Beyond the Valley Festival Review + Guide: All You Need to Know

I had the privilege of visiting Beyond the Valley Festival in Victoria, Australia to ring in the new year, and it was a wonderful experience. This music festival truly goes above and beyond to create an awesome weekend for its attendees, and there is truly a bit of something for everyone.

Now located in the rolling green knolls of Baruna Plains in the Golden Plains Shire, Beyond the Valley Music Festival has the perfect backdrop, crowd, lineup, and vibe for an unforgettable New Year’s celebration.

Put on by both Triple J and Untitled Group, Beyond the Valley had a great mix of live music/popular bands and a stacked house + techno lineup as well. Mixed in with too many scrumptious food vendors to try, tons of markets, beauty tents to get festival-ready, a few fun extra parties, and a surplus of extra activities like speed dating, yoga, and even swimming – you have a complete festival package of awesomeness. With its extremely manageable size and camping areas in close proximity, you really can’t go wrong at this festival.

Read on for my comprehensive Beyond the Valley review + festival guide, which delves into all the aspects of the music festival from outfits/fashion, security, camping, car passes and ticket prices to lineup, crowd, themes, and transportation/parking situations.

But First, Check Out Some More of My Aussie/Festival Content!

• Strawberry Fields Festival Review + Guide
• The Ultimate Music Festival Camping Checklist
• Pitch Music Festival Review-Guide
• Babylon Music Festival Review-Guide

Beyond the Valley Location/Venue

Starting in 2022-2023, Beyond the Valley has been moved to a new location quite far from the original Lardner Park location in Gippsland to Baruna Plains in the Golden Plains Shire, about 40 minutes from Geelong. It’s a similarly gorgeous and hilly festival site as where BTV called home for the last six or seven years before.

Baruna plains has a central flat plain with rolling hills surrounding it, making a natural amphitheater. The area has a rich and sacred aboriginal history as well. There will be more space for up to 35,000 attendees at this location, with plans to expand, with all the usual suspects for stages, side stages, and workshops too.

This year they have unveiled even more incredible plans for expanded and creative stage design and full workshops and spaces at Australia’s biggest New Years Eve Festival.

Main Stage (Valley Stage)

The main stage has more of the mainstream/famous/live acts playing in an open-air setting. This stage will have a view of the surrounding scenery.

The main stage always has a really picturesque appearance and design – from reflective gold plates to bright screens. The sound system here is fantastic, and you can hear the music from all areas around the stage and from supplemental speakers at the back.

Dance Dome

The Dance Tent is just a few minutes away from the Main Stage, with its own vibe. The Dance Tent reminded me a lot of structures I have seen at Coachella, Boom Festival, and Lightning in a Bottle made by the Do Lab – it was extremely colorful, with different panels of fabric hanging over and beside a main dancing area.

They will usually have a massive light panel across the front displaying amazing light shows, with the dj on top of it. The whole area is spread with sand, which is nice because it feels like you are at the beach (but is also quite strange to get stuck in big piles later at night) 😛

Scmall Klüb

There is now a new, hidden ‘speakeasy style’ club that apparently only has a secret entrance and a tiny warehouse vibe. Sounds fun!

Dr. Dan’s Electric Psychedelic Pussycat Swinger Club

Oh yes, you read that one right. This is actually one of my favorite venues of the whole festival – located next to the camping area in its own spot. They change the design for this each year and it just gets better and better.

This is like the little side stage that you get pulled into because of a dirty bassline and end up dancing away there for 4 hours and don’t even realize how much time has passed (that’s happened to everyone else at least once, right? RIGHT?!). Ha, but honestly, it is a lot of fun and where the smaller dj’s just basically played whatever the hell they wanted. It was usually funky housey bassy tracks – lots of fun.

They also hold Poof Doof here – one of the most fun events of the weekend – at this stage. Poof Doof is an awesome and ostentatious gay bar that also brings its events to different places and festivals around Melbourne. The enclosed stage was completely full for this event, and there were drag queens strutting their stuff on the poles surrounding the crowd, up in the dj booth, and everywhere really. Two amazing drag queens played a killer set as well. It was inclusive, colorful, flamboyant, and fun.

