The Ultimate Music Festival Hacks, Tips, and Must-Haves (2026)

These music festival hacks and tips are a product of my years of traveling to music festivals all over the world. There are hacks for festival camping, packing, traveling, safety, staying together, meeting up, and maintaining a supportive community, as well as links to other music festival resources!

It’s always festival season somewhere… so let’s get planning! The list of festivals to attend and artists to see never gets shorter, which is why we have to make sure we are prepared before festival season is again upon us. Each season brings changes, and this season is bringing a heightened focus on sustainability, improved safety protocols, and amazing new products and hacks like never before.

This is why I have put together a nice lil list of some ultimate music festival hacks to know before you go each summer. Here is some of my best advice as a seasoned festival-obsessed traveler (who has been to festivals on 6 continents), organized conveniently by topic.

Pin these festival hacks to Pinterest! This was taken at Coachella years back! 

Festival Hacks for Keeping Your Belongings Safe

Here are some of the best festival tips for keeping your belongings safe, which is unfortunately something that is VERY important to think about, especially at bigger festivals.

You can also grab my festival camping checklist printable to make preparing fun!

Keeping Belongings Safe at a Glance:

• Lock or Carabiner
• Anti-Theft Backpack + Camelback
• Crossbody phone case
• Fanny Packs/Bum bags

Locks: Lock (or Carabiner) Things Shut!

If you are camping, why not lock your tent? It’s a great precaution and super easy if you have a combination lock that your campmates know the combination to. You can also lock the main zippers of your backpack shut if you will be wearing it all day ad need to carry some important stuff around!

If your backpack has two zippers, one of my best festival hacks is to simply bring a carabiner and secure the two zippers together. This adds an extra difficult step for thieves who work fast – they won’t be able to unhook the carabiner quickly, but YOU will, when you need to get something out.

Anti-theft Backpack

To go one step further, grab a festival hydration pack that is also anti-theft. I use the RaveRunner festival backpack, which has its main zips against your back making them completely invisible to thieves. Check my top festival backpacks + hydration packs article to read more.

Make Sure to Have Zips 

Open bags are a no-no at festivals. Super dense crowds are unfortunately a pick-pocket’s playground, even if stealing is against any and all good festival vibes. A great festival hack is to make sure your bags all have zips, bring a carabiner to secure them in big crowds, and keep your most valuable items (money, phone, cards) in the innermost pocket of your bag.

Fanny packs (bum bags) are the best for this, especially ones with inner or back zip pockets. I always keep my hand on my bag just in case – but it’s best to keep your things safe in zippers no matter what.

Keep Phone Safe

Don’t keep your phone in your pocket! This makes it too easy to fall out or get stolen, especially while dancing, in dense crowds, or after a few drinks. This is another reason why I love fanny packs – they can be locked and safe right at your waist – or crossbosy phone straps.

I have used this crossbody phone case for 4-5 years now and I have bought the same ons on Amazon 4-5 times; that’s how much I love it and sweat by it!

Also – most festivals these days use digital tickets or RFID wristbands linked to your card, which means your phone is even MORE important to protect. Take a screenshot of your ticket and save it offline in case you lose service, and if you’re at a cashless festival, load money onto your wristband ahead of time so you’re not constantly pulling out your phone to pay for stuff.

Festival Hacks on Friends and Meeting Up

Sometimes it’s very tough to find your friends at a bigger festival. Here are some of my best tips for finding friends in the easiest way!

Keep YOUR Valuables on YOU

People have a huge tendency at festivals to give all their stuff to the friend with the backpack so they don’t have to worry about it. This is great, but I have had one too many times of getting separated from this friend with the backpack!

If you give stuff to one friend to carry, make sure you at least keep some money or maybe your phone on you in case of an emergency. (Fanny packs – the solution again!)

Pick Meeting Points EARLY

Before heading into the venue for the day, maybe pick a meeting point to meet your friends if you get separated. Don’t pick something super big like the main stage; try something smaller.

For example: the front right table outside the burger stand, the middle tree between the merchandise tent and the beer garden, or the fifth pole from the front left side of a stage. Don’t pick meeting points too close to any tent or stage, or in areas that are very likely to be populated; pick something away from the rush. Make sure it’s foolproof and specific, and that you would not be able to miss each other!

Use the same meeting point for the whole weekend, and use it to meet up after different shows too. It’s one of the best festival hacks and you get to avoid having to use spotty or nonexistent phone service or excessive stress to find your crew.

