Every year for two weekends of April, people travel to Indio, California for the ever so famous and Instagram-glamorous festival: Coachella. I attended my first Coachella last year and whereas, I am a planner I wanted to prepare for this three day monster of a festival. I was spending HOURS for days looking for tips on how to prepare. Coachella has great resources on their website, but what’s missing is the ACTUAL experience, like what can I really expect. I’m talking about the nitti gritti stuff of what it’s like to be at Coachella and the overall experience. Sure, people’s Instagram photos paint a great picture of what it’s like, but what you don’t see is behind those photos is how hot it actually is and how many people are actually there.
This post is filled with lots of pro tips on how to survive Coachella. Share with anyone who may be going for the first time to help them prepare!
This was one of the reasons I started Vibe With Ade and I’m so happy to share it. There will also be future Coachella posts specifically related to pros and cons of camping, how to camp, and what to wear since I can talk about those on their own.
PRO TIPS
Weather: IT IS HOT. Even if you’ve lived in Arizona or California your WHOLE life, you will be hot. I am not joking about this heat. Prepare yourself with fans, cool towels, spray bottles., etc to stay cool. Also my GoPro died Day 1 and stopped working the whole weekend because it overheated so beware of that. I really didn’t notice being cold after the sun went down maybe from the stages I was at, it was still pretty hot and I was running off pure adrenaline of dancing the night away. Walking back to the campgrounds might have been a little cooler, but it definitely gets colder at night time when going to bed (more on that later 😉 ).
Totems: Totems are NOT allowed so if you NEED to have something for your group get creative! (#NeverForget our inflatable dolphin our group used last year). I saw other groups use a decorative umbrella, a crutch, inflatable items to help their friends find their group. If you choose the inflatable route don’t inflate until you’re in the gates.
Phone usage and cell service: Cell service was fine during the day, but once the sun sets is when most of the crowd enters Coachella. Expect your phone to not work especially if you’re closer to any of the stages. When I was out of the crowd, sometimes texts would come through. Be sure to timestamp your texts you send out to people. Also go into Settings-> Cellular->and turn off your data on everything you won’t be using at the festival. This saves your battery a ton.
Checkout the Attractions: The art installations, the vendors, and more are super cool to checkout. Last year there was the Antarctic dome put on by HP that was a 30-minute visual show. We went in there multiple times (mainly for the A/C) throughout the weekend. Also if you’re apart of the first group of people that enter the gates Day 1, you get a free ferris wheel ride ticket you can use anytime throughout the weekend!
The DoLab Surprise Sets: I left my Twitter app on to check for DoLab’s Twitter and our group had people stationed at DoLab to text when we found out who the surprises were. You were blessed if you caught Skrillex’s surprise set at the DoLab last year.
Shuttle Riders: The ride can be about 30 minutes (minimum) ride to about 45 to an hour in length and they don’t let you use the bathrooms on the shuttles, so use the bathroom before you get on. “Also when you take the shuttles, they drop you off about a mile from the security gates. Be prepared to walk in the scorching sun if you go during the day, it is MISERABLE. The walk back after Coachella is over is even worse because it’s like a 30 minute walk and everyone is huddled in a small walkway to get there. It’s super dusty you can’t even see and you’ve been on your feet all day and it’s freezing it’s literally the worst part of the whole weekend.”-(cc: Savannah Haas). Mentally prepare yourself now folks!
Getting to Venue: When you want to get to the venue is up to you, I usually looked at set-times and determined who I wanted to see. I camped so it was easy for us to get to the venue gates. A few of us went when gates opened the first day to check everything out and It was nice to see the calm before the storm for my first Coachella. The rest of the weekend we went to the gates 30 minutes before the first set we wanted to see. A majority of the crowd goes into the venue right before sunset to beat the heat so be aware of those peak times if you decide to go later.
Merch: If you want any Coachella or artist merch, I recommend going day 1 after gates open to get what you want and in the size you want. They also have merch areas in the camp grounds with selected Coachella merch that you could snag on Thursday when camping opens.
Thiefs: This happens so often at most festivals where people’s phones get stolen or items get stolen out of their bags. I had friends who were just navigating through a crowd and their phone got pick-pocketed in that moment. Be aware of your soundings and where you keep your belongings either have a fanny pack for important items in front of you or put items inside inner pockets in your hydration packs or small backpack.