For the extra things to do and parts of the venue, see below! To see a layout of the venue, check out a recent post on BTV’s Instagram:

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A post shared by Beyond The Valley (@beyondthevalleyfest)

Better Beer Beach Club

BTV has always had some form of a small beach club, but with this newer venue it’s not one of the coolest parts of the festival site. It’s set up like a real beach with space to swim and relax.

Beyond the Valley Crowd + Vibe

The crowd at Beyond the Valley is basically what you would expect of a mainstream/Triple J crowd. This is NOT a doof crowd – not even close – although some doofers do come to Beyond the Valley because of the awesome house + techno names it brings into the lineup. And by that, I mean it was not really a conscious crowd.

People threw their rubbish everywhere, and it was the kind of crowd that would just push through people to get through the stages without saying excuse me. Like, how hard is it to say excuse me?! This was the kind of crowd that truly believed that they could leave everything behind at their campsite because the expensive cost of their ticket covered the cost of cleanup. I actually heard a guy say that and it made my blood boil, but this is the kind of crowd you’d expect at a festival that isn’t a burn, doof, or transformational festival, I suppose.

The being said, it was still great festival vibes here. You could have conversations and random hilarious moments with strangers; people smiled and were open. I really didn’t see anyone that couldn’t handle themselves or partied too hard, to be honest. At times it even seemed like the crowd was quite mellow. But all in all there is a great vibe in the air at BTV; people are all having fun, and are excited to ring in the new year.

Atmosphere/Decorations

Beyond the Valley doesn’t have a major focus on art and decor, but it is definitely around. The stages in and of themselves are colorful, pretty, and beautifully done. None of the festival is done in a boring way – the light shows are awesome, the speakers are on point, and the stages are unique.

There are painted panels all over the site, some with feathers or other colorful patterns. When I went, there was a massive hammock structure in the middle of the venue as well. There are sandy beach areas with beach chairs near the pools, and everything is legibly and colorfully labeled from the toilets and showers to the different areas.

While not having a massive focus on atmosphere, BTV still does it well and do all they need to do to make it awesome.

Beyond the Valley Lineup/Music/Artists

Beyond the Valley is put on both by Triple-J and Untitled Group, which represent both the mainstream Aussie music and a bit more underground dj scene, respectively. The lineup reflects that perfectly each year in having a fantastic mix of more mainstream live acts and some fantastic house + techno djs. There is a little bit of everything at this festival, and there is really something for everyone.

The main stage always has epic lineup. It has been graced by acts such as Nelly Furtado, Rufus Du Sol, Tash Sultana, Flight Facilities, The Kooks, Duke Dumont, Bonobo, Katranada, Running Touch, Vera Blue, Late Night Tuff Guy, Fisher, SAFIA, Flight Facilities, Bonobo, REMI, and Pnau. A lot of these acts are either extremely famous or have live elements to their shows. Sets at the main stage are usually about an hour, give or take 15-30 mins.

The Dance tent sees artists like Kolsch, Charlotte de Witte, Bicep, Oxia, Peggy Gou, Patrick Topping, KiNK, Dom Dolla, Yotto, Mall Grab, Foals, and DJ Tennis. These sets are all generally 2 hours long, giving the artists the perfect amount of time to build up their vibe.

The organization of the lineup is generally very successful, give or take a few slightly more confusing placements (such as putting Duke Dumont before The Kooks on New Year’s eve – seemed backwards to many of us). There was a fun dj playing throwback tunes during the main stage changeover times, which the crowd seemed to love as well.

Beyond the Valley Camping + Car Pass

Beyond the Valley Festival camping is a completely separate ticket to the festival tickets now. You must purchase your camping ticket (one of many options) and also your festival pass because some people stay off-site also, and they want to allow a more customized experience.

You have to arrive with friends in order to get the same camping spot with them, as the camping is laid out in neat rows in order, with lots of space for each area. Make sure all of you have a BTV car pass.

There was an area to wait for your friends so you could all drive in together and get a spot together. Most of the Beyond the Valley camping is car camping, so if you can, try to drive in with your friends. There are also a few parking lots you can park in so you can walk over to meet your friends if need be.

General BTV Camping

There is a Black, Blue, Orange, Purple, Silver, Pink, and Green Camping area, in a big grassy field around the main venue area. No camp is more than about a 15-20 (tops) minute walk to get into the main area – sometimes 3-5. It was small and nicely manageable and will be flat.

