From flower crowns to hella cutoffs to pasties to glitter everywhere—what is there not to love about the most popular and well-known music festival in the world. The one and only Coachella Valley Music Festival. Not surprisingly, everything up to heading to the festival was a bit overwhelming. There was no way in the world that I was gonna miss BEYchella 2018. So, I’m sharing with you my guide to surviving Coachella and making it the most LIT weekend of your life.

BEYCHELLA AT A GLANCE

If you’re going to #BEYchella Weekend 2, this section is for you. If you’re planning for a future Coachella festival, skip down for the rest of the guide.

Be prepared to have your edges snatched.

The Queen knows how to give a performance. Get there super early if you want to be close to the stage—I’m talking 5-6 hours early. You’ll have to sit through some sets of artists you may not know, but it’s worth it.

Check out the parties.

Palm Springs and Indio will be full of parties during the weekend of Coachella. Hella festival goers and non-festival goers will be scoping out some of these exclusive and not as exclusive turn ups. Get a head start on planning out which, if any, you want to go to: TravelGrom posts a list of all the area parties here.

Don’t sleep on the newer artists.

We all go to see the headliners, but there are so many amazing sets that you might just stumble upon in the meantime. Check them out. A few artists that I slept on that turned out to be fire: Black Coffee, HAIM, Odesza, THEY., and Jidenna

GETTING TICKETS + PLANNING YOUR TRIP

Do your research and plan ahead.

I started planning for Coachella nearly a year in advance. Sign up for the Coachella newsletter and find out who the headliners are.

Read the purchase instructions.

I’ll say it louder for the people in the back—read the instructions! Buying a wristband through the website requires you to make a purchase account. Once you make the account, you’ll need to sign in on the day wristbands go on sale. There is a process in which you will be added to a queue, and will have only a short amount of time to buy the ticket if you get in. Read everything ahead of time, so that you’re ready to go when sales open up.

Budget, budget, budget.

For us regular folk, Coachella is an investment, and knowing this ahead of time can relieve some of the financial stress and allow you to focus more on planning the best weekend of your life.

Depending on whether you choose to go with General admission or VIP admission, a Coachella wristbandcan cost you somewhere between $450 to $1000. Wristbands sell out hella fast, so so plan to spend at the higher end of the range.
If you’re not a lucky LA or Southern California native, you know the deal–by your flight to LA or Palm Springsahead of time. If you’re flying into LAX, you’ll still need to coordinate transportation to Indiowhere Coachella is located. I recommend renting a car—the drive from LA to Indio is about 3 hours. And, you can enter into Carpoolchella.

To Camp or Not to Camp, that is the question. Camping is definitely the best way to get an authentic Coachella experience, and probably the more cheaper option. Need I say—it’s not for everybody. If you’re looking for a more glamorous experience like I was, I suggest booking an Airbnb that’s close by / walking distance to the festival.

Arrive on Thursday morning.

I’d hate for you to lose any precious time at the festival and this gives you time to hit Walmart nearby and stock up on snacks and Carpoolchella decorations.

THE COACHELLA PACKING LIST

Sunscreen.You’re in a desert, so you do the math.

Bandanas. There is SO SO much dust, bring a bandana or two for each day to protect your lungs.

Walkie talkies. Cell phone service is awful no matter who your provider is because thousands of people are trying to connect to the same cell phone towers. My friends and I brought walkie talkies that had a 3 mile radius and they worked like a charm…unless someone doesn’t bring the walkie. *insert eye roll emoji*

Something to keep you warm at night. It’s super hot during the day and a bit cold at night. Dress in layers, and bring a jacket or sweater to for those long walks back home at night.

Foldable water bottle.You can’t bring food or water from outside the festival, but you can save some coins and refill your water at one of the several water refill stations.

A large blanket. You’ll probably be on your feet for 12+ hours. At some point, you’re gonna need to sit and chill, and rest your feet. Bring a blanket to lounge on between sets.

Wet wipes. Because germs.

WE FINALLY OUT HERE . . . AYYEE!

Stay hydrated.

It’s super super easy to pass tf out. After all, you’re in a dessert and most likely drinking. The best thing you can do is remember to drink water throughout the day.

Eat before heading to the festival.

#FOODchella is real y’all, but also super expensive. I would highly recommend giving it a try. Lobster Rolls, Shake Shack, Paella, Fish Tacos . . . I could keep going for. ev. er. It does come with a slightly steep price, so unless you’re prepared to drop $14+ dollars each for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I’d eat a lil something before heading to the field.

ONE LAST THING

Put your phone on airplane mode.

An amateur may tell you to bring a battery pack. You can also bring your phone charging cord, as there are are spots with outlets available. But here’s a pro tip: keep your phone on airplane mode for as long as possible. Thousands of phones are trying to access the data towers (or something like that), so even when your phone is dormant, your battery is going to drain.

Put Your Friend’s Contact Info on the Lock Screen of Your Phone.

If you’re prone to losing your phone, this is a trick that may help you get your brand new iPhone X back into your hands . . . hopefully.

Try to Win Free VIP in CARPOOLchella.

CARPOOLchella is an opportunity to win free stuff. So, basically there shouldn’t be any further questions. You can win anything from free food vouchers, merchandise, or free VIP for life. All you have to do is decorate your car and park in one of the free parking lots. If you have at least 4 people, you might get spotted and selected to draw a prize for all of the passengers in the car.