Coachella Travel Guide

Always wanted to go to Coachella? Here is how to do it!

​1. First step is plan ahead and buy that pre-sale package!

Example: If you are looking to go to Coachella in 2019 then you should have enough money saved and someone to go with by June of 2018. This is when the Pre-sale ticket packages go on sale and trust me it is worth it to get this package.

With this you can choose a 2 person or 4 person package that includes the 3-day Coachella festival pass, 3 nights in a hotel that is extremely close to the festival, a free shuttle back and forth from the festival that runs every half hour and someone to meet you at the hotel with your Coachella package and wrist band.

The prices range with this package, for a two person package it ranges from about $2400-3500 (you split this between two people). A four person package can be even less per person. You can choose different options of where you want to stay and what you want out of your stay.

​Random Tip: If you are over 21 years old you can choose a party package which includes pool parties in the morning at your hotel, before going to the festival. This option can sometimes be a little more pricey. You can also choose a VIP package if you would like to enter the VIP area at the festival. If you are not 21 you can choose a regular hotel package, which is what I did when I went.

​My Experience:

The hotel I stayed at was insanely nice and it was one of the cheapest options. Me and my friend did the two person package and the room was so big. We had a common living area, a kitchen, a balcony and our own separate bedrooms. I was in shock when I walked into this hotel, only paying $1150 for the whole package at the time. This price included breakfast and had an awesome pool that we relaxed at every morning before heading to the festival. The shuttle was a major time and money saver because we never had to worry about transportation. The most time it took to get on a shuttle was a half hour and it took about fifteen minutes to the festival itself, which was not bad at all.

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2. So after I buy the hotel package, what do I do? Book your flight!

Since you are buying the pre-sale package, you have a lot of time before the festival, about ten months to be exact, so there is no need to panic about booking a flight. You can wait until about October or November to book your flight if you want the cheapest prices.

If you want to see what the Coachella line up is before you book your flight to see if you definitely want go or not, then you will have to wait until January to find out that information. Yes, you have to buy the pre-sale package before knowing that the artist playing at the festival are, but if you truly love music then it won’t matter as much.

​Random Tip:

What I found was that it was almost double the price to fly directly into Palm Springs then it was to fly into LAX. Since I have never been to California before that’s what I decided to do.

My Experience:

What I did was wait until about October and looked into booking flights. We flew in on Wednesday morning and spent that day and Thursday roaming around Santa Monica and I fell in love. California is amazing and so beautiful. The Santa Monica Pier is something I’ve only seen in pictures my whole life so it was fun to actually see this amazing place in person. It was a little chilly there even though it was the first weekend in April so I would suggest bringing a light cardigan of some sort if you are flying into LAX. It was awesome going to Santa Monica first because almost all the people we met were on the #roadtocoachella. A few that actually ended up in the same hotel as us when we got to palm springs which was cool!

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3. How do I get to Palm Springs?

If you end up flying to LAX or Long Beach airport instead of directly to Palm Springs then there are two ways to get to Palm Springs. You can rent a car or take a bus from LAX airport. The car gives you the freedom of coming and going whenever you please but the bus is definitely the cheapest option.

My Experience:

What we decided to do was Uber to a local car rental place on Friday morning and rent a car for the weekend to drive to palm springs to our hotel and so we’d have transportation when we were there. We later learned that there was a bus going from LAX airport to whatever hotel you were staying at that was much cheaper! We did not really use the car while in palm springs besides going to the supermarket to get some alcohol and snacks. There was an Applebees and shopping center close to our hotel so we really could of walked if we needed too. So those are two options for you!

​4. How do I get back to my airport?

If you are on the bus then it will probably leave early Monday morning and if you have a rental car then the freedom is yours to choose when you leave.

One of the biggest things I can stress is how exhausted you are going to be on this Monday. You are most definitely not going to want to hop right on a plane and travel back home especially if your plane ride is 6 hours like mine.

My Experience:

On Monday after the festival we drove back to drop off the rental car and got an Uber to a close hotel to spend one more night in California. I was honestly so thankful for this ‘buffer’ day because I was exhausted from a long weekend and needed my time to catch up on sleep before I started traveling again. It was an extra day to rest and get our final tans in before heading back to cold New York. I would highly suggest doing this!

​This is how you accomplish your goal of making it to Coachella, the festival of dreams. One of my favorite weekends of my whole life took place here and I seriously can’t wait until the day I go back. Now start planning!

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