Impromptu RV Road Trip to Coachella

The lineup for Coachella 2024 was just announced this week. Many have been wondering what the best and largest music festival was going to bring in 2024. To the dismay of many festival freaks, the announcement came later than usual and was quite lackluster. However, no matter what the lineup is, Coachella transcends beyond the music (which should be the focus, if I’m being honest, but not for everyone). So this is how we took an impromptu road trip to Coachella and scored artists’ passes also at the last minute.

Coachella is the best music festival!

Coachella offers one of the most well-rounded experiences when it comes to music festivals, including delicious gourmet food, spectacular hand-crafted cocktails, and cutting-edge art, not to mention it’s a fashion show and influencer extravaganza. Yes, Coachella is more than a music festival. It’s my favorite festival, but since I’m more focused on the music, I will not be attending this year. There just aren’t enough artists I love or haven’t seen at other festivals. Since I’m in a position where I just can’t attend every festie, I will be attending Bonnaroo this year! Roos’s lineup is stellar, and they are one, if not the only, festival where I can park our RV right site. So, I definitely want to try that out, especially this year.

But back to Coachella. I want to share our experience last year at Coachella in case anyone wants to know what it’s like to go to the famous music festival. My husband and I have attended several times and tried most of the ways you can go, including hotel packages, Safari Camping, and last year, for the first time with coveted artist passes. We decided to go to Coachella at the last minute last year and took off in our RV. This is how you take an impromptu road trip to Coachella!

Road Trip to Coachella

Last year (2023), we decided to go to Coachella at the very last minute, about four days before the start of weekend 2. We usually attend weekend two because it’s easier and less crowded. So we drove our RV from South Florida to Palm Springs in about 5 days. It was crazy! We just overnighted every day at Walmart, Craker Barrel, mostly. We left Sunday and made it there by Thursday! We didn’t have tickets either, but somehow, we ended up scoring artist passes the night we arrived, which was also the night before the festival.

Here is what we experienced at Coachella with artists passes:

So we had two firsts this time at Coachella. It was the first time we attended with our RV and the first time with artist passes. Coachella doesn’t have onsite RV parking, so we stayed at the Palm Springs / Joshua Tree KOA Holiday. It’s actually a really nice campground with like 4 hot tubs, a pool, and other cool amenities. The RV park was not far from the Polo Grounds; however, it took double the time to get there because there is a lot of traffic once you get close to the grounds. We waited about two hours to get through traffic. And we hired a driver, thinking it would help. It did help with even getting a car. Also, leaving, I guess, was easier too, since we knew we would have a car. We didn’t have to bother with getting a ride share exhausted.

Driving Into the Polo Fields (not recommended)

The problem with driving into Coachella is that the traffic to get to the entrance is horrendous. It’s best to get a shuttle pass or just stay on the grounds like we did in prior years in Safari, which is like super VIP. It’s costly to be in Safari but worth it. You can see my post from Safari here. Safari comes with a backstage golf cart service that you can take back and forth as much as you want. You can change outfits, get food, take a nap, or do whatever you want back at camp. The only problem is that the safari tents get really hot during the day. I think they have better AC units now in the Safari tents than they had back when we went. If so, that greatly improves the experience.

Backstage with Artist Passes

Surprisingly, artist’s passes didn’t get us the golf cart service you get in Safari; in fact, we never got a golf cart. We waited, and they never stopped for us! We just walked back and forth backstage, which is still easier than walking across the field fighting the crowds. I did notice that backstage was busier than years before. I guess everyone is splurging on VIP camping now or has artists’ passes now.

Artists’ passes did get us into the artist area. We didn’t see much there, but at least there weren’t that many people there, so we were able to sit. There were some artist trailers, and there was supposed to be food, but we didn’t go at the right time. Of course, there are nice bathrooms with less of a wait. I think we got a free popsicle or something, but that was it. Our timing may have been off. Also, we got access to some higher VIP sections than you get with regular VIP or Safari, so that was cool. Hey, we were lucky that we got passes at the last minute on this last-minute road trip to Coachella.

VIP Section at the Stages

The best part of going with artists’ passes is the VIP section at the front of the stages! You still need to get there early if you want to go to the rail for an artist, but you know you can be in front watching your favorite artists. The only way you get to the front VIP section is with artist passes or Safari. I’ve been a regular VIP, and you don’t get this perk.

Overall, our impromptu road trip to Coachella was a success. I mean, the best things always happen spontaneously. It worked out for us. We saw many artists for the first time, like the Chemical Brothers, Boy Genius, Wet Leg, and many others.

Charo ONeil

Charo Hidalgo-Gato is a native Floridian, born and raised in Miami. Now residing in Boca Raton, she supports the thriving culture in Palm Beach, Broward and Dade. She is enjoys the beauty and excitement of South Florida. As an avid music and arts lover, she frequents the local Tri County area’s art scene, as well as restaurants, clubs, boutiques and concerts.