Dealing with Differences of Opinion

Big groups are hard to deal with! If one half wants to see one artist, and the other wants something else, no sweat! Just pick a nice meeting point in the middle to meet at after each show. Make sure you set a specific time and place – see the tips above!

Use a Totem Compass

These are pretty brilliant products that you can connect to your friends and get directed to them at any point during the festival; or summoned in an emergency! Check out their current deals.

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Festival Tips + Essentials for Dancing Safe for Hours

Dancing and walking all day can really take it out of you, but if you come prepared you can stay energized for longer. Here are my best festival tips for festie longevity!

At a Glance:

• High-fidelity earplugs
• Liquid IV/ Electrolytes
• Collapsible Water Bottle
• Snacks/Gels
• Comfortable Shoes

Protect Your Ears

When you are groovin’ for days at a time to the world’s best sound systems, and you do it multiple times a year, it actually really does take a toll on your ears! I denied this for a while, but nowadays sometimes I legitimately feel like I have gone a little bit deaf from all the festivals and shows I go to.

So now I am smarter and try to protect my hearing, because, well, it’s kinda something I would like to keep for a long time. I have these high-fidelity earplugs that preserve the sound but protect your hearing, and they’re also clear and not too visible!

Water/Staying Hydrated

This one should be a no-brainer, but some people still need reminding of one of the most important festival tips! The number one thing to make sure of during a festival is to drink lots of water. Dancing, drinking, and lots of moving around creates an extra need to stay hydrated. I ALWAYS grab some Liquid IV electrolyte packets at Costco, Amazon, or the Liquid IV website before festivals and drink a couple of them a day

Make sure to bring your own water bottle to fill inside the venue. Grab a collapsible water bottle so it takes up no space when it’s empty, or just scrunch up a normal bottle if you don’t have access to one. Then keep refilling the same one all day!

If you’re at one of those festivals that doesn’t allow you to bring containers in or one that only sells uncapped water bottles (I hope they hardly exist anymore), try and hide an empty bottle in your bag (wrap it in hats and shirts or something) or bring some extra bottle caps in so you can reuse bottles you buy. It’s not worth waiting in line so many times, and all festivals should have a place to refill water bottles.

Eat PLENTY of Snacks

Make sure to always have some food throughout the day at a festival, even if it means just a granola bar or a tangerine (tangerines are the best snacks, seriously)! You can bring some in with you, or grab some from food stalls.

Sometimes I even grab little apple cause squeeze packets or even baby food (it sounds silly but it goes down well even if you aren’t hungry). Don’t forget to eat!

Comfortable Shoes can Change Your Life

I know, I know… You want to look good. But if you make the wrong choice and walk 25,000 steps in the wrong shoes and end up with blisters… You won’t make it back for the next day of the event. So, choose wisely!

For me, I always have a pair of ankle/calf-height combat boots or utility boots that are well-broken in (that I use for many purposes while traveling, hiking, and festival-ing). I recommend something like that or comfy trainers. If you’re going to go with some crazy Demonia-style boot, make sure they are platform wedges and comfortable!

Sunscreen is Vital

There’s no party foul like a sunburn! Make sure to stock up on sunscreen for any daytime festival events, as well as other sun protection like hats, sunglasses, and shawls/pashminas.

Festival Hacks: Packing for International Music Festivals

It’s hard to know what to pack for a music festival, especially if it’s overseas. When you have to condense everything into a checked (or carry-on!) luggage, your priorities change quite a lot.

Luckily, I have written a massive, in-depth, comprehensive, all-you-need-to-know checklist/guide to packing for festivals abroad, or stocking up for them if you’re already traveling. Read it right here or click the image below! These are truly my very best festival hacks for festival travelers!

Festival Hacks: Some Lesser-Known Festival Must Haves

Here are some lesser-known or easily forgotten festival must-haves and important items you might want to stock up on before festival season.

Hand Fans

I CANNOT stress this one enough. Those silly little hand fans that your grandma gave you as a souvenir or that you bought off someone on the streets of Europe for 2 euro… those fans are single handedly the best accessory you can have for hot summer festivals (or just stuffy dance floors).

When you’re in the middle of a hot, sweaty crowd or getting heat stroke walking around in the sun, these little hand fans do absolute wonders to keep you and your friends cool. GET ONE.

