10 Tips For Having The Best Experience at Coachella

The first weekend of Coachella starts tomorrow! They’ll be thousands of revelers embarking on a musical adventure in Indio, CA. Essentially everyone will be partying in the dessert, which makes for a gorgeous back drop to see favorites artists playing some great music.

We’ve been going to the festival for the last two years and this year we opted to go to Bonnaroo in Tennessee instead because the Coachella line-up didn’t impress us. We live on the East coast so it wasn’t worth the expensive and tiring trek there.

With the festival just a day away I’m catching a bit of FOMO while reminiscing on past Coachellas. My husband and I always choose VIP for the comfort of having nice bathrooms (although this year they have nice bathrooms for general admission) and a not so crowded space with great food options and specialty cocktails. It’s pricey to go VIP but totally worth it if you can afford it; you can get an all inclusive hotel package with a daily shuttle to the festival (with a general or VIP package)

Here are some tips for having the best experience at Coachella:

This is the Rose Garden in the VIP area at Coachella

If you can afford to go VIP do so

This holds especially true if you’re over the age of 30. You will have a not so crowded area where you can chill in between your favorite artists’s sets and you can see other artists from the VIP area. In the daytime its not too crowded but at night it gets really packed in the VIP. There are food options not available in general admission, nice bathrooms, air conditioned covered areas (one year they had a cool Absolute dance tent), specialty drinks, games and you may spot a celebrity or two. Last year we saw Victoria Secret’s model Alessandra Ambrossio.

Alessandra Ambrossio in the VIP at Coachella

Fly in as early as possible

We fly into Los Angeles airport and rent a car to drive to Indio, it’s cheaper to fly from the East coast this way because the airport in Palm Springs is substancialy more expensive. Make sure you get the earliest flight available because there is tons of traffic going to Indio that weekend. It will take 2 to 3 hours to get there depending on traffic. Of course you should fly in on Thursday in order to be rested to go to the festival Friday.

Pool Area at the The Riviera Palm Springs Resort and Spa

If you’re staying at a hotel plan to get to the shuttle stop at least 30 minutes to an hour before you want to get to the festival.

Some hotels have short lines and others very long ones. We’ve stayed at two- The Riviera Palm Springs Resort and Spa is an amazing hotel in Downtown Palm Springs it very busy but lots of fun-pool side DJ, great brunch. The bus here takes a while almost an an hour, there’s a long line and its takes like 30 minutes to get to the Polo Grounds (Coachella). The other hotel we stayed at was the Westin Mission Hills, a more quite place, it’s huge and has beautiful outdoor grounds. We enjoyed eating breakfast each morning on our patio overlooking one of their pools. The line for the bus here is not too long but the bus left us far from our room at night because the resort is so large. We had to jump the wall in order to get to our room quicker because we were cold and exhausted.

Crowd by the Sahara (EDM) tent

Have a good breakfast

Have a nice hearty breakfast to serve as a base for alcohol and such. You may get excited watching shows and not eat for a while so start out with food in the belly.

Coachella during the day

Don’t get to the grounds too early

Unless you’re camping and you can take a break in the middle of the day going back to your hotel is going to take a while and you will probably miss a lot. There’s no need to get there early unless there an artists you desperately need to see. It’s hot early and you may burn out. There are quite and comfy places in the VIP where you can rest, even lay down for a bit if you get very tired that’s one of the perks.

Main stage view from VIP

Use the app and plan your schedule

Plan your schedule on the app but don’t rely on it too much because sometimes it doesn’t work when you’re at the Polo Grounds. You will not be able to see all the artists you plan on seeing. It’s a bit impossible sometimes you need to use the bathroom, get hungry, or just want to go off and explore.

Coachella during the day

Get your merch early and get a locker

Get your T-Shirts and other merchandise early like on Friday, because they run out of stuff. A locker is essential! Get one prior to getting to the festival on-line or when you get there on Friday. You can store all your stuff there merch, sunblock, clothes, blanket etc. and go back and forth to get whatever you need. You can leave the stuff there all weekend and just empty out the locker on Sunday night.

In the front for Broken Bells at sunset

When your favorite artist is playing get to the stage early

If you want to be in the front for your favorite band/DJ then plan to get to the stage about 30-45 minutes early.  You dont want to be one of those people that gets there late and pushes everyone to get to the front. This holds true for any festival or concert.

Me in the VIP

Clothing and such

Dress light and comfortable. Dresses, shorts, skirts and tanks are best. I prefer boots but people wear sandals note that that there’s is not as much grass on the ground if you go on weekend two. There is also alot of sand dust that can blow around at night so you may need a bandanna to cover your nose and mouth. Bring a sweater or wrap for nighttime, a small water mister for daytime, bring Tylenol, Tums etc. A small crossbody or fanny type bag is best for girls if you like to dance you can put bulky items in your locker. Bring sunblock and make-up essentials for touch ups and water bottle to fill up although waters are no too expensive, hydrate people!

The Do Lab at Coachella

Pace yourself but have fun

You’re going to be at the festival for three days in the heat and dust while walking around and dancing your ass off. Pace yourself with alcohol and other things. You’re going to be pretty tired at the end of each day and you don’t want to have a hangover then miss out of some of the acts. You also want to remember this experience because it’s going to be an amazing time.

Coachella

Charo Hidalgo-Gato is Cuban-American freelance writer/marketer, mom of a tween and all around “cool” gal. She lives in S. Florida with her family consisting of a husband and three kids, two of which are furry. On her free time you can find her at art walks, eating at the newest restaurants, in Miami, at concerts and music fetivals or just sharing time with friends. If you like what you hear leave a comment.