Special events - embraced, or dreaded?

My guess is that they want to avoid the crowds, the increase in price for nearly everything, the difficulty in getting accommodations without paying a fortune etc.

Embrace them. We happened to be in Venice during the Festa del Redontore. We had not researched this and we were treated to a wonderful celebration including a fireworks display the likes of which we had never seen. Maybe if we had read about this it would have seemed overcrowded and somewhat threatening. But, having experienced it we would love to do it again!

If there's a festival, a marathon or an election or protest, I usually manage to hit it. It's a gift. It usually turns out to be pretty fun. I've covered Fete de la Musique in Paris (and loved it so much I returned the next year), I've hit Glastonbury, an election in Athens. We did Semana Santa in Costa Rica - the one day a year I think the country is "dry" - the bar in our hotel was closed off with crime scene tape. This year, I booked us into a hotel in Vancouver that was right on the route of the Sun Run, and so 50,000 people ran in front of our little balcony while we had our coffee.

Depends on what you're looking for in the visit. Sometimes you're looking for a special experience like Bastille Day or New Year's Eve or (one of our favorites) Christmas in Oaxaca, Mexico, and so you're willing to deal with crowds and higher prices and (in Oaxaca) loud explosions and barking dogs into the night. Other times you want a quieter season, lower prices, less crowding, less need to reserve rooms far ahead. Good planning means either embracing or avoiding these events as you prefer. But the best planning can't be perfect, so the best advice is to embrace the festival if you find yourself in the middle of it.

Next spring we'll be arriving in the Netherlands on King's Day, which is on a Friday so maybe will become King's Weekend. I've been told to expect traffic, crowds, and lots of people selling stuff, some with orange hair. We didn't plan our visit around this, but around a cruise schedule. But we're looking forward to the experience, made our reservations well ahead, and we'll bring something orange to wear. Serendipity.

Definitely in the “embraced” category! We’ve also been to Paris for their June 21 Music Evening, at the Venice Regatta, in Wengen during the Jungfrau Marathon, at the Nerja Féria in Spain, Grosseto Notte Musica, and Torino for the MITO Milan/Torino Music Festival. Each of these enhanced our great memories of those locations!

In 2018, I will be in Stresa during their Music Festival, be in Verona during the Opera Season, and at Arezzo during the Jousting Festival. I was hoping to see Lucca’s Lantern Festival, too, but I ran out of vacation days. Yes, the hotels may cost a little more but usually there’s the benefit of so many activities.

I was in Malaga and Sevilla last year for Semana Santa deliberately, but I'd been to Sevilla a couple of times before, so I my goal was to see the celebrations and I was willing to pay double for a room and suffer the many crowds. Venice for Carnevale is terrific, but not great for a first visit to sightsee and get to know the city. On some trips, I've lucked out and been in places when there was a one-day local celebration. Visiting the Christmas markets I was able to combine sightseeing with the festivities.

I think people who avoid the high prices and supercrowds are making smart choices. So are those who choose the special occasions.

We've stumbled into a couple of special events that we weren't expecting (including a Communist Party march in Granada!), and always delighted in the serendipity.

Well, I'd rather avoid unless I specifically am going for that event.

Ex - when I was planning to visit Amsterdam in 2017, I was trying to decide whether to go at the start of my holiday or at the end. Some people pointed out if I went the dates at the end, I'd be there over King's Day. I looked into it and I wasn't really interested in being part of that party, so I did Ams at the start.

Next year, I'm planning to go to Venice for Carnivale...because it's on my bucket list and I want to experience it, even tho I know things are going to be more expensive and very crowded, but at least I have that knowledge ahead of time (And this will be our 5th time to Venice, so I know how to get away from the crowds and have already seen the major sights). I hope in future years, we can experience New Years somewhere like Paris or London, and I really want to do Xmas markets a few times - be it in Germany or France or wherever. I'm trying to think of other festivals that I would plan my vacation around, but nothing is coming to me right now (I have planned a few vacations around U2 concerts tho).

I'm just not a fan of huge crowds most of the time.

Thanks for the responses so far. One issue they bring up is that of planning versus spontaneity. Of course, planning is necessary in order to find (or avoid) particular special events. However, as Alan pointed out in his tale of the Festa del Redentore, there's a lot to be said for stumbling across special events, with no prior knowledge that they were happening - they can feel all the more special, and, as Alan mentioned, less worrisome. That's how it was for me that time in Florence. Another example is when I went to the Guggenheim (NY) and stumbled upon the Tino Sehgal 'Progress' exhibit (http://www.artinamericamagazine.com/news-features/news/tino-sehgal-guggenheim-this-progress/); apparently, the author of this article did the same thing.

Embrace them. They are usually truly unique. Festival in Edinburgh, unexpected Communist Party march in Vicenza, October Fest in Munich, local celebration on the summer solstice, and the regatta in Venice. Though I must admit having to walk from Piazzale Roma to our hotel due to the canal being closed to vaporetto traffic was a bit longer than I liked.

I agree that it depends on the event. If it's something that's interesting to me, great. If it's something that's not interesting, ties up traffic, means I have to figure out how to get back to my hotel when streets are blocked off, closes the things I'm interested in, increases tension, or some combination of these, no thanks. Unfortunately, I can think of two instances of the latter, where I happened upon events that just messed me up - with no upside. Had I known they were happening, I definitely would have planned around them.

Actually, a similar situation just came up locally last night - New Year's Eve in Times Square. Many out-of-towners seem to think this sounds like fun. And accounts from those who have done it seem to be mostly positive. Most locals avoid it like the plague, and have for many years - even before the current security restrictions meant that you have to stand for many hours, penned in, with no bathroom access. So, should New Year's Eve in Times Square be embraced or dreaded? One might say the jury is still out (although I know where I stand - with most locals on the dread side).

I think that it's good to know about them. Some people would want to be in Munchen on Octoberfest, some would run away. Knowing about the event helps you plan - rooms during that period are usually a little higher. Plus there are crowds. But some want that experience. We look for fests and special events, but have never planned a trip around a huge event like Octoberfest.

We were in Frankfurt in May. We were walking around, and found a small street wine fest. We were very pleased to find it, and were highly amused that the music was basically James Taylor and that kind of Southernish folk-rock, also with Neil Diamond (Sweet Caroline). Watching Germans belting out "Sweet Caroline" was pretty amusing.

"embraced, or dreaded?"

For me, and for many others I'm sure, it depends on the festival/event and the situation.

I would avoid an anticipated event like Oktoberfest in Munich for several reasons, while others would embrace it (and plan for it). If it's unexpectedly running into the Tour de France while trying to drive to/negotiate small villages, then I would dread that. On the other hand if it's stumbling into a wine festival in a small village in Italy, then I would embrace that.

Regarding the last sentence: "Somehow, for visitors to want to avoid such things can feel as if they only want the place to be there on their (the visitors') terms." It may seem selfish but I think most tourists who have saved and planned for a special trip are going to want the objects of their anticipation, whether it's a place or a particular 'must see' attraction, to be there on their terms. That's only natural. However I also think many (maybe even most) travelers/tourists, both novice and experienced, are able and willing to go with the flow regarding special events.

It depends on what the special event is--if it's something I want to partake in, then that's great and I may schedule my trip to include it--also realizing my hotel is likely to cost more. Otherwise I tend to avoid them, rearranged my trip last April to leave Amsterdam a few days prior to King's Day.

Special events are an opportunity to experience more of the local contemporary culture. To me, that is more interesting than ancient art and museums. But if something's going on that doesn't interest you, its easy enough to avoid and find something that does.

I think that wanting to avoid sky-high hotel prices, overcrowding, and possible closures or access difficulties for attractions are perfectly good reasons for not booking during an event you aren't interested in, and certainly not "wanting the place to only be there on your own terms".

I've never been a reservation person and that's why festivals tend to steer me elsewhere. If something is a local event, no problem, hotels are still available and the atmosphere is well worth the visit. If it's a big tourist event, I'm less likely to go. The only time I ever thought I'd end up homeless was opening day of Oktoberfest in Munich. Puetzchens Markt in Bonn (among many other celebrations) is better anyway. Even if I take the trouble of reserving a place months ahead of time, the cost can still be outrageous. I've been to Pamplona, as an example, it's an okay town but really nothing that stands out as great. Packing it with tourists and charging ten times the normal price for a room doesn't make it more appealing to me. Holy Thursday in Seville is similar, packed and expensive. Holy Thursday in Spain offers at least two great alternatives; Zaragosa and Valladolid have great celebrations with crowds of locals but few tourists - which means hotels don't have to be reserved months ahead at heavily inflated prices. Holy Thursday in Zaragosa was one of the greatest experiences I've had.