Again, all these general camping areas were car camping areas with people gathered around a few cars, tents, and marquees. Try to drive in with your friends.

Pre-Pitched Camp

For those without a tent or the will to set one up, there is now pre-pitched camp. You can reserve a 2, 3, 4, or 5 person tent in a pre-pitched camping village

BTV Premium Camping

Premium camp is a camping area near the Lux Camp, which has access to electricity. I think this is where anyone with an RV would go, or people who just want a little extra comfort of being able to charge things. This also comes with security and special festival entrance and facilities. Passes to this camping area need to be purchased as an extra package.

BTV Lux Camp – Glamping

The Lux Camp is a pretty big thing at Beyond the Valley Festival. There are dozens (hundreds?) of two-person pre-erected luxe tents, located right next to the lake and a few minutes to one of the main entrances. The Luxe Tents include beds/bedding, a mirror, electricity, towels, a special pool/bathroom/shower, and a lock.

This was the basic Lux package, but if you wanted even MORE amenities (rug, door mat, queen bed, throw, sofa, cushions, etc etc etc) you could do a few different upgrade packages for these tents to DeLux Tent, Ultra DeLux Tent, and now even a fancy Ultra DeLux All Inclusive Package including all meals, transfers, skipping the line, and more! BOUGIE! Prices get pretty high, but these are super nice and spacious if you have the money.

Staff/Media/Artist Guest Camp

They also have a staff and media camp – this is where I was! It was a small sectioned off area which made it feel very safe. This camp also got access to the big building where the artists were hosted – only a small corner of it, but this is where the EXTREMELY nice and usually empty bathrooms were.

Camping Amenities

Beyond the Valley Showers + Toilets

The camping areas at BTV all have accessible toilets and showers. The toilets (unless you are in luxe camp) are porta-potty type units, which are spread all over the park and venue.

The showers are similar small units like the toilets, and were spread out over the whole venue at most corners and also FREE! The lines could get quite long in the morning, but nothing too crazy. The Lux camp has their own toilets and showers also.

General Stores

There will be a few general stores throughout the venue, selling anything you could need for camping. From air mattresses and sleeping bags to tissues, red bull, baby wipes, drinks, and snacks, these really had it all if you needed to top up your camping stock.

Beach Club + Pool Parties

One of the coolest things about Beyond the Valley festival is the swimming pools. They have sustainable shipping container pools in the ‘beach club’ area which are even cooler since I last attended.

The beach club is situated on a little (man-made) sandy beach with beach chairs and lifeguards. The pools are right next to a general store and coffee shop too, so they are the perfect way to wake yourself up in the morning before getting ready and grab anything you may need for the day.

Did they get a big mangy? I mean, yes and no. There was definitely some sand and grime, but they didn’t get too bad. If you use them to cool off before an actual shower, cool off, or just cleanse yourself a bit, they’re fine.

A meditation going on in the workshops area, as well as some fake brides heading into the inflatable church for their unholy wedding. 😛

Beyond the Valley Festival Amenities – Other Stuff to Do/Extra Activities

There is plenty else to do at Beyond the Valley Festival, even after you cool off in the pool! Here are a few things that you must check out inside the venue:

Sanctuary Area

The Sanctuary area is next to the camping area and festival area, and has all the extra kinds of activities in the mindfulness/creativity sector. It really is a sanctuary, with lots of chill spaces with bean bags and chairs if you just need to get away from it all for a bit.

They even have a full NYD rejuvanation day in the Sanctuary, with tons of wholesome activities to rinse off the night before.

There’s a little schedule of workshops that go on each day, such as yoga, sound healing, speed dating, and more, and some things available at all times. Here are some things that may go on:

Painting

There was a massive pile of small, square, blank canvases, tons of paint, and a bunch of brushes that anyone could just come up and use whenever they pleased. I walked in and was astonished to find the totally free creation zone, and looked over all the amazing/hilarious/beautiful canvases. I then spent the next half hour creating one of my own while chatting with a few fellow newfound artists trying their hand at painting.

