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"What I Wish I Knew Before Buying Coachella Tickets..."

Around a year ago, two friends and I set an alarm for 4am to buy tickets to THE MUSIC FESTIVAL THAT TOPS ALL MUSIC FESTIVALS – Coachella. Bleary-eyed, we sat, all on separate laptops and prayed that our Wifi was strong enough to get us through to the ticket line. And after a stressful two hour wait of ‘being in the queue’, the tickets were purchased. First hurdle complete.

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Things you need to know before buying Coachella tickets:

-If you’re planning to camp at Coachella, do yourself a favour and book a ticket for car PLUS camping. We made the rookie mistake of booking the two separately, meaning you have to trudge all your gear from car spot to camp spot. Not fun in 40 degree heat.

-On that note, hire a car if you’re camping. It’ll make your life 10 times easier (you’ll need it to pick up your tickets, head to Walmart for camping supplies and of course, make the obligatory pit stop at In-N-Out burger along the way).

- Can’t do camping? Look into hiring a house close to the venue in (FYI it’s in Indian Wells). Friends of mine stayed in hotels in Palm Springs (around 40 mins by shuttle to the venue) but by the time they queued up for shuttles and made it back to their hotel, the sun had just about reared its ugly head. Coachella veterans who I met (aside from advising to ONLY buy VIP tickets) stayed in a venue walking distance to the festival and had Wifi, hot showers and a bed to come home to.

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So you made it to Coachella… now what?
Take a few minutes to bask in the FOMO you’ll no doubt give to others on social media and simply enjoy the breathtaking surroundings. So get snapping! The iconic Ferris wheel, the uber cool art installations, and the anything-goes fashion lives up to the hype.

However hot you think it’ll be, multiply it by a gazillion
Sunscreen, moisturiser, lip balm are all the superhero tools you’ll need to combat the desert heat which will no doubt zap all moisture from your body. And without meaning to sound like a nagging parent, drink plenty of water. It is HOT and you don’t want your memory of A$AP Rocky to be tainted by the searing headache you endured during his set.

…But bring a jumper
Because it’s the desert and it gets cold at night. The technique is to layer – even if you just tie a flanno around your waist to throw on as the sun goes down, you’ll be congratulating yourself on how prepared sober you was.

Beware the dust
It’s EVERYWHERE. And you’ll be blowing it out of your nose for days after the festival ends (why doesn’t Kylie Jenner ever Instagram that?) Some people wear bandanas to protect their lungs from exposure to dust but whatever floats your boat…

Don’t bring expensive sunnies
Unless you want to lose them.

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Have a designated meeting spot
But be specific. Meeting somewhere ‘in front of the main stage’ will be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. When you get inside the festival, choose a token spot and if you lose any stragglers, agree to meet at that place every hour on the hour. You’ll make Mum proud.

Get to the set 20-30 mins before your act is due to come on
You won’t want to miss a thing and the chance of them bringing out a surprise guest act are VERY high. Calvin Harris brought out Rihanna for a song just because, Sia had Kristen Wiig up onstage, Disclosure brought out Lorde and Sam Smith etc etc etc. On that note, make sure you pack a portable phone charger because you won’t want to miss a precious second of the magic.

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