The Long Road to Coachella 2017
We recently published an article on what you missed during the first weekend of Coachella 2017. After going to Weekend 2 of Coachella, I'm going to tell you whether or not it was actually worth it for me to go and more importantly, how I got there from Paris. Keep in mind that the festival is all the way out in Indio, California and while most music festival tickets are expensive, traveling all the way there from Paris makes it even less affordable. This year, the festival was held over the weekends of April 14 and April 21.
Image Credit: Instagram/Coachella
The Ticket
First thing's first: how did I get my hands on a ticket? While I was lucky enough to get on the official website in January when tickets first became available, many weren't. General admission tickets run for almost $500 a pop and VIP tickets cost almost $900 each. If you don't get onto the website before tickets sell out, fret not. You can always buy them from other people, but I would only trust websites such as Viagogo, who will refund you if the tickets aren't valid.
If you manage to get through the "digital line" on the website, you will have to pick which weekend you would like to attend. I recommend going the first weekend because there are usually more celebrities who attend and you get to see everything first - what's not to like? You will then have to decide what kind of ticket you would like to purchase: General Admission or VIP. There is also the option to purchase a shuttle pass, which I strongly recommend for you to take unless you plan on hiring a driver with a car for the weekend or are willing to spend over $100 per UberX trip from Palm Springs. Keep in mind that you can buy a maximum of 2 tickets per transaction, so if you need more, get your Coachella group of friends together and do it with each other to increase your chances of getting through the website!
Image Credit: Instagram/Coachella
Accommodation
Thankfully, I already had a place to stay in Palm Springs (about a 30-40 minutes drive away) so I didn't have to find a place to stay over the weekend. Personally, I enjoyed staying in Palm Springs as it meant that we could cook and hang out by the pool before heading off to the festival grounds. Hotel packages are a good option if you can afford them? Plus, they often have day-parties and allow you to pick up your tickets directly from the hotel when you check-in. AirBnbs are also a popular option for those who want to have more personal space. There is a good selection of accommodations within Indio, but if you can't find one you like, I suggest you consider those located in Palm Springs. I had friends who camped out at Coachella and claimed it was lots of fun because you can meet a bunch of people and the fun basically never stopped. The Coachella website actually has a pretty good selection too, under the section "Where To Stay".
Image Credit: Instagram/Louisehamptonteam
Flights
Because I live in Paris, I began looking into flights as soon as I even thought about attending Coachella this year. Before the tickets went on sale, round-trip flights were at about $500 per person through British Airways. Naturally, I didn't think to purchase a ticket without actually having my Coachella ticket so I waited... Bad move. After the festival tickets went on sale, flight prices shot up significantly. If you are set on attending the festival, there are always ways to find tickets - book cheap flights if you find them! I ended up buying my flight ticket the day after the Coachella tickets went on sale from WowAir, for about $650. Flying into Los Angeles or San Diego and then driving over to your accommodation might be your best bet if you want to get the best price. Not only will you be able to stock up and get a bunch of stuff from supermarkets if you're staying in an Airbnb or in the camp, but it could possibly save you a few hundred dollars.
A little side note: if you aren't American, don't forget to apply for a visa or an ESTA!
Image Credit: Instagram/WowAir
Getting to the Venue
Getting to Coachella requires plenty of patience (or money). To give you an idea, we stayed at Indian Canyons Golf Resort in Palm Springs. We only took the shuttle to the festival on the first day because the line was short and it was really convenient. On Saturday and Sunday, more people arrive at Coachella which makes the line much longer. Besides the shuttle, another option is to take an UberX ride directly to the Uber Zone at Coachella, which costs about $100 (give or take $20) at prime time. On one of the days, my group and I left for Coachella in the evening and it only cost about $40-50. If you're in a group of four people, splitting the cost makes it much less expensive. However, on the way back to the resort, we took the shuttle every night because of their stellar organization and the crowd for the shuttles was impeccably managed. Kudos to those responsible for that! We would shuttle back to the Hilton Hotel/Renaissance Hotel, stop, and call an UberX home from there for about $15.
Image Credit: Instagram/Coachella
Keep in mind that parking is free at Coachella so if you do have a designated driver, it might not be a bad idea to utilize the free parking spaces. Filling your gas tank will definitely cost less than taking Uber rides all weekend and you won't have to wait in line under the scorching heat for your shuttle (you don't want your make-up to melt before you even get there!). It took about forty minutes to drive from Indian Canyons to the site of the festival. If you're driving, don't forget about the carpool lane - it might save you some time!
Image Credit: Elizabeth Nguyen Sone
On-Site Food & Beverages
Festival food is always more expensive than it should be, but the assumption that the food is awful and expensive does not apply to Coachella. Let me rephrase: Coachella food was all of those amazing BuzzFeed Food videos you see on Facebook compiled into one real-life festival. If you want to get salivating, BuzzFeed released a mouth-watering photo-article displaying some of the best foods there (there was paella, pad thai, vegan food, mozzarella sticks, and a bunch more, that isn't featured in the article too). Count on spending $10-$15 per meal, depending on what and how much you eat. Water costs $2 per 500mL bottle, which wasn't as bad as I expected, and although the lines were absurd, there were free water-refill stations throughout the venue. I got a power smoothie every day as a nice non-coffee pick-me-up (they had that too though), and the same stand also sold fresh coconuts and cheese-filled arepas (random, I know).
Image Credit: Instagram/Coachella
Performances
I initially chose to go this year because Beyonce was headlining - imagine the disappointