You might expect buying the tickets to be the easy part of
Festival planning - but in Edinburgh, it's not always that way.
First of all, you need to account for the fact there are a
number of separate Festivals running simultaneously, each with
its own ticketing system. And at the largest of those
Festivals, the Edinburgh Fringe, there are separate booking
arrangements for most of the independent venues as well.
FringeGuru's Plan Your Visit section explains these
different festivals, and the complementary specialities of each
one. When you're armed with that information - and a bit of
our Festival know-how - it's not hard to navigate your way
between the box offices. And once you're connected to the
right system, there's certainly no shortage of ways to book:
you can get your tickets in person, by phone or online.
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 When it's time to get tickets for the Edinburgh Festival, the first question to ask is - which Edinburgh Festival? Depending on how you count, there are up to ten separate Festivals in Edinburgh during August - each with their own ticketing arrangements and a separate box office. It's confusing at first, but if you remember a few rules of thumb you'll go easily to the right place first time.
It is true to say that the vast majority of tickets sold are for just one of the Festivals - the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. As luck would have it, though, the Fringe itself has the most complex ticketing system of all, making a wild goose chase for Fringe tickets particularly frustrating. So, unless you're absolutely sure - it's worth a quick check before you dive in. |
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 Update on 5 August: FringeGuru continues to advise you avoid the Fringe central box office.
Following major problems with its central box office system, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe has changed a number of ticket booking and collection arrangements this year. Because of these issues, FringeGuru recommends you do not book with the Festival Fringe box office. Instead, you can get tickets for the majority of Fringe shows directly from the venue - and the venues' own box offices are not affected by the Fringe's computer problems. |
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Despite its status as the world's premier arts festival, seats for the EIF aren't that hard to get hold of, and for many performances at least some tickets will be available on the door. However, the more affordable tickets sell out fast and it's difficult to predict how popular a particular event will be - so, with box offices opening right back in April, it's sensible to book up as soon as you know what you want to see. |
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Special arrangements apply to the end-of-Festival fireworks, which ring the curtain down on the whole affair in the first week of September. Though most of the crowds have headed for home well before the fireworks go bang, the annual show makes a spectacular final treat for local residents - or those few visitors who have hung around until the very end. |
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 Courtesy Edinburgh International Book Festival |
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 Courtesy Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival |
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The phenomenal success of the Edinburgh Military Tattoo makes it harder and harder to get tickets each year. Whereas, a decade ago, seats were often available on the day of the performance itself, these days the event is sold out as early as January. |
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Edinburgh's smaller and newer festivals generally have less formal booking arrangements, often based on direct contact with the venue concerned. |
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Festival How-To 
