Thanks for stopping by Vogue and a Latte! And welcome to your inside scoop to Coachella. I decided to break the Coachella posts into 2 posts – things you need to know before going and things you need to pack before going. This post is going to highlight everything I wish that I had known before going to Coachella. That being said, even though I didn’t know these things prior to my fest experience, it was still an experience of a lifetime and I cannot WAIT to head for round 2 next year.

Seriously, if you can go, go.

PRO TIP: Tickets go on sale before the lineup is even announced. They go on sale in June/July the year before ( aka Coachella 2019 will go on sale in about 1 or 2 months ), so join the mailing list and keep an eye out for the pre-sale date! It’s the way to go. You can choose a payment plan or pay for it all at once, whatever your bank account allows. Also, you can buy two tickets at once, so to ensure that you and your friends can all go before they sell out, I would purchase two at a time and utilize Venmo for those payments. I also suggest will-call. Since I have been moving around so much, I had them shipped to one address and then I moved and they weren’t delivered and they do not reship bands. Those bands are like gold and if you lose them you are basically SOL. So will-call ensures that you don’t lose them along the way or in the mail and the process is super easy. Also, GET THE SHUTTLE PASS WITH YOUR TICKET. I cannot stress this enough. Unless you plan on camping, the shuttle pass will be priceless. Uber is a nightmare around the fest – it’s expensive and there is zero service.

Alright, I’m gonna break it down from start to finish
Coachella: A need to know basis. 

★ Planning where to stay.
So Palm Springs is huge. And Coachella is actually held in Indio at the Empire Polo Grounds. The farther away you stay, the longer it is going to take you on the shuttle ( or in your expensive uber ) to get to the festival. We stayed in Palm Desert, a 2 minute uber from the Indian Wells Tennis Gardens shuttle stop, which is also where will-call is located. We were about 8 miles from the festival but with waiting in line for the shuttle and the traffic that you have to sit in to get to the shuttle drop-off, it takes about an hour and a half. Start planning NOW if you want to stay in a hotel next year. Prices go up super fast and lots of hotels, especially shuttle stop hotels, sell out fast. We were thankful to stay with family and so we didn’t have to spend money on a hotel, but next year we may just splurge for a hotel at a shuttle stop to save time and the couple uber rides/late night walks to and from. You can find all of the shuttle stops and hotels at Coachella’s any line, any time shuttle website here.

★ Getting to Palm Springs. ( Or Palm Desert/La Quinta/Indio/etc. )
When you first head to Palm Springs, beware, everyone and their mother is also heading that way. We left on the Thursday morning before the fest and had NO traffic which was a total blessing. Do that, if possible. If you have a shuttle pass, they can get you to and from Palm Springs from LA ( LAX ), which is where the cheaper flights will lead to. Since I am a bi-coastal gal ( lol that’s my new word for myself since I live in two places basically ), my parent’s let us take their car after I flew into Orange County since it was much easier and closer. If you get there on Thursday, head into Palm Springs and have dinner at Arrive or the Ace Hotel, which is what we did! It’s beautiful, trendy, and the pool/bar area turns into a party full of cool people once the sun goes down. We were lucky enough to make friends there ( aka we made friends by someone hitting on Kelsie, what’s new, she’s stunning ) who were Coachella veterans and were able to show us the ropes for the rest of the weekend.

★ Getting to the festival.
I have kind of covered this already, but if you have a shuttle pass, you need to find your way to a shuttle stop and wait with all of the other eager faced people for a ride to the grounds! Plan ahead. If there is a set you want to see, plan at least 2 hours before the set to get there. When you add in security, it’s at least an extra half hour on top of your waiting/shuttle ride. The earlier you get to the shuttle stops/grounds, the quicker you will get in! That being said, I was under the impression that everyone gets there and is waiting right when the gates open – this is false. Most people don’t get there until the evening and celebs/influencers have all kinds of parties and events to go to throughout the day. We got there earlier than most people ( on purpose ) and enjoyed every second of it. I am not a fan of being rushed. We RSVP’d to lots of day parties, but skipped out on all of them because for the amount we paid for the fest, we wanted to get every moment in. It also would be MAJOR backtracking to get to all of the parties and then back to the fest. It just wasn’t worth it in our eyes.

