To make sure you’re prepared to have the best weekend of the year so far, we wanted to bring you a music festival checklist.
Getting the tents and wellies out in preparation for a festival is an exciting time. Making sure you’ve got everything you need is the last thing on your mind when you’ve got 3 or more days of non-stop music and fun around the corner. However, getting to a festival with 1 pair of socks, no sleeping bag, a single packet of pringles and no toothbrush would stress the majority of us out. Being prepared is key to having the best possible time.
To help you get organized before your next festival we wanted to share our ultimate festival checklist. It includes everything you need from wellies to plasters and will ensure you can put your mind at ease. Don’t be that person who wears the same underwear the whole festival, make sure you’re prepared and have got everything you could need!
Music Festival Checklist
Packing for a music festival is stressful. You have multiple days of rain, sun, wind, warm and cold coming your way. Making sure you’re prepared for all weather is essential, but remember everything has got to be carried on your back. Being organised will maximize the chances of having the best time and will stop you from having to spend unnecessary money whilst there.
We’ve broken down the list into sections to make it easier to follow. Essentials, camping, clothes, toiletries and personal items and food and drink will make up the list. As much as the essential list contains the most important items, all the items on this list are key for a smooth festival. After going into a bit of detail we have provided a bullet point list for your convenience.
So, without further ado, let’s get into the essential items!
Essential Items
The essentials list will be the most extensive, being crucial for a good time.
Tickets
Tickets are of course the most essential item apart from bringing yourself. With so many of us used to having tickets on our phones, it can be an innocent mistake with a paper one.
Arriving at the festival gates and not being able to enter would not be a great start. If you’re going to a festival abroad, passport and plane tickets are equally as important.
Phone
If you’ve got your tickets on your phone you don’t have to worry about this, unless you forget your phone of course. Phones are kind of essential for anything these days, so we don’t expect you’ll be forgetting them.
Whether you’re trying to find your friends or snap some memories, phones for most of us are an essential item for festivals.
Portable Charger
This leads us to portable chargers. Your phone will inevitably die during the festival, bringing a portable charger is hassle-free and will save you money.
This will avoid you having to use those crazy expensive charging stations.
Money
Money would be the next prominent item. Festivals can be expensive even after arriving. Food and drinks stalls are extortionate and you’re probably going to enjoy some expensive fairground rides after a few drinks.
Make sure you have enough money especially to pay for food. Don’t worry about taking it all in cash, nearly all festivals supply ATMs now.
Hiking & Bum Bags
Tickets, phones and money are the 3 main items. You can probably survive or buy anything else you forgot, but missing any of these 3 won’t be a great start.
To keep them all together a bum bag is perfect. Of course, you need your actual bag with everything else in too. Hiking bags are great for this being designed for long walks in the heat.
Sun Protection & Water
The next few are still important but not quite as essential. Unless you’re prepared to pay £5 for every bottle of water you will need, bring a water bottle with you. There will be free taps available for refills.
If anything you need to ensure you are hydrated at festivals for your safety. This leads us to sun cream. Spending the remaining days of a festival cowering under any shade available after extreme sunburn is no fun. Don’t let yourself turn into a squishy, make sure you’ve got your sun cream packed.
Wet Wipes & Bin Bags
Wet wipes are of course essential. Even though showers are widely available at festivals, many of us still prefer the wet wipe method. Finally, the other essentials are bin bags.
Don’t be that person who leaves all their rubbish at a festival, nobody likes them and they create a bad name for the rest of us. Be respectful and pick it up. They also double up as ponchos!
If you’ve got 5 minutes to grab the train and you still haven’t packed, make sure to grab these first!
Camping
This section will only apply to campers. This is the music festival camping checklist.
Tent
A tent is the most important item when camping, forgetting your tent might result in a cosy stay with a friend. However, remembering the tent is only one of many items needed for camping.
Tent pegs are often a forgotten item resulting in tents becoming kites. Make sure you’ve got spares and also a mallet to hammer them in.
Comforts
A sleeping bag is probably something you won’t forget even if not much sleep will occur. Sleeping in a field isn’t the most comfortable night’s sleep, remember a camping matt and a pillow can improve that.
You want to be as fresh as possible during the festival, and getting a good night’s sleep will help that. Remember a camping chair also for those times relaxing back at the tents. To put your mind at ease when out enjoying the stages, a tent lock will keep all your possessions safe.