What You Can/Can’t Bring
In addition to the resource Coachella provides and my list on what to bring to a festival, here are some things I learned that came especially handy for Coachella:
- HYDRATION PACKS ARE KEY TO STAYING HYDRATED. If you’re worried about your “aesthetic”, use VIBEWITHADE for 10% off stylish ones at Vibedration. I was so concerned about a hydration pack ruining the outfit but it doesn’t matter when it’s that hot I needed to stay hydrated no matter what. There are smaller sized hydration packs since they can get clunky or get in the way. A smaller and secure one will leave you less paranoid about people reaching in. You can also carry a reusable water bottle and a fanny pack if you’d rather not have a hydration pack.
- No Go-Pro sticks! Sorry vloggers, they will make you throw yours out. RIP to mine they made me throw mine out Day 1 of Coachella 🙁
- Bandanas: THIS IS A HUGE MUST. There is dust everywhere you will need a bandana no matter what. I went to a craft store and bought a couple cheap ones so I would have a different one for each day because by the end of the day they got so gross and I could just throw them out.
- Tissues, wet wipes: this is major for when those porta-potties are gross and out of toilet paper and hand sanitizer.
- Portable chargers: your phone will die and you will lose all your friends at one point of the weekend. I brought multiple portable chargers and would recharge at the charging station within the campgrounds.
- Cold towel, fans, spray bottles are LIFE SAVERS. You will thank yourself as well as the people around you who may not be as prepared for the heat as you will be 😉
Money
Aside from what you’ve already paid for ticket, hotel or camping, outfits and other stuff, you can easily spend under a $100 the whole weekend at Coachella. I basically spent about $60 the whole weekend. Each day I budgeted for one big meal for lunch/dinner and some popsicles throughout the day to keep cool. I didn’t buy alcohol since I knew I’d just sweat it out anyway. Most of my friends ball-parked around $50-$150 the entire weekend so up to you how you’re able to manage that. You can make it through the weekend on very little money or you can ball out, up to what you can budget!
Stages
Prepare yourself now, Sahara tent gets PACKED and it’s the hottest stage by far. I barely saw Martin Garrix because it was so packed. It’s literally like an airplane hangar with not much wiggle room. It sucks cause the visuals and production of this stage are always insane. If you get yourself to Sahara early before the artist you want to see, you’ll have a better chance of getting in there. Pick a ring leader to lead your group in you can usually find open pockets of space before a set (of course this is hard with set-time overlaps).
Yuma stage has A/C! Literally the best to go in there and chill if you have a break to. They have couches and usually some groovy music under a huge disco ball.
If you do anything at Coachella, GO TO THE DOLAB. The best stage, such a fun vibe in there. They also have people spraying water misters so it helps you keep cool during the day. The DoLab usually has some tricks up their sleeves with surprise sets (aka Skrillex surprise set last year!!!).
The main thing with any stage is: if you want a good viewing spot, it’s smart to get there before the set you want to see. My friends and I wanted to have a good spot for Dillon Francis in the Sahara tent so we got there two sets before (which was worth it I saw Steve Angello and Empire of the Sun).
Food & Water Situation
Pad Thai? Bomb
Paella? Bomb
Mozz Sticks? Bomb
Lobster Mac & Cheese? Bomb
Churros? Bomb
Popsicles? Bomb
Lemonade? NOT WORTH IT (sorry my heart belongs to EDC lemonade)
Coachella food is so yummy and you can definitely budget for it. A lot of the servings are huge too so you can split with friends. I know my friends and I all split a Paella one day.
Drinking at Coachella might not be worth it because you’ll just sweat it out.
There are several water stations spread out, but in case they’re long, I usually went into the bathroom by the DoLab and filled it up with sink water since it’s the same water (and usually colder).
If you’re 21+, a lot of the 21 areas have bathrooms that rarely have lines especially the one by mainstage.
Enjoy Every Moment
Coachella is really a beast of a festival to tackle, if you can survive Coachella you can survive ANYTHING. I know getting that perfect Instagram is on a lot of your minds, but once you get in the gates take a couple pics and then enjoy the rest of the festival (you’re going to sweat off your makeup anyway). I took max 20 photos that whole weekend and had the time of my life.
I wish I was venturing back to the desert this year, but Coachella will always have a special place in my heart and I cannot wait to return. Stay tuned for more tips for camping, what to wear, artists to watch and more. If I missed something, feel free to reach out @vibewithade on Twitter and Instagram or comment below!
Check out these tips in video format!
Sending you some good Chella vibes,
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