Budapest - Hungary's music festival season gets underway in early July with big-name bands set to release their hits amidst glorious natural settings. The biggest and best-known festival is the long-running Sziget, set on an island in the middle of the Danube River just north of Budapest, but the fresh-faced Balaton Sound Festival may well prove to be a better option.
Balaton Sound, which runs from July 10 to 14 in Zamardi, central Hungary, takes its name from the big lake it is set on.
Fatboy Slim, Massive Attack, Goldfrapp and The B52s are the musical attractions in the festival's second year, but the biggest draw is the surroundings.
Pink-tinged clouds nestle above the expanse of blue water as the sun goes down, and festivalgoers can take a break from the loud music to dip their feet in the lake.
Balaton is notoriously shallow - you can walk for hundreds of metres before the water reaches waist-height - and last year ticket dodgers used this to full effect.
Once darkness fell, shadowy figures appeared from the murky lake - people who had donned their swimming trunks to wade through the water and avoid the security.
Proximity to the lake also brings a downside. Come dusk, swarms of biting insects besiege the shores of the lake, although the bands bear the brunt of the attacks.
The bugs are drawn to the bright lights of the stage, and last year The Beastie Boys' Mix Master Mike spent just as much time waving away clouds of insects as he did working the decks.
For those who don't fancy camping, there are some quirky communist-era hotels in and around the nearby resort of Siofok - although the beaches tend to be thronged by overweight middle-aged men in disturbingly small swimming briefs.
The VOLT festival, held from July 2-5 beside the picturesque town of Sopron near the Austrian border, is an option for those who like their music heavier. The Offspring, Cypress Hill and Hungarian noise merchants Tankcsapda are the main attractions there.
However, the big daddy of the festivals is the weeklong Sziget, which runs from August 12. It attracts tens of thousands of music fans from all over Europe to the leafy Obuda Island in north Budapest.
As befitting its more mature age of 16, this year the festival is wheeling out many bands that are slightly longer in the tooth.
Fortunately for Iron Maiden, the Sex Pistols, REM and Jamiroquai the sound system is loud enough that their creaking joints won't be audible as they jump around the stage.
Over 70,000 people are expected to cram the island every day to take in the headline acts, as well as catch theatre performances, world music and local groups at the many different stages and tents dotted around the island.
Obuda Island sits in the middle of the Danube around eight kilometres from Budapest city centre, and buses run regularly back and forth to the city. Festivalgoers can also jump on a ferry and enjoy the spectacular Danube panorama en route.
INFORMATION: Details of all three festivals and information on tickets can be found at www.sziget.hu
DESTINATION: Hungary is a former communist state in Central Europe, now a member of the EU.
CLIMATE AND BEST TIME TO GO: The festivals take place in the height of summer, when temperatures can soar above 40 degrees Celsius.
LANGUAGE: Hungarian bears virtually no relation to any other Western language, but English is widely spoken in many towns and cities and at the festivals.
CURRENCY: Hungarian forint.