I have been the most popular human in entire crowds before just by fanning strangers; someone even gave me a bracelet once because being fanned made them so happy. Fan yourself, fan your friends, fan strangers, and spread happiness. If you want to go the extra mile, grab this extra large hand fan on Amazon (I have ordered this exact one in multiple patterns)

Disposable Camera

What if I told you that you could keep your phone safe (and charged), capture some incredible memories, and then RELIVE your whole festival experience? Disposable cameras have secured their place in my lesser-known festival must-haves for these reasons and more.

Sometimes less is more, and I’m a huge fan of accessories that allow you to stay in the moment. Rather than taking out your phone and getting bombarded with notifications and over-curating “the perfect picture,” disposables allow you to get the most authentic pictures that exactly capture the vibe of that moment. When you get your pictures developed, it feels like Christmas morning looking back on your experience! Get a camera for your whole crew and relive the mems in a different, amazing way.

Flag

For more international festivals and raves like Tomorrowland, it’s always fun to bring your flag! I have seen so many beautiful new friendships form over conversations brought about by holding a certain flag, or people from the same country at a foreign festival meeting up. I used to always bring my California flag to big festivals – and am always proud to represent and talk to people about my beautiful home state! (Note that I don’t bring the USA flag though… lol).

Baby Wipes

Baby wipes are useful for infinite different purposes at festivals. They are great to clean off dirt or use if the porta-potties run out of toilet paper, which is all too often. Or have the all-powerful ‘baby wipe shower’ at the end of a day where the showers are just too far away.

Extra Phone Charger Box/Power Bank

Most camping sites don’t have chargers, and having phones die during festivals is so frustrating when you want to meet up with friends or take loads of photos! This is why I always bring an extra charger box or two with me, and charge it up before the festival begins.

Depending on how much you want to spend, certain external chargers can hold multiple full charges in them. I have ordered this two pack of power banks a few times, and they change your phone or other gear at least 4 times (and if you bring a few of these to a longer festival, you should be sorted for the whole event).

The Best Festival Camping Tips + Hacks

Camping at a festival can either be fully roughing it or living large and in style. Which experience you have depends on how prepared you are beforehand!

FOr a more comprehensive list of camping essentials, check out my ultimate festival camping checklist here – it has EVERYTHING!

You can also grab my festival camping checklist printable to make packing a LOT MORE FUN!

Getting the Best Spot is Important

This massively differs from festival to festival, but generally you want a camping spot that is not too close, but not too far from the venue. You don’t want to walk miles to get in, and you also don’t want to be so close that the music vibrates your tent, and you have people constantly wandering (stumbling) through your campground.

So – get a spot in the middle! Somewhere easy to find and close to camping amenities that the festival may have (also close enough to toilets… but not so close you can smell them. ew). One of the MOST important festival tips for a campsite is to try and get some shade – bring some, or camp in the shade of trees if the site has any.

Make sure you get there early so you can have your pick of camping spots and be able to spread out far enough to create a nice camping area rather than squeezing into small spaces after everyone else is already set up.

How to Make the BEST Festival Campsite Metropolis

Camping may be roughing it, especially if it’s hot. But if you do it right, you can live large. One of my best festival tips is to get your group together (as big a group as you can!) and spread out over a good sized area.

Festival Must-Haves for the Best Campsite Ever

• Tarps – to put across muddy, dusty, or grassy floors or to create lots of shade
• Tapestries – to hang from the sides of EZ-ups to create shade and an awesome space
• Foldable tables – for extra stuff and food prep if you’re cooking
• Zip ties – for literally everything, trust me.
• EZ ups– To create an awesome shaded chill space and extra shade over tents
• Mats– to define your chill space and shield feet from dirty floors
• Foldable chairs – for morning sessions at the campsite
• Inflatable Couches – for extra comfort and lounging capabilities – even a whole L Couch!
• Coolers – especially the rolling ones!
• Zip Ties: To secure tarps or tapestries for shade and a million other things, I always have some on me at any festival!

If you have a car you can bring more, of course, all dependent on the festival! Read more about why camping makes for the best festival experience and if you’re going to an international festival, check my destination festival packing list.

Setting Up Around a Central Area

Circle all the tents around one area, and put some EZ-Ups over them to create an extra layer of sun protection so you don’t wake up sweating as soon as the sun rises. If you don’t have enough EZ-up’s, try to Macguyver some tarps over your tents and chill space with zip ties to create as much shade as possible for a hot festival. Having two layers of cover helps disperse the heat!

Campsite Living Area

In the middle of or next to your tents, make a little living area. This is where you put your chairs, coolers/drinks, tables if you have them, and mats to stand on. Having a central area for everyone to hang out is crucial to keeping the group vibe together. So, make sure to leave a bit of space for everyone to sit.

Circle the chairs up around a table, put all your supplies and food in one area, and create a nice little space to hang out. If you’re especially dedicated, you can even decorate it with solar-powered lights, pillows, and colorful sarongs!

Coolers and Food

Make sure you bring a good amount of drinks and snacks to have at your campsite. Peanut butter and jelly or avocado and hot sauce with bread are great ideas for a quick sandwich.

I also love bringing chips and dip (like the canned cheese dips or bean dips that don’t need refrigeration), trail mix, or granola bars. You can take this further too by bringing a little grill and cooking, or making cereal or muesli in the mornings if you can get ice to keep supplies cool. There are tons of possibilities! Check my camping checklist article for more on food ideas.

Connecting it All Together

Get your tarps, tapestries, and extra sheets and find any way you can to stretch them across your campsite. Use safety pins or zip ties to attach tapestries to the sides of EZ-up’s, and zip tie tarps from EZ-up’s to tents to trees to anything. Create as much shade and privacy as you can/want by stringing tarps and tapestries over the top of your little living area.

String, safety pins, and zip ties are the best items to use for this. You can get thrifty with this too! I don’t know about you, but I absolutely love creating an amazing camping space to live in for the 3-4+ days of a festival. Having a good living space is one of the best camping music festival tips ever.

Festival Hacks for Traveling to Music Festivals

Here are some of my best music festival tips for when you are visiting music festivals while traveling.

Music Festival Travellers

I also run a Facebook group for people like us who travel for music! Jump on Facebook and join Music Festival Travellers, a community of like-minded travelers who explore the world in search of the best festies, friends, music, vibes, art, festival hacks, and fun.

My goal is for the group to be a supportive community of people to discuss and ask/give advice on any and all festivals through the world and find friends and a festival crew for any solo festival travellers out there (with “travellers’ spelled the Euro/Aussie/British way because America spells things weird :P)!

Traveling to European Music Festivals

If you are into party travel with other internationals, check out Stoke Travel. They have lots of different tours and travel packages to both music festivals and cultural festivals all over Europe. There are more festival travel companies popping up all the time, so check before you go!

Reach Out into the Community

If you are traveling solo or looking to meet people before you attend a festival, try facebook groups, reddit forums, and event-specific whatsapp groups (which you can find through the first two, these are more popular nowadays). Check out my tips for going to a music festival alone, too!

Festival Tips for Community/Spreading the Love – Great Festival Tips for Beginners!

Festivals are amazing gatherings of people brought together by music. This is why it’s so important to do your part while there and spread the good vibes! Here are a few easy things you can do to further the amazing communities that festivals bring about:

Share

Share your water with those in need, share your space with others, share your beer with campmates, share your soap with the people behind you at the shower who forgot theirs, and share moments with friends and strangers alike.

Smile

It doesn’t take much to smile, so spread that happiness wherever you can. Because… why not? Festivals are an open space for people to enjoy and express themselves, and you can encourage this by spreading a simple smile.

Respect

Respect others and their space. Give people their room to dance without pushing and shoving – you can have just as good a time at the front gate as the back hill.

Help

Help others out – whether it’s helping hold people up attempting a triple shoulder stand, or helping someone carry their food to a table. Everything counts, and will encourage others to pay it forward!

Sustainability/leave no trace festival practices

One thing I’ve become VERY conscious of over my years of festival-going: leave no trace. Bring reusable containers when you can, pack out your trash, and if a festival has composting or recycling stations (which most do now), actually use them. I always bring a small trash bag to my campsite so cleanup is easy, and it feels good knowing you’re leaving the venue as beautiful as you found it.

Say Hi

People greatly underestimate the power of a simple ‘hello.’ People are already on such a great open mindset at festivals, which makes it amazingly easy and fun to meet new people. Don’t be shy – talk to people, learn something new, and maybe even make some new friends.

Share these festival tips and hacks with anyone who might be hoping to improve their experience this season! What are some of your festival must haves? Let me know in the comments!