7 Tips For The Worst Parts of Festival Camping

Camping at a festival can put you in some of the best situations of your life, but it can also put you through some of the worst. Good or bad, some of the most memorable experiences are bound to go down in the camping ground of a festival.

For some, the words festival and camping mentioned in the same sentence triggers awful memories that send shivers down your back. For others, the very same words bring forth memories of laughter; late-night antics and the beauty of the human spirit as like-minded strangers unite over shared festival experiences.

The seven tips below will ensure that you are prepared for the worst parts of a festival campground, so you can make the most of the best parts.

@danaynsley Leeds Festival at 7AM, my guys lost the will to live #fypシ #leedsfestival ♬ original sound - Dan Aynsley

1. Pack for all weather

Don’t trust the weatherman. A multiple-day festival can easily experience all four seasons in even fewer days. While over-packing is something you do not want to do, neither is freezing your ass off or fainting of heatstroke because you forgot to pack the right clothing. Gumboots are a must!

2. The early bird avoids the ringworm

If you’re planning on using a festival shower, get up early to do so. Sure you had a big night, but by mid-morning you’ll be facing an hour-long wait just to awkwardly manoeuvre your muddy, sweaty body underneath a thin trickle of cold water.

Rise early, beat the lines and seize the day. Also wear some shower-friendly shoes (see: Crocs) to avoid catching anything from the hordes of filthy festival punters using the same stalls.

3. Bring your own bog roll

While this could apply to almost any public bathroom, it’s never more relevant than at a festival. You don’t wanna get caught high and dry (or rather, not dry at all) when the band you’ve been waiting to see all week is about to start!

@sunflowerraver s.o.s. pls someone halp me #wook #edmtiktok #fypシ #ravegirl #festivalcamping #lostlands #beyondwonderland #shambhala ♬ NESTLE CRUNCH JACKSEPTICEYE - Nate

4. Bring deo

In case you fail to complete steps 2 and 3 above.

5. Bring a portable phone charger

Between losing mates within massive crowds, taking videos of the headline acts and re-reading the set times over and over, you’re bound to chew up your phone’s battery.

While there are always stalls where you can leave your phone to charge for a few hours, they aren’t always cheap and you can’t usually charge more than one item at once. Our advice – buy a portable charger and use the stalls to charge that so you never get caught without your phone on you.

6. Bring old, crappy clothes

Forget all the Instagram influencers you see rocking their new hippie-chic outfits at every festival under the sun. Unless someone’s paying you to wear it there, leave your expensive stuff at home. Even when there’s not a hint of rain, festivals somehow seem to always end up muddy. Combine that with the sweat-fest that is a mosh pit and you have yourself some ruined apparel.

You could also consider bringing an old, shitty phone too. If you’re the type to lose a phone or crack a screen, then your phone isn’t going to survive the festival unscathed.

@hannahstocking

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♬ Gnarls Barkley Crazy Stephen Kramer Glickman - Gustavo Rocque

7. Go hard, or go home early (literally)

What we mean by this is that on the final night of the festival, either take it easy so you can wake up early the next morning, or make it a huge one and sleep in. Because by 8am on the day you’re set to leave, the carpark at the camping ground is going to be one giant bottleneck.

So, either get up at 6am and beat the traffic or laze about the in the campground until the late afternoon. Trying to leave during the middle of the day is an absolute nightmare, and you will probably end up just sitting in a traffic jam for five hours before you even leave the festival grounds. Not an ideal end to what has hopefully been a bloody incredible few days.