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Are you excite to know about Festival Camping? Each spring, the start of the music festival season ushers in tent cities, large crowds, and the sounds of your favourite artists in picturesque outdoor locations. Camping at a festival is enjoyable, but to get the most out of the experience, you’ll need the correct supplies and some fundamental knowledge. In order to be ready and ensure that you don’t miss out on any of the excitement, let’s look at how to get started.
To make sure you don’t forget anything, print out the Festival Camping Checklist.
BEFORE YOU LEAVE
- Buy your tickets in advance. Get on it quickly or you can lose out on a festival because it can sell out months in advance.
- Conduct research. You may find many of the answers to your queries concerning parking, camping, and other issues on the festival websites. Find out if there is parking available at your campsite. Some events require you to park in a separate lot, which means you’ll have to lug your heavy coolers, camp furniture, and other supplies to your campsite. Your food and stuff can be transported to the campsite much more easily if you have a big backpack, a wheeled cart, and a rolling cooler.
- Get comfortable erecting your tent. Learn how to erect your tent, and make sure you have all the necessary accessories, such as the footprint, stakes, and repair parts. While some people appreciate their own space and will bring a large 6- or 8-person tent, others choose to bring a 1- or 2-person tent.
Find out more about selecting a tent for a festival camping trip.
FESTIVAL CAMPING PREPARATION
Make a sensible geographical choice. Numerous festivals, particularly the bigger ones, don’t give you a lot of options for camping. Consider the proximity to the restrooms and music venues, too, if you can arrive at the festival early and have a choice. Being close is sometimes pleasant, but not to the point where the sounds and scents ruin the experience. You might also locate a location with some privacy and shade. Additionally, if you pack a shade structure that you can set up in your campsite, you’ll be the envy of your neighbours when the sun is at its zenith.
Get your work done first. It may be tempting to sit back and unwind once you get to your destination or to rush straight to a music venue to catch the act, but it is important to take the time to set up throughout the day so that you won’t have to worry about it afterwards.
Protect your tent. Even if the weather is looking good, stake your tent securely. You don’t want your tent to take off like Dorothy’s house did in The Wizard of Oz if a sudden windstorm develops. Check out our useful advice for constructing your campsite.
Make a mark there. Finding your house among a metropolis of hundreds of tents might be difficult, especially if you’re exhausted and it’s early in the morning. Making your tent stand out from the rest with a flag, balloons, or battery-operated lights will assist. Find a landmark close to your tent that you can see from a distance if you don’t have a way to label your tent.
Make a mark there. Finding your house among a metropolis of hundreds of tents might be difficult, especially if you’re exhausted and it’s early in the morning. Making your tent stand out from the rest with a flag, balloons, or battery-operated lights will assist. Find a landmark close to your tent that you can see from a distance if you don’t have a way to label your tent.
Become at ease. After a long day of walking, bring comfort products like thick sleeping pads, blankets, and pillows to help you sleep peacefully. For peaceful sleep at a music event, earplugs are a need. You’ll be up all night watching your neighbours play loud music and get rowdy if you don’t have them. Bring a sleeping bag that is suitable for the weather. In order to avoid overheating in a backpack made for alpine terrain, choose a roomy bag rated +35°F on summer evenings. For sweltering summer nights, thin travel sheets and sleeping bag liners may be all you need. Read our post on selecting sleeping bags for camping for more suggestions.
FOOD & DRINK
Purchase or bring? Although many festival-goers wind up purchasing lunches and dinners from food sellers, other festival-goers decide to pack food for every meal. Purchasing meals keeps things easy but is little more expensive. A simple method to save money and avoid the trouble of having to pack and organise each meal is to bring food for breakfasts and snacks and then buy lunch and dinner.
Organising your kitchen: If you do want to prepare the majority of your meals, pack a 2-burner camp stove so you can boil noodles and reheat pasta sauce. A small camping stove will do the trick and take up very little space if all you need is a little amount of hot water and you won’t be cooking many meals.
For organisation and comfort at the campsite, camp kitchens, tables, and seats are fantastic. You can store your stove, pots, pans, spices, utensils, and other items on the tables and in the kitchens.
When food preservation is a concern, pack ice-filled coolers with your favourite fresh foods for vehicle camping. To cut back on ice purchases, think about high-insulation refrigerators. Coolers on wheels make it easier to move from the car to the campground. For organisation, use two coolers: one for food and one for beverages. A small soft-sided cooler can be useful for bringing food to the performance. Many festivals forbid huge food items; check the event rules for limits.
Advice: To get the maximum performance out of your cooler, prepare it by chilling it with an ice bag before you pack it, and make sure that food and beverages are cold when you put them inside.