Doof Stick Making

On the first day, they had multiple windows of Doof Stick Making at Beyond the Valley – how fun! If you don’t know, a ‘doof stick’ is what I call a ‘totem’ in the US; it’s basically anything long, thin, and tall that will help you find your group in the crowd. These are usually funny pictures or phrases at the top of a stick, sometimes with lights. They can be anything!

Meditations, Sound Healing, Sound Journey

They had all kinds of mediations in the workshop area, many of them incorporating sound or instruments. I did one that used a sound bowl with a didjeridoo and bells. It was lovely and grounding, and lead by such a beautiful couple. I’m sure they were all different but equally perfect for a little relaxing of the mind during a busy day.

Speed Dating

Okay, I’m actually so sad I missed this! It would have been so much fun, especially at a festival. They had speed dating a few of the days in the sanctuary area, and I would love to know if anyone found their festival girlfriend/boyfriend.

Yoga

There is yoga each day for the extra-keen early bird who didn’t go a bit too crazy the night before. But in saying that, the music ended at 3am most nights so you could still get a good few (festival) hours in before yoga if you wanted.

Tarot Cards, Massage

Another side of the Sanctuary area had a space for other things like tarot card reading, massage, and more. For these activities you would have had to go in earlier and book yourself a time. My friend had her tarot cards read, and she said it was amazing.

Market Stalls and Beauty Services

There are TONS of market stalls at Beyond the Valley festival. There is every kind of festival dress-up you can imagine, from sunglasses to jewelry to clothing of every possible kind. There are a few well-known clothing brands there, as well as some smaller ones. There was even a charity tent selling books for refugees!

One thing that’s for sure is that you could find basically anything festival-related here that you could want, and it would be silly not to have a wander through all the options.

As far as extra things at the market stalls, there are plenty of hair and beauty tents as well. The famous ‘glitoris’ tent would have you covered with glitter, and there were other tents that will glitter and braid your hair, or even your beard! How fun. There is a temporary tattoo tent with high quality tats (mine lasted ages), and well as phone charging for anyone who needs it.

The Inflatable Church

To me, this was one of the highlights of the festival that comes back every year! It is SO much fun, SO inappropriate, SO hilarious, and just generally the funniest idea ever. Basically what it is, is a massive inflatable church with a potty-mouthed vicar and an alien-faced DJ where you could marry someone in unholy matrimony just for shits & giggles.

They have an entire tent full of hilarious costumes and glitter, where men are encouraged to wear dresses and women were encouraged to, well, get weird also.

I didn’t know what was going on at first when I saw a guy holding up the train of another guy’s dress ready to walk down the aisle. Intrigued, I went inside and became a part of the best wedding party ever, with two glitter-faced couples getting married with a wedding speech peppered with outrageous lines, rude jokes, and so much laughter. I saw a wedding taking place between three girls later on the next day – they all had fake rings, vows, and the whole shebang. So good.

Transportation/Hotels/Parking

You have a few options to get to Beyond the Valley Festival:

Drive Yourself.

I would say that most people drove themselves to the festival, in that the camping areas were car camping. This is fairly easy to do and it’s nice to have a car to lock things in. Just be mindful that there are car searches (see below) and that there are alcohol and drug tests on the way out too.

As far as parking goes, there were a few parking lots for those people who didn’t want to park in the campsite or missed the window to drive in with friends. I would recommend you just drive in with your friends though, and make an awesome festival campsite together.

Public Transport to BTV

Due to the remote location public transport is difficult, but they do offer charter busses from Geelong station if you’d prefer to get yourself that far on the train. These passes must be purchased ahead of time.

Beyond the Valley Bus

Beyond the Valley had its own charter busses that run from central Melbourne (Fed Square) to the Beyond the Valley location. The numbers and timings depended on bookings, but they had plenty available. The BTV bus is probably the safest and most convenient way to get there.

Food/Drink at Beyond the Valley

The Beyond the Valley Food is freaking FANTASTIC. There are SO many options that it’s almost too many!! There are food stalls all around the outside of the venue and they all have really good options. Some of the stuff they may have:

• A REALLY good burger place, with tons of options and loaded fries too.
• All kinds of coffee and iced coffee
• A Ribs place with perhaps the best loaded fries I have ever had, involving cheese, veggies, and shredded rib meat.
• Avocado Tent with Avo on EVERYTHING
• A Vegan-Optional tent that did fantastic nachos, I got the beef ones 😛
• Steak Sandwiches + Brekky Rolls + Sausage Sizzle
• Pork Crackling Tent with many variations thereof
• Paella Tent
• Amsterdam Tent with sweets like waffles and Dutch pancakes
• Indian Food
• Seafood/Calamari Tent
• Greek Souvlaki

Okay, do you get the point? They have everything. Whatever you felt like, it was there. Whatever you didn’t feel like, it was also there. I swear I ate sometimes just because I really wanted to try something from one of the food stands. It really was that good.