★ Once you have arrived.
The shuttles take you to the yellow line/entrance and that is where you will go to and from for the rest of the trip! You walk down a long pathway ( at night they have people on bikes shuttling people to and from the drop-off and the entrance to the fest because it definitely is a good walk – not worth being driven there for $50, but hey that’s just my opinion ). After you make it to the large crowds of people, you have two stops to make it through: scanning your wristband and then security. Security is kind-of a joke. I was under the impression that you definitely could not bring anything in ( alcohol + food is what I am referencing ). But, if you have a large backpack filled with jackets and blankets, it is super easy to bring in plastic flasks ( make sure they are plastic ) and snacks. Now if you are into any other sorts of things, I can’t comment on that, but by the looks of it, you would be good to go. The guys we were with had a security guy stop them for some alcohol in their bags and tell them that if they paid them, they would be good to go. But one day they also had to pour it all out. It really is just a gamble depending on what guards you pass through. If you play it safe and follow all of the Coachella guidelines for what you can and can’t bring in, you will be good to go either way! They have designated areas where you can buy all kinds of beer and stronger drinks if you are interested, so there is no shortage of consumption!

 

★ Once you have entered.
You will probably feel like you are living in a dream because the grounds and the art structures and the Ferris wheel and stages and everything just comes to life. Kelsie was smart enough to get a locker for her backpack since she didn’t want to carry around any of her belongings or a jacket all day so when you first get in you can hit the lockers and dump your stuff. You get a key for the weekend and if you keep track of it, you get $20 back from the amount that you paid for it. After you drop off your belongings, take a second to walk around the whole venue, it’s large but it will help you get your bearings. It also will just feel surreal that you are finally there. Take in every moment because it goes to fast!!

★ Throughout the weekend tips:

• Create meeting places if you go to the festival at different times than your friends. Service is pretty freakin’ horrible and you are lucky if texts/calls go through. It is better when you are walking to and from stages, but still, not great. Set up a time and an art structure or stage to meet at so that you don’t have to worry about trying to find each other!
• There are TONS of food options. I mean TONS. They have lots of vegan options which is great for the lactose intolerant. Unfortunately, we didn’t really venture out to try many things ( I had the same hotdog 2 days in a row ), but we saw tons of delicious eats.
• Water bottles are only $2 once you get in and there are free refill stations everywhere. You can also bring in empty water bottles to fill up so you don’t have to purchase bottles. They really don’t want people passing out left and right so water is readily available.
• Be prepared for ALL kinds of sights. Guys in basically no pants, girls who think that glitter paint is an appropriate substitute for a top. It’s part of the experience for sure, but just prepare yourself! People are also semi-passed out all over the place so be prepared to step over human beings.
• Go to the attractions! We only took the time to head into the Antarctic ( a super cool video/animation situation that is humongous and in a shaded dome in the middle of the festival ) and it was so worth it. I wish we would have ridden the Ferris wheel and gone in the cylinder-of -color situation.
• Take time to chill in one place and people watch. You will see lots of celebs ( we saw many but the highlights were Gigi and Bella Hadid and Olivia Culpo!!! ) and so many cool trendy outfits. I got so many ideas for next year just watching everyone go by. I would have definitely gone a little more adventurous with my outfits this past year if I had known, but there is next year for that!
• Take TONS and TONS of pictures. And videos. You are going to want to relive the weekend for a loooong time. Definitely live in the moment and only take a video of like, one song from each set, but I for sure wish I had taken more photos during the weekend.
• Take time to visit stages with artists that you haven’t heard of. You will definitely be surprised by how much you like a set from an artist that you have never listened to before. Also, go to the DoLab for a few sets at night if you’re into DJ’s and dance jams. That place is poppin’ and a huge dance party. They have surprise guests each day and announce them on Twitter before they go on.
• Meet people and make friends. There are tons of awesome people with such different life experiences and everyone is generally pretty friendly. Everyone is there to have the time of their life and it’s so cool to meet people from all different walks of life. You also never know who you may meet who may know someone cool or about a cool after party!

★ Weekend highlights:

• Sets: Louis the Child, Odesza, Snakehips, The Neighborhood, Soulwax, LANY, Sigrid, Post Malone
• All night DJ sets in the hotel room with our new friends
• Dancing the night away at DoLab
• People/celeb watching with Kel
• Exploring the grounds + Antarctic

Alright y’all, that pretty much sums it up. Everything I wish that I had known before heading to Coachella! If you have any questions, any at all, feel free to leave a comment or send me a DM on my socials. You can also head to my Instagram ( @MadisonCrowley ) for more pictures and in-the-moment memories from the weekend. You can also stay up-to-date with my life by following me there. I truly hope you enjoyed this Coachella recap and keep an eye out for the second installment.

‘Til next time,