CHOOSING FOOTWARES & CLOTHINGS
Feel great and look good. At a music festival, looking beautiful can be crucial, but so can your comfort. Many people are seen walking around in T-shirts and cotton shorts, which are adequate on a gorgeous day. But much like on a walk, you’ll be moving about and covering ground quickly, and the weather won’t always be ideal. Your journey will be considerably more enjoyable if you wear moisture-wicking base layers and are prepared with a high-quality rain jacket. You may avoid getting tanned all weekend long by wearing sun-protective shirts, shorts and pants.
You’ll be on your feet a lot during the course of the weekend, so wear comfortable, sturdy shoes. If the festival grounds turn into a mud puddle, you can keep your feet dry by wearing lightweight, waterproof hiking shoes. Flip-flops are perfect for relaxing at camp or taking quick strolls throughout the event.
ELECTRONICS
Keeping your phone charged is necessary if you want to Instagram your favourite images and communicate with friends who are attending the festival. One choice is to use a car charger to charge your phone and other electronics, but if you choose to do this, make sure you have a set of jumper cables on hand in case you empty your car’s battery.
A solar charger and a battery pack that you have already charged at home are a fantastic alternative. While you’re out having fun, you may use the battery pack to charge your smartphone and then recharge it using the solar panel. Lanterns, headlamps, GPS units, wireless speakers, AA batteries, AAA batteries, and a variety of other equipment can all be recharged using solar panels and battery packs.
Solar Charging Device Recommendations
- Solar Power Bank 26800mAh, Riapow Wireless Portable Charger
- Renogy 200 Watt 12 Volt Waterproof Portable Solar Panel
- Hiluckey Outdoor USB C Portable Power Bank with 4 Solar Panels
- BLAVOR Solar Charger Power Bank, PD 18W QC3.0 Fast Charging
- GOODaaa Power Bank Wireless Charger
Lighting your camp: Pack lanterns, battery-operated string lights, headlamps, and flashlights for after-sunset illumination. Make sure you always have a headlamp or torch handy so you can find your way to a friend’s tent or the toilet in the middle of the night.
Enjoy music at camp: You’ll want some background music when you’re unwinding at camp before the evening’s main event. For the duration of the weekend, pack a Bluetooth speaker and fill your smartphone with music.
GUIDELINES TO ENJOY THE FESTIVE EXPERIENCE
Be Patient: Festivals can attract tens of thousands of attendees, so be ready for long lines at the parking lot and traffic congestion as you approach the festival grounds. Keep in mind that having a fun weekend with awesome friends and music is what everyone wants. Maintain a full gas tank, take a deep breath, and remind yourself that your journey is your destination.
Pace yourself: A music festival is more like a marathon than a race. You don’t want to go out too wild the first night and miss your favourite band’s performance. Even though attending a music festival might not seem as taxing as going on a lengthy trip, you could easily spend 12 hours or more standing up while travelling between the music stages and your tent.
Get Cosy: Low-back camp chairs and blankets are perfect for lounging around in the music area. Check the festival website for details as many festivals have restrictions on the height of chairs permitted inside the concert. Browse our assortment of camp chairs.
Drink lots of water and other non-alcoholic beverages throughout the day to stay hydrated. A water-filled rucksack is a terrific way to stay hydrated as you move around the festival and enjoy the music. You can bring an empty water bottle or reservoir inside the music arena at most festivals so you can fill it up. To be certain, visit the festival website. Shop our collection of hydration reservoirs and water bottles.
Protect yourself from the sun: When you’re camping in a large field during the summer, it can be difficult to find shade. Summer is also music festival season. Bring plenty of sunscreen, make an investment in sun-protective clothes, and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
Hygiene: Everyone is aware that using a portable restroom is rarely enjoyable, but you’ll probably use one at a music festival. To make the most of the situation, bring extra toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and toilet seat covers. Usually, hand-washing facilities are placed close to the portable restrooms. In case the station runs out, carry a small container of biodegradable soap or hand sanitizer with you.
After a long day of dancing, some festivals offer portable showers so that you may clean off the dirt and filth. Have some cash on hand in case there is a small cost, and bring a towel. Consider carrying a portable solar shower that you may use at your camp if you are aware that the festival won’t have showers.
Safety: In general, music festivals have a positive attitude, and people will go out of their way to aid you, but regrettably, crime can still happen. Keep an eye on your pals, be aware of your surroundings, and use common sense. Establishing a meeting location is advisable in case you break from the group. When you’re not at camp, make careful to lock your valuables in your car. You can prevent theft by attaching a simple baggage lock to the zipper pulls on your tent doors.
If you need one, first-aid stations are available at festivals, but you’ll find that if you have a kit in your car or at camp, you can handle a lot of minor injuries.
Follow our Camping Essentials Blog for the basic camping needs.
