, or more expensive than the train....wich I'm not too sure it is, actually) to reserve a ride on the Hamburg-Wacken busses. I'm pretty sure you HAVE to reserve, if that's the way you want to go. They could be sold out already, for all I know.

Don't bring a big tent, if you want a good camping spot.

 

Sorry Lex, I do not totally agree with you. Depending on the time of arrival you can easilly gat on a bus or you're cramped in it.

I've never had any problems with it. (But I arrive around 8am Wednesday)

Last year I took a cab, shared it with 2 (or 3, don't knoww) and that's pretty ok. (€25 single trip)

 

Ok, so i guess the easy option is to be booked up for the bus back to hamburg to remedy records, I have sorted that, and best option as I am camping is to go early on the wednesday and get the train to itzelhoe and shuttle bus to Wacken, I am so fuckin excited

 

I don't that's possible. If I'm correct RR will only offer return tickets (meaning FROM Hamburg TO Wacken and FROM Wacken TO Hamburg in one ticket.)

But it never hurts to ask.

 

I am staying in Itzehoe at the hotel on Tuesday night so I can get an early start wednesday. I want to be out of the hotel by 8 am and probably will just take a cab right from the hotel to the campgrounds.

 

Getting a shuttle bus from Itzehoe to Wacken wasn't that hard. A load of people just seemed to stand at the side of the road ....just standing there, even when ths hsuttle bus came. So we just bypassed them and got on. After all queueing in Germany? When in Rome...


The way back was a nightmare though..

 

@ lifesadream -That's actually exctly what my plan is as well!

They did let me make a bus reservation one way from WOA to Hamburg....I'm still waiting for confirmation and payment info, however.

Maybe I've just always had bad luck with the Shuttles. I get pissed off when people don't respect the cue, and always have ended up in a swarm of people.
I did gave a comfortable ride once on the public bus from Itzehoe to Wacken. That can be a good alternative, too.

 

Thats cool. Too me it makes more sense to stay in Itzehoe on Tueday then to stay in Hamburg. Get a much earlier start and skip the Hamburg to Itzehoe traffic. We will have to meet up for a beer or 2 or 100.

 

So basically, I am staying in Hamburg the when i arrive and the best idea is to get to itzelhoe really early in order to use the shuttle bus to the site if I want to get a good camping spot as opposed to arriving late the night before the festvial starts?

 

2-10 sounds good to me (I gotta save my liver for trying to keep up with the Scandenavians....uff da!)! We're staying at the Itz' Hostel....I have no idea where exactly it is yet though.


Hey Turkey, you saw the bus shuttle options, right?


If you'll be in Hamburg Tuesday, they are bringing people directly to the camp starting that evening (20.00). If you can make it to that bus in time, that's probably actually your best/easiest option.....if you don't get to Hamburg untill Wednesday, getting the 4pm bus, and booking it round-trip, is still not a bad option.

The campground is going to be crazy, either way.

If you're worried about getting a spot, you could add yourself to the Forumcamp list. There's no guarantee you'll find it, or a spot there....or that it'll even be in a perticularly "good" location this year, but it can't hurt to add your name to the reservation.
Bring the smallest tent you can live in, and it'll be easier to find a spot.

 

What have we ever done?

 

You and your homies put my drunk American ass to shame.

I bow to your beer drinking skills!

 

To clarify - do you mean from Hamburg to/from ITZHOE? I don't remember seeing an actual train stop for the town of WACKEN. Perhaps I've missed something. I'm fairly transportation savvy tho.

Good information here though...I may switch our arrival in the "north country" of Germany a day earlier!