One of the most famous music festivals in the world located in Palm Springs, Indio, California, in the middle of the desert. It lasts 2 weekends (Friday to Saturday each), usually in mid-April. It lasts from noon to midnight.
Normal tickets are about 500usd, VIP 1000usd (check this each year as it can vary). Ticket is for an entire weekend. Also check the line up of each day, some artists come back and others only go on a specific day. #GuestTravelTips: Big artists often have surprise guests at their show! So don't leave early because you might miss something big!
Our recommendation is to get the normal tickets, since the location of the VIP ones is not that much different, and then you realize that there is another more unreachable VIP that is where the celebrities are. Also, most of the day you are moving from stage to stage.
The entrance is a bracelet with a chip that is activated through an app once you buy it. You can buy your ticket through the official Coachella website although depending on the time they may be sold out. There are other unofficial pages where people sell. Our highest recommendation is to only buy from someone who is willing to meet in person, let you activate the bracelet live and once you see that it is activated correctly in the app, pay them. Because there are a lot of scammers.
You can activate it without a problem days before the festival, in fact, they recommend it for this very reason, to make sure there are no problems.
There is a Facebook group for the festival where people also sell tickets, share tips, it is super useful.
This app is good for checking artists of interest and lets you know when they are about to start and in which stage/tent. You have a journey from tent to tent, go with time so you don't miss your favorite artists. The app also has a map of the place.
Must-haves and important #GuestTravelTips to consider:
WATER! It is important to bring a thermal bottle so that it lasts cold all day. It is possible that they will not let you enter with liquid, you can try or else bring an empty one and fill it inside.
SPF! You are all day in the middle of the desert under the sun, take care of your skin.
FAN! They sell portable little ones at CVS or any pharmacy or kiosk, it's VERY hot out there during the day.
HANDKERCHIEF! There are times when the wind blows a lot and it can be annoying.
COMFORTABLE CLOTHES! You will be many hours.
LIGHT CLOTHES! In the desert it is always hot, during the day the temperature rises a lot.
SOME COAT! At night the temperature can drop a lot. Maybe also carry some jeans in the backpack to change later if this happens.
CANVAS! Or some towel to throw on the ground and chill, it's tiring and many times you need to sit down for a while.
BELT BAG OR LITTLE HANDBAG! We recommend leaving the backpack with everything you need in the locker and having a comfortable smaller pack or purse to carry your money and phone. Be careful with your pockets, they can still you in the crowd or you can easily lose everything.
BATTERY CHARGER! If you have a portable one, even better, to be able to recharge the phone because between the photos and videos that one usually takes, it runs out very quickly.
CHAPSTICK! You are in the desert, take care of your dry lips.
CONTACT! Put your companion's data as a wallpaper on the phone in case you lose it so if anyone finds it they can reach out. Also, if you have a camera, take a photo of your contact and if someone finds it, they can scroll the pictures and return it to you. Another tip: the phone signal collapses. We recommend not sending messages with questions, but sending messages with affirmations "we meet at X time in X place".
MEETING POINT! Put a meeting place with your friends in case you get lost in the crowd.
THERE ARE LOCKERS! You pay as soon as you enter and they give you a key to leave your things, you can open and close as many times as you want, it's yours for the day.
MERCHANDISE! If you would like to buy, we recommend doing so first thing in the morning on the first day. Then there are huge queues.
Other facts: you have the Heineken sector (or the beer that is a sponsor this year) that is an indoor space, with air conditioner. You just have to go to the stand to ask for the free bracelet and then you enter. It is good to rest a bit from the sun, it also has some armchairs to sit for a while. There is usually a DJ and they sell beer.
The beers cannot be purchased anywhere in the festival, you can get it either in this sector or in another open but delimited sector called BEER GARDEN. You can only drink beer inside these places, they don't let you go out with it.
There are many food and drink stalls. And many bathrooms sectors. Generally, the ones with the fewest people are the ones that are located further, it is worth walking a little bit but not waiting in the long queue.
ACCOMMODATION! You have the possibility to buy the CAR CAMPING on the official Coachella website and sleep there. It costs between 100/200 usd. If not, you have several hotels in the area, but they sell out very quickly! If you stay at the campsite, take a flashlight, it can be very useful.
Important: parking is chaos. If you don't get there early it's very hard to get in. The organization is not good and the staff only want to avoid traffic so nobody informs you anything and they only give you the indication to "go to the next door", so you'll find your self just going from door to door.
Many people go in Uber to avoid this. There is an exclusive parking lot for them with a large stand, where at the end of the festival people go there and you can spend many hours on the waiting list to get yours.
Once you enter the venue you have a long walk to the stages. There is a bicycle service with a cart behind that will bring you closer for 10usd per person. BE CAREFUL because they don't do the whole journey, they are divided into sectors, if you are going to take one make sure it is the one that goes the longest journey, otherwise you might only pay for 100mts!
It is a specific date and the price is high, but if you have the opportunity, it is a GREAT experience.
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