Beyond the Valley Drinks

Oh, of course, the drinks. They are abundant and plentiful. There are so many bars that there is hardly ever too long of a line, which is AWESOME. There are heaps of options, from a fancy BTV cocktail to vodka mixers to pre-mixed Jim Beam, CC, double black, etc to beer and cider in cans.

There is also a VIP bar near the main stage with extra options and less of a line too. They are putting extra emphasis on this VIP area these days as it has a great view of the stage and more space.

Beyond the Valley Tickets + Price

As with any festival, the price of Beyond the Valley tickets depends on at which point you buy them and how many days you want to go. BTV has 4 day, 3 day, 2 day, and 1 day (NYE) passes. I would say that most people either go 3 or 4 days.

Early bird starts cheaper, but just before it sold out (which is usually does) you’d be looking to pay about 480 for 4 days, $460 for 3, $380 for 2, and $230 for NYE. 4 days is obviously the best all-around deal, and the earlier you get your tickets, the cheaper. theywill be.

Extra Expenses

On top of your ticket, you’ll want to consider:

Luxe Camping/Camping Packages: $300-$500 per person depending on level of luxuriousness and how many people in the tent! There fits 2-4 people per tent, and some are nicer than others with couches etc. Electric City is another $200 per campsite for plugs etc. Regular campers only need to worry about buying a car pass per car.

Transport: Return bus ticket costs $50-$90 depending on the day, and it might cost the same to split a rental car between 4 people. If you have a car, you eliminate that and just pay gas, of course. The Luxe Coach Return Transfer is new and costs $260 including free flowing drinks.

Food, drinks, etc: However much you usually spend… plus some, let’s be honest.

Beyond the Valley security line to get in, and a few happy festival-goers!

Beyond the Valley Security

Beyond the Valley was not a BYO event, so police were searching cars for alcohol and well, you know, any other substances.

Getting into the Campground

Beyond the Valley security is fairly tight. There will be police and sniffer dogs searching cars at random. I would say that most cars that went into the general camping entrance were at least searched. The cars I saw before NYE had everything taken out and put back in, but nothing really opened or messed with too much (that I saw).

Someone told me that the Beyond the Valley security searched about every third car, so I guess that’s a pretty high chance. I also heard stories about alcohol being found in very well-concealed places, so take with that what you will and be careful!

There wasn’t a search at the staff gate for me, and my friends in Lux said they weren’t searched very much at all. I think the worst of the BTV security checks go onto the general camping entrance. I also heard rumors of police going through people’s tents to find alcohol and other things, which of course is completely illegal (if it’s not in plain sight) but is also something to be aware of.

BTV Security Getting into the Venue

There is an extra security check when you walk from the camping into the actual venue with the stages. These guards just basically want to make sure you aren’t bringing any drinks or alcohol in (not that anyone could have any in the campgrounds…. right?! :P). They made people throw away their cups and cans and maybe glanced into a bag or two but that’s all.

BTV Security Inside the Venue

There were cops and security guards walking around the venue here and there, standing at the back edges of crowds and overseeing the general debauchery. Sometimes there would be a group of cops standing by the front outside of the stages, lingering around and watching people. I’m not sure what they were doing or if they were doing much but they were there, ha.

Beyond the Valley Bathrooms

The bathrooms at BTV are average. Most were the kind of porta-potties that had their own little built-in sink in each stall, with a foggy mirror. They were pretty clean to begin with, but went WAY downhill towards the end and especially on the last night.

The female toilets were extremely overcrowded on the last night, to the point people were using the men’s and squatting behind things, and half of them were overflowed. I’m not sure if this was a problem with maintenance, or too many people and not enough loos (probably the latter), but the last night was very grim. They rarely ran out of toilet paper though which is, I suppose, a plus.

