Your Survival Guide to Coachella

You know it.  I know it.  Your Instagram feed knows it.  It’s Coachella season my friends!   While some of us are recovering from weekend 1, there are people who are gearing up for weekend 2 in the desert.  After experiencing my fourth Coachella the weekend of April 15th to April 17th 2022, I’ve curated my very own Coachella survival guide whether it’s your first time or 10th time experiencing this amazing music and arts festival.  

Drum roll please ….

Steph’s Top 10 Tips for Coachella Survival:

Plan a meeting spot.  Whether you’re in a small or large group, especially if you want to see different artists, plan your meet up spot and time.  It’s inevitable that your group will likely split up so coordinating a specific meet up point is key.  There are over 100,000 people at the festival at any given time, so cell service is spotty at best.  So plan as if you won’t be able to text or call members of your group.  Also tip for cell service: screenshot the lineup set times prior to entry because there’s a 50/50 shot it won’t load in the festival. 

Have an exit strategy – By exit strategy, I mean:

Know which path you need to use to exit – likely red or green.

Remember no cell service so establish your final meet up point and the end of the night.  My suggestion is somewhere on the exit path.  It’s mass chaos once the final set is finished and the festival workers will be directing the crowd out the festival grounds.  Each designated pick and up and drop off area will either be named or have a respective letter or number (i.e. parent pick-up letter C).  Be as specific as possible so your group knows where to rendezvous at the end of the night.

Book a driver in advance.  There are numerous shuttle companies that help take people to and from the festival, but I can’t stress enough to find someone reliable (see tip #3).  At max you should be paying $15-$20/per person per ride.  

Stay in Indio NOT Palm Springs.  Palm Springs is an approximate 45 minute drive, without traffic, from Empire Polo Club.  I stayed at the WorldMark Indio for 3 out of my 4 Coachellas and I cannot recommend this property enough.  There are shuttle services directly at this property that do rounds to and from the festival throughout the day.  You can also ask the driver for their contact information to call them directly.  Not to mention the World Mark has a lazy river and who doesn’t love that!

What to pack in your purse/bag:

• Bandaids (see #5 for tips on shoes) 
• Hand sanitizer 
• Portable charger
• Gum
• ID + Credit Card + Some Cash
• Eye Drops + Extra Contracts (It’s dusty and I’ve had friends who walked around with 1 contact all day)
• Chapstick
• Hair Ties 
• Bandana – Again it’s very dusty, especially by weekend 2.  That Coachella cough is real my friends
• Sunscreen – If it doesn’t fit in your bag make sure to apply some before you head out for the day
• Makeup Setting Spray – your makeup will legit melt off your face if you don’t 

As for your bag overall, I would recommend either a crossbody or fanny pack.  Something that is easily accessible and hands free!  I used this one from Lululemon.

Wear Comfortable Shoes.  Coachella is not the time to break in a new pair of shoes.  I suggest comfortable, closed toe shoes.  We literally walked anywhere between 12-15 miles a day and the last thing you want is to be breaking in that new pair of chelsea or cowboy boots.  Not to mention, you’ll likely be dancing the day and night away!  It’s dusty, there are hundreds of thousands of people and it’s likely that someone could step on your toes.   You’re on your feet for hours over a 3 day period and a comfortable pair of shoes can make or break your experience for the day in my opinion. I wore these tried and true Dr Martens for 2 of the days, along with 50% of the festival goers.

Bring a Jacket.  If you’re not used to be out in the desert, trust me it goes from super hot to super cold very quickly when that sun goes down.  Same with the shoes, if you are freezing at night this can also make or break our experience.  If you don’t feel like carrying your jacket around all day, there are lockers available to rent for a fee, but make sure you plan ahead and pre order your locker online prior to the festival. 

Sign up fo Do Lab Text Alerts.  The Do Lab has surprise guests throughout the weekend.  Either sign up for text alerts when clues are released or sign up for twitter alerts here.

Hydrate.  Yes I’ve literally fainted before because of the heat.  Do yourself and your friends 😉 a favor by eating an hydrating throughout the day.  You are allowed to bring in camelbak or backpacks that carry the water pouches.  It must be empty upon entry, but there are refill stations throughout the festival grounds along with plenty of places to purchase water bottles!

There’s more to see than the Sahara tent.  Trust me your girl loves some EDM and house music, but there are also dozens of other up and coming artists, food, art work, and fun things to experience at the festival that are outside of Sahara.

Finally and most importantly …
Be yourself.  No one cares as long as you’re having fun!