Attending a music festival can be the best experience of your life, but it can also put a lot of stress on your wallet. Deciding which EDM Music Festival you are going to attend, choosing which hotel you are going to stay in, or even picking what you are going to wear each day of the festival can add to the overall experience and cost.
Many of us were hooked after we attended our first rave or festival, and some of us even travel every month all over the country just attend these festivals. To plan an effective festival trip, you must budget properly to afford all of the benefits to maximize your experience. You must be able to afford food, fun, and even some rave gear or diffraction glasses from the swag tent. We’ve pinpointed the top cash-consuming areas of attending EDM festivals to help you get the best bang for your buck.
1.) How to Buy Tickets Cheap
Without having a ticket to the festival, the rest of this information is irrelevant. A majority of music festivals are now two to three days and have numerous stages that appeal to a wide audience, and a hefty ticket price to follow. You MUST shop smart when buying tickets.
- Buy Early: Find Early Bird tickets on the official festival website.
- Shop Around: Use ticket sources like: Cheaptickets.com, StubHub.com, (Most have an EDM Festivals Section)
- Trade for a Ticket: RavExchange.com, for example, is a great resource.
- Win Tickets: Most EDM news sites give away tickets, such as EDMGuru and Fest300
- Buy Secondhand Tickets: Can be found on most festival Facebook pages, craigslist, or by word of mouth.
*Always be cautious when buying from a third party to ensure you are not buying fake or fraudulent tickets.
2.) How to Find Inexpensive Transportation
If you plan properly, you can really cut your costs in the area of transportation. You can save $100’s of dollars depending on how far you are traveling.
- Always travel with friends to split travel costs.
- Use comparison sites such as Priceline, Hotwire, or even Google to book flights or cars.
- Have your 25 year old friend rent the car to avoid underage rental fees.
- Park far away and walk to avoid venue parking fees.
- Use a ride sharing service such as Uber or Lyft to avoid renting a car altogether.
3.) Stay With Friends or Camp for Free
The easiest way to save money is to stay with friends or family who live in the vicinity of the venue, which will eliminate lodging costs. If you don’t know anyone in the area around the music festival then you will probably find yourself looking for other accommodations.
- Always book discounted hotel rooms.
- Share a room with a few friends.
- Camp when possible.
- Use AirBnB or VRBO to find the cheapest rates on houses and condos.
Many notable camping EDM festivals include Electric Forest, Bonnaroo, Coachella, and Paradiso. If you attend a festival that offers camping it is guaranteed way to save money. Camping at Paradiso this year, for example, was $99.50 per vehicle for the entire weekend. Some hotels can cost four times that per night. This will also eliminate a majority of transportation costs since you will already be at the venue each day, and you can bring in outside food and drink to your campsite, so you save money on purchasing festival food for at least one meal each day. Plus, you always get the best festival experience when camping.
4.) How to Eat & Drink Cost Effectively
Many EDM festivals don’t allow outside food or drinks, so they are basically forcing you to purchase everything from the festival vendors. However, there are a few ways you can save money on food and drinks.
If you have a large meal before you enter the festival, chances are you will only need to buy dinner at the festival each day. You will still need to purchase water and alcoholic beverages at the festival, but most venues offer water refill stations free of charge, so taking advantage of these is another great place to save money. You can always split food and drink costs with friends if you want to save even more money.
It is important to stay hydrated, and doing so cost-effectively can help make, or break, your wallet.
While you will undoubtedly spend hundreds of dollars attending your next music festival, you don’t have to break the bank while doing so. If you utilize the tips listed in this article you might just find yourself with enough money left over to purchase a ticket to your next festival sooner! Let us know how you plan on saving money in the comments section below!
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