There were actual toilets in the Lux area, near the staff camping, and also in the VIP area there were some better ones as well. I wouldn’t say you need to bring your own toilet paper but maybe try to use the bathrooms across the festival from a main act or go right before one ends.

Beyond the Valley Weather

All I have to say about the Beyond the Valley weather is: Melbourne. BTV is classic Melbourne weather aka unpredictable af, and will probably run the entire gamut of weather. My year, it began by pouring with rain (wet grass, some mud, and all), then forecasted rain for the next two days but hardly rained at all and ended up extremely hot to the sunburn level but freezing at night.

What I mean by this is: you never know. Bring your umbrella, rain jacket, and make sure your tent is waterproof. Make sure you have something warm to bundle up in at the festival at night and when you sleep. But also, be prepared to strip down to a swim suit status in the daytime, to stay in the shade, and to have a dip in the pools.

Beyond the Valley Outfits, Themes, + Fashion

In that it is a bit more mainstream than other festivals, Beyond the Valley has a more boho/chic/trendy fashion trend than some other festivals and doofs. That being said, festivals are a place where anyone can dress any way they like, and people all definitely do this.

You’ll still see your leotards, fishnets, wigs, and LOTS of glitter, but not EVERYONE goes as hard for Beyond the Valley outfits as they would at, say, Rainbow Serpent. Anything really goes here, but for once I actually wore a super boho outfit and not my usual crazy colorful stuff – just for one of the days 😛

Girls wear all kinds of outfits- really anything festival-y goes. Boys wear party shirts, silly hats, and the occasional costume. Have fun with it if you want,  don’t if you don’t… that’s pretty much how BTV went. Check out my favorite festival brands if you want.

Beyond the Valley Theme

That being said, there is usually a BTV theme on New Year’s Eve. The Beyond the Valley theme was PINK one year, the next it was SAFARI, 2023 was Studio 54, and 2024 is DAD CORE.

I would say that yes, most people adhere to the dress up guidelines. This kind of surprised me given the crowd, but people really got into it. So make sure to check if there’s a theme when you go – there pretty much always is.

Time

The Beyond the Valley timings run from about 12-1pm to 3-4am each day, and that goes for music. The main stage begins in the early afternoon and ends around 1-2am, and the Dance Tent begins around the same time and ends later at 3am (4 on NYE). The Jim Beam tent also goes on late night – around 3am also. Late night food is also available (I recommend the shredded rib fries late at night, ha).

Extra activities begin earlier (yoga is at 9am, meditations and activities run 10am – 5/6pm) and end earlier too. The pools are open pretty much all day, as are the general stores etc. Unclear if the showers ever closed but I don’t think so.

Beyond the Valley Money

The bars here only took card when I went, so if you had cash you would need to exchange it at a few different points for these little Beyond the Valley tickets that you could exchange for drinks.

As far as the food tents went, each one was different, but I would say most accepted card and some accepted cash.

Beyond the Valley Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteering is readily available at Beyond the Valley Festival. Volunteers help with everything from bartending to directing cars to the information desk to giving directions, and the applications are open for a long time. On the website they list different positions and requirements to apply – check it out! You will have to work a few shifts (totaling 20 hours) to get a festival/camping ticket. Not a bad deal if you are short on cash!

You can also apply for market stalls, food vendors, and other staff (bartending was a separate application for some reason) on the site as well.

Final Beyond the Valley Tips

•  If you are going with friends, make sure you all caravan and drive in together. This will make for an absolutely epic, massive camp metropolis. Bring Easy-ups for shade above your tents and chill areas.
• Be wary of security checks
• Make sure to check out ALL the stages- Dr. Dan’s and Beach Club included. Festivals are always more fun when you experience a bit of everything.
• This also goes for the Sanctuary! Head in there at least once for a workshop, to paint, or to chill. You might be surprised how fun it is to let out some creativity, or how relaxing it it to try some yoga or meditation.
• Check my festival camping checklist if you are traveling from far away 🙂

More Festival Tips:

• Top Festival Hacks, Tips, and Must-Haves
• Tips for Going to a Festival Alone and Having a Rad Time
• Top 10 Brands for Funky Festival Outfits

Thanks to Beyond the Valley for hosting me. As you hopefully know by now, all words are always my own.