5 Tips for Getting the Most out of Your Music Festival Experience in 2020

It’s 8AM and you’ve just arrived to work,

coffee in one hand and a laptop bag in

the other.  As you prepare for another

mundane day, you get a text from your

best friend.  The text reads, “Made in

America Festival or Nah?”. This is her not

so subtle way of telling you that she is

ready to buy tickets to the festival and

like it or not you are going.  You scan the

lineup, look at ticket prices and happily

agree.  Before you can begin to put your mind back on work you begin to think about all the

other responsibilities that come with traveling to a different city and state for a festival.

Traveling for festivals, although fun and rewarding, can be costly if not properly prepared. 

Though festivals give festival goers an opportunity to see different cities, they are also perfect

ways for the hosting city to make extra money. Yet breaking the bank is the last thing you

should do. 

Should you book a hotel close to the venue?  Will you need a rental car?  Are there restaurants close by?  These are only some of the questions that need to be answered before you can board your flight.  Use these 5 tips to get the most out of your festival experience and save the most coins while doing so.

1.  Choosing the Right Hotel

Booking a hotel in a city that you have never been to may be difficult but with the

resources the internet now provides this can be a quick and painless process. Using sites likes Booking.com,

Hotels.com and Hotwire.com

allow you to get the best bang for

your buck.

Using these sites in conjunction with the “No Prepayment” option will allow you to book hotels on the fly without being charged a dime and cancel even quicker. Even resources like Google Maps will allow you to see the area which your hotel resides before making a

choice.

2. Transportation

When booking your mode of travel there are several things you must take into

consideration.  These include:

• Travel time

• Cost

• Distance to and from drop off points

Using resources like SkyScanner.com and at times, Groupon, allow you to get the

cheapest flights possible. Booking your flight well in advance will also allow you to get

the best deals possible.

3. Rental Cars

When traveling for festivals, cars can prove to be an expensive inconvenience. Although they may aid in getting you from the airport to the hotel, festival parking as well as hotel valet can be extremely overpriced. Finding a hotel close to the venue and relying on public transportation, ride sharing services and your feet are great ways to get around in

the city.

4. Check the List of Allowed Items

All festivals provide a list of allowed items on their

website. This list will be your best friend as it will aid

you in determining what you can and cannot bring to

the festival. To avoid any unneeded nuances at the

festival entrance, invest in a clear backpack, small camel

pack or stylish fanny pack to tote your goods. 3 items

you should always bring, if nothing else, include a

portable charger, flush-able wipes and hand sanitizer.

5. Plan to Leave the Festival Early and Arrive Late

Standing in a long line in a sea of sweaty people is the last thing anyone wants to do

before a festival. If possible, arrive later in the afternoon to avoid long lines and

extensive security checks. Arriving later in the afternoon allows patrons to breeze

through the entrance and get to the festivities quicker.

Leaving the festival also needs to be done with great attention to timing. Although it

may sound like a drag to leave a festival early, this will aid you in avoiding traffic and

ride sharing price surges.

6. Download the Festival Mobile App

A festival's mobile app is where you will find everything from restroom locations to discounts. Many times apps can be downloaded far ahead of the festival and provide you with the ability to not only have the map and food options at your fingertips but a detailed line up as well.

The app is one of the most useful pieces of technology you will encounter during your festival experience.

Through apps for popular festivals like Lollapalooza, patrons have the ability to buy exclusive merch, order pizza and create a schedule of acts they would like to see. Like Lolla, many other festivals are following suit.

Use these 6 tips to create the most memorable festival experience.

I do not own the right to the images in this post.