Going to Coachella
· Updated · BootsnAll
Coachella runs over two identical weekends in April at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, in the Coachella Valley about 220 km east of Los Angeles. It is one of the largest and most expensive music festivals in the world and it sells out.
Tickets
This is the part that defeats people. Passes go on sale months ahead, usually in the autumn or winter before the festival, and the first release can sell out in hours.
There is a payment plan option, which most attendees use. There is also a resale mechanism run through the festival itself, and using it rather than a third-party site is the only way to be confident the wristband is real. Counterfeit wristbands are an annual problem.
The lineup is usually announced after the first sale, which means a lot of people commit before knowing who is playing.
The two weekends
Both weekends have the same lineup. Weekend one has the bigger crowds, the celebrity presence and the press, and any surprise guest appearances are more likely.
Weekend two is slightly cheaper, slightly less crowded and the bands have had a week's practice. If you are going for the music rather than the scene, take weekend two.
Where to stay
Camping on site is the cheapest and is included with a separate pass. It is hot, dusty and social, and it removes the transport problem entirely. Car camping and tent camping both exist, and there are more comfortable options, safari tents and the like, at much higher prices.
Hotels in Indio, La Quinta and Palm Springs book out a year ahead and raise their rates dramatically. Palm Springs is about 40 minutes away and is where a lot of people base themselves.
Rentals in the valley are a common approach for groups, and the shuttle passes from the main towns are worth buying because parking and traffic at the site are grim.
The desert, which people underestimate
April in the Coachella Valley can reach the high thirties Celsius during the day and drop to around ten at night. That range is the thing to prepare for.
Sun protection is not optional: hat, high factor sunscreen, and shade during the middle of the day. There are free water refill stations and you should use them constantly. Every year people are treated for heat exhaustion and most of them thought they were fine.
Bring a jacket for the evening. It genuinely gets cold after dark.
Dust is constant. If you wear contact lenses, bring glasses too.
Getting there
From Los Angeles it is about two hours by car on Interstate 10 without traffic, and considerably more on the Friday. Festival shuttles run from Los Angeles and from around the valley.
Palm Springs International Airport is the closest and is small; Los Angeles and Ontario are the alternatives.
Worth knowing
Coachella is a cashless site and works on wristband-linked payment, so register yours in advance.
The festival is all ages, but the camping and much of the culture around it is not aimed at families.
And if the ticket price is the obstacle, Stagecoach, the country music festival, runs at the same venue the following weekend and is usually easier and cheaper to get into.