- I was raised in the Coachella Valley, and I've gone to the Coachella music festival since I was 15.
- I've seen visitors make the same mistakes, like not bringing a jacket and skipping small artists.
I was raised in the Coachella Valley, a destination known for its excessive heat, older demographics, and Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
I've been attending the festival since I was 15 years old — I've hung out with my parents there, partied both weekends, and even sat front row. Luckily, I've been able to avoid some common missteps using my local knowledge and experience going to the festival.
Here are 10 mistakes I always see festivalgoers make at Coachella.
Taking rideshares to and from the event
When you're in the Coachella Valley for festival weekends, avoid taking a rideshare at all costs.
The festival has multiple entry points including a parking lot, shuttle hub, camping spaces, and rideshare entrance. In my experience, the rideshare entrance is typically the most hectic with more lines of traffic than any other entry point.
Getting home with a rideshare is also challenging since the cell service on the festival grounds isn't always great. Plus, it gets expensive because of rideshares' surge pricing.
Ideally, you may be able to avoid all of this by purchasing a shuttle pass. There are multiple shuttle hubs throughout the desert and they tend to be much more efficient at getting you to and from your desired locations.
Not having a meet-up spot for your group
As I said above, the cell service is not always the best on festival grounds, so keep that in mind if you're going in a group and plan to split up.
Pick a landmark as a safe spot to meet if anything goes awry. I suggest the gigantic, easy-to-find art area or the Ferris wheel.
I also suggest each person in your group bring a charging cord or a portable charger because it's almost a guarantee that any phone battery will die at least once during the long weekend.
Not bringing a jacket or hoodie
Contrary to popular belief, the desert does get cool. After the sun goes behind the mountains the Santa Ana winds pick up, which can make for a crisp evening.
If you can, rent a locker on the festival grounds and store a jacket for later. The lockers have a secure code and are easily accessible throughout the day.
Storing a hoodie in your bag is also ideal or, although you might be hotter during the day, wearing pants or a long-sleeve top can be a lifesaver at night.
Forgetting to securely store and protect your pricey belongings
I've heard tons of horror stories about people losing expensive accessories or having their phones stolen at Coachella.
Make sure you have a secure place to hold your belongings (like a fanny pack) and consider keeping recognizably expensive accessories at home. Try to keep your phone in your front pocket or an area where someone else can't get to it without you noticing.
The need for a cohesive outfit should never override functionality, especially at a music festival.
Spending your whole day running from stage to stage for music
It's easy to get caught up in running across the grounds to catch the next show, but I've always found my most relaxed years at Coachella were my best ones.
Instead of hopping from stage to stage, see all that Coachella has to offer beyond music. Arrive early and visit the different art installations, ride the Ferris wheel, or explore the different brand events, which sometimes includes food tastings and styling booths.
Thinking you need to force yourself to the front of every barricade to have fun
For select shows, the front can be enjoyable. But, for packed performances such as the headliner, avoid spending your day waiting for a front-row spot or pushing your way through the crowd at the last minute.
Hang out in the back or middle of the crowd and you may find yourself pleasantly surprised. There's space to dance, the surrounding crowd is usually more accommodating, and the view is still superb.
Forgetting to bring a reusable water bottle
I suggest you bring a reusable bottle to avoid paying for overpriced water. The music festival has water-bottle-refill stations and they usually aren't super crowded, in my experience.
You'll have to wait in line for water regardless, but your reusable bottle will most likely last longer than the small bottles you can buy.
Wearing something that's not comfortable
If you want to make the most out of your experience — and avoid annoying your friends by groaning in pain all day — try to wear something comfortable.
For starters, break in your shoes beforehand and test if they will give you blisters by going on a long walk. Wear clothes that won't cause chafing or dig into your skin.
If you (understandably) want a stellar outfit to Instagram, at least bring cozy clothes to change into. I've had my fair share of outfit mishaps, and trust me, they are not fun.
Skipping the smaller artists and only seeing headliners
Keep an open mind by researching all the artists on the lineup, no matter how small — and you might end up going to some of your favorite shows to date.
Last year, for example, my boyfriend dragged me to a French band called L'imperatrice and it was unexpectedly the best show I saw all weekend.
Plus, there's nothing like the satisfaction of feeling like you saw (or knew) about an artist before the rest of the world. After all, huge stars such as SZA, The Weeknd, and even this year's headliner BLACKPINK started out on the small-font portion of a Coachella lineup.