Extras
There are a few more things to make your camp into your home for the weekend. A lamp to hang up in your tent can seem like a lifesaver when searching through your bags in the black of night. Finding your tent at night will be difficult without a torch too. Bringing both of these is pretty important.
Next is a towel and toilet paper. Showers are certainly optional at festivals, but bring a towel in case you do fancy being clean.
Going to the toilet is not so optional, and realising you don’t have any toilet paper is enough to make you cry in those revolting portaloos. Bring lots of toilet paper! There’s no such thing as too much at a festival.
Clothing
We all want to look our best at festivals. Whether it be the fashion we see at Coachella or the crazy attires at Boomtown. Take whatever crazy items you find and dress however you like.
Saying that, there are a few items of clothing you should remember for every festival.
Footwear
You will need suitable footwear if you don’t want blisters and sore feet all weekend. Wellies are the usual choice but walking boots are better for comfort.
Having a pair of sliders or flip-flops will also be useful. Having to go to the toilet early in the morning and putting your boots on can be a pain. Bring a quick easy option for these moments.
Weather Appropriate
You need to make sure you’re prepared for the elements. We all want a weekend of glorious sun and blue skies which is rarely granted in the UK. Always make sure you’ve got a waterproof coat with you. Being damp all weekend isn’t the best way to enjoy a festival.
Also, ensure you have clothes prepared for the cold. If you’ve only brought shorts and a t-shirt and it’s only 10 above, you’re not going to be able to enjoy yourself one bit. On the flip side, bring sunglasses and a hat to protect you from the rays.
You’ve probably already got your outfits planned. Make a list of the main pieces of clothing you want to take to make sure you don’t forget them either. Underwear is essential here. If you don’t want to be festering in the same underwear all weekend, make sure to bring many spares for both underwear and socks.
Toiletries & Personal Items
Festivals aren’t known for being clean. Some are content with accepting a weekend of filth and bad smells. Others prefer a minimal input of hygiene upkeep.
Essentials
Toothbrush and toothpaste is the most important here, the singular choice for many festival-goers. We’ve included baby wipes again but with face wipes also. A face and body wipe might be the closest you’ll get to a shower.
If you do plan to shower make sure to bring some shampoo and body wash. If you don’t, dry shampoo and deodorant will just about do. Plaster and blister plasters are also wise options. Blisters can put a halt to all the fun at a festival.
Medical & Hygiene Products
Paracetamol is a wise decision for those with hangovers. Likewise, hayfever tablets are essential for us with pollen allergies. Any other personal medication is imperative, make sure you’re looking after yourself well at festivals.
For the women, having your time of the month at a festival is not ideal, but make sure you’re prepared for it. This is a good point to mention she-wees. Avoid having to lug yourself down to the portaloos by bringing a she-wee if you can bring yourself to use one.
Food & Drink
Now this section is not necessary but is still worth mentioning. If you want to buy every bit of food and drink at a festival, be our guest. But like most of us, festival food and drink are too expensive to sustain us all weekend.
Bringing dry foods like pot noodles can be great with boiling water available at many stalls. If you want to live a more luxurious festival life, bring gas and a camping stove and cook your own meals.
List Summary
Here’s the full list to make it easier when checking through.
Essentials
- Tickets
- Money
- Phone
- Portable charger
- Bum bag
- Water bottle
- Suncream
- Wet wipes
- Bin bags
Camping
- Tent
- Sleeping Bag
- Pillow
- Camping matt
- Lamp
- Torch
- Tent Pegs
- Mallet
- Towel
- Toilet paper
- Camping chair
- Tent locks
Toiletries & Personal items
- Baby wipes
- Face wipes
- Dry shampoo
- Deodorant
- Shampoo+body wash
- Toothbrush + toothpaste
- First aid kit
- Paracetamol
- Hayfever tablets
- Personal medication
- Hygiene products
- Shewee
That Was Our Music Festival Checklist
That was our festival camping essentials checklist! We hope it helps you prepare for your long-anticipated next festival. Your ‘what to take to a festival checklist’ will set you up for an amazing weekend!
Camping at festivals is some people’s worst nightmare. For others, it’s just part of the experience. Packing everything you could need in a bag that will fit on your back is a challenge. Having a music festival camping checklist will make sure you only take what’s necessary and don’t forget the essentials.
We hope that you enjoyed this article! If you did, be sure to share it across your socials with your fellow festival-goers and give us a tag @musicgateway! We love interacting with you all!
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