My Festival Camping Tips

I've been going to the same festival now for six years and I've camped there for four years so this will be my fifth year camping. I feel like now I've become a festival camping expert and the amount of packing lists I've made over the years has helped me out a lot. I thought I'd make this post as it is around festival season and it would be useful if you're planning on camping at a festival.

So let's get started

1. The tent

Obviously I recommend getting a good tent. Not just some pop up or two man tent. Get a four man tent or even a bigger one. Just because you don't want a tent that can easily blow away or get ruined by rain. If you're going with a group of friends, you could always pitch in together and get a more expensive tent just because it won't be cramped and you may be able to actually stand up in it. Honestly though there's nothing wrong with a simple four man tent.

2. Sleeping arrangements

Personally, I'd recommend taking an air mattress. I know it's a lot of effort to put up and take down after the festival but honestly I prefer to sleep comfortably on an air mattress than on a mat on the floor. Also sleeping bags or quilts are good to have plus lots of blankets because it's going to be freezing at night. Another thing you can get is a battery powered pump because it will make putting up the air mattress a much quicker job.

3. Best place to set up camp

Now I know the layouts of every festival campsite is different but there is a worst place to camp that is similar in every festival. I would not recommend camping near the main arena. It may handy to be close by and you can easily go back and forth to your tent in no time at all. However, being so close to the arena means that everyone is going to be walking back and forth past your tent all the time. Even in the evening when you're trying to get some sleep, you probably won't because there will be lots of people walking past your area to go further into the campsite which means lots of noise. So I would recommend setting up camp a little further away. Just because there will be probably less people walking around your tent to get to theirs and it will be less noisy hopefully. That's just my advice.

4. Don't keep valuables in the tent

One of the scary things about festivals is the fact that your tent is not secure. Now it's very unlikely to happen but it can happen that some idiot will steal from tents. So the best advice is to not leave valuables in your tent like your phone, money and car keys. Also I wouldn't recommend putting a padlock on your tent just because tents are made of very thin material that can easily be broken and ripped so a padlock probably won't stop a thief going through your tent. It'll probably make them even more curious. You can padlock things inside your tent if you really are worried but most likely the things you'll leave in your tent that are valuable will be your food and alcohol. I doubt anyone will steal your bedding or air mattress.

5. Drink

The main reason most people go to festivals is because it's an opportunity to get drunk in a field. Most festivals don't allow glass so try to bring either plastic bottles, cans or boxes. Just so you know you won't have your alcohol taken off you when you arrive. Also cans are good because it means you don't have to worry about taken a cup or anything. Another to bring is water and I'd recommend some juice as well like Capri Sun just because it's refreshing especially in the morning when your dehydrated from the alcohol and just need something to hydrate you. So remember to stay hydrated by drinking water.

6. Food

I like to bring snacks to the festival that are easy to eat. Things like crisps and pringles are good because you will get hungry and just need to keep your energy up while you're at the festival. I would also recommend bringing pastry things like sausage rolls or pork pies. Even though they're fattening, you need things that will line your stomach if you're going to be drinking a lot. I do like to splurge though sometimes and treat myself to one of the many food vendors at the festival just because I know I'm getting some kind of warm hot meal and it's just nice to take advantage of what the festival has to offer.

7. Home Comforts

Now it's always nice to make your camping experience as comfortable as possible. I've found some of these things have made my festival experience even better. Bring a camping chair is a must. Mostly because you have somewhere to sit at your campsite and also you can bring it into the arena to sit down. Also if your festival allows it, bring a gazebo because it's so handy to have somewhere to stay in when it rains and you can just chill under. Also a foldable picnic table is great because you have a table to sit at and eat your snacks. Bring a mat with you and putting it in the entrance of your tent is good because your most likely gonna have muddy wellies on during the day so you have a little spot to take off your muddy wellies and it means your tent is not going to be covered in mud. Bringing some kind of lantern or fairy lights too because it's dark at night and also it can make your tent pretty cosy.

8. Bring a torch

Now I know most phones have a torch on them but honestly you don't want to be wasting your phone's battery using the torch. So save your phone battery and get an actual torch. Take it with you into the festival so that when it comes time to leave and go back to your tent, you will be able to find your way in the pitch black using your torch. Tent guide wires are a major tripping hazard in the dark so having a torch to see where you're going is helpful. Another thing you can do with your own guide wires is put some glowsticks around them just so people can actually see them and you know that nobody will trip and fall over your tent.

That's all the tips I can think of at the moment. I'm sure there's plenty more out there but these tips will definitely help you out a lot when it comes to camping at a festival. Let me know if you have any tips for festivals that I haven't thought of yet. I would love to hear them.

I'll be back again soon with another post.

See you then.

Megan x

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