How to Prepare for EDC Las Vegas 2018

*DISCLAIMER: These tips have been gathered from forums, tweets and from friends. Some are mine and some are from others. Take these tips as you wish you DON’T have to follow them but thought they would help*

Being under the electric sky at EDC Las Vegas is one of the most indescribable experiences. I call it the EDM Super Bowl and where all ravers go to heaven.  This year many people will travel far and wide to Las Vegas to experience EDC from May 18-20. It is an insane weekend that requires a lot of energy and stamina. Here are my best tips to help you prepare for EDC.

Before EDC

• Take Emergen-C the week leading up this will help build up your immunity before.
• Exercise and eat healthy, look good but also feel good!
• If you’re in Vegas early before EDC, starts take it easy! There is a lot of partying going on, but you don’t want to exhaust your energy before EDC even starts.
• Buy outfits with a good amount of time so you can make sure that everything fits and goes together as planned
• Make a list of what you’ll need to bring for the festival and for where you’ll be staying (i.e. food and gatorade for when you get back)
• Money: You can easily make EDC a $1000 trip or you can get by only spending $100 the entire weekend. Depends on how you budget. I bought protein bars, case of water and gatorade for our room then planned to eat one meal when we were at EDC. Our hotel also had $5 pizza that was yumm. Good rule of thumb is to budget a little more than you think you’ll need just in case.
• Some people recommend starting to get your body used to being on a different schedule so a couple days before they’d try to stay awake about the same time you’d be at EDC and sleep during the day.
• Make kandi to trade leading up! So many people will create awesome and unique pieces to trade. Share the love!

What to Bring

• Invest in comfortable shoes
• WEAR COMFORTABLE CLOTHES. COMFORT OVER FASHION
• Spray bottle and fans to move through crowds
• You think you won’t need a hydration pack but you definitely do!
• Buy items in threes for all three days since they have to be unopened: Sanitary wet wipes, tissues, gum, chapstick etc.
• Portable phone chargers!!
• Walkie Talkies
• Earplugs

Transportation

When it comes to shuttles….

Last year the shuttles were a MESS. Waited 2-3 hours just to get onto the shuttle even if you got there early and others didn’t get home until 9-10am in the morning. Expect that the first day will be a rough as they’re smoothing out logistics. Try and have water while you’re in line, a lot of people got overheated when waiting. Pasquale promises a new procedure for this year so fingers crossed there will be a reduction in wait times.

• Make sure you have enough time. We wanted to get there when gates opened at 6, so we left our hotel at 3:30 to get in line.
• The ride will still be close to an hour from the strip
• The wait at night will still probably be awhile so expect to be up later than you think. It stinks if you want to stay the full time; however, if you care about getting back to your hotel at a decent time even just leaving 30 minutes to an hour before the final set ends will help.

Fingers crossed shuttles will be a better experience for people using them. Just plan ahead is the best advice and have a positive attitude! It was rough last year but it was out of our control. All we could control was the times we got in line.

If you’re driving to EDC…

Driving to EDC might be a more cost-effective option for you and your friends!

• If you can, buy the parking pass & drive there. It was way quicker & cheaper than the shuttles. Bring snacks, gatorade/water, advil etc. to leave in the car for when you’re on your way back to the hotel each day
• Remember where you parked and realize how big the parking lot is.
• Have everyone use their phones to mark the location of the car in case they get separated!
• Take a picture of where your car is parked 360 view getting any big signs in the background to help you navigate your way back to your car

Rideshares…

• Extreme caution using Uber and Lyft, some people got them cheap depending on when they ordered them but when it’s 5 am and everyone’s trying to leave…good luck.

How to Experience EDC

Pro Tips:

• Go early the first day and EXPLORE. This is also the best time to get photos (#goldenhour) as the sun is setting.
• Explore everything at EDC! There’s so many fun activities to do aside from seeing sets
• Try to go to every stage at least once!!
• Don’t get super caught up in a schedule. There will be conflicts but just pick a couple of must sees and go with the flow.
• Get on someone’s shoulders at least once while at the Kinetic Field. Next level experience overall
• The bleachers at Cosmic Meadows are a great place to chill and watch a set if you’re feeling tired, you have a great view of the stage and can meet other people.
• Check out the art cars if you can! They had a lot of surprise sets there last year (LTC, Louis, Jai Wolf b2b on the Brownies and Lemonade art car?!)
• Plan on it taking like 15 minutes to get from some stages to another if they’re not next to each other
• If you want to see the nightly fireworks show, don’t be too close up to a stage. You’ll get an incredible view if you’re further back from a stage.

Food/Water:

• HAVE THE LEMONADE. THANK ME LATER.
• Food at EDC is pretty decent with churros, hot dogs, pizza, teriyaki bowls (BOMB), and food trucks! Not too expensive at all.
• Water bottles are free at med tents but don’t abuse it.
• Water stations are almost at every stage. The side that has self-serve water almost never has a line.

Squad Tips:

• Time stamp text messages and use apps like Firechat that’ll help you communicate with your group
• Change your data settings in your phone to turn off data on apps you won’t be using to save battery life
• If you get lost just have fun until you find your friends again. Getting stressed and freaking out until you find them just ruins the experience. You’ll meet back up so have fun in the meantime.
• Establish any meeting spots at the beginning in low traffic areas to reunite with your friends should you get lost.
• If you want to see a set and your group wants to go somewhere else, JUST GO! See who you want to see and make friends!
• Totems are super clutch!!!! Make a fun one with your group that can be identifiable from anywhere in the crowd

How to SURVIVE

• Stay Hydrated!!! Just by taking a couple of extra minutes to get water will save you in the long run
• Know your limits in whatever you choose to do. Go to the med tent if you or someone needs help. No set is worth someone’s personal safety.
• Have Powerade, Gatorade or Pedialyte back at where you’re staying to help replenish your electrolytes.
• Ibuprofen or Excedrin will help with achey muscles.
• Eat at least 2-3 meals to give you energy! Fuel your body with what it needs to last throughout the weekend
• You can get ice from some of the vendors to put in your camelback!
• Try to sleep! It’s really hard but getting some hours of sleep will help you last.
• Warning: Be careful taking melatonin or any drowsy medication because it can affect your sleep schedule post-EDC. Take those if you know you’re going to get a full 8 hours. I got about 5-6 hours because by the time we got back at 9 am we slept until like 2 pm because then we work up, ate, got ready and went back to the shuttles by 3:30-4 pm.

EDC is an incredible experience I am so so excited to be back under the electric sky! I will have more posts about how to recover post-EDC, what to wear and more! Was there anything I missed? Let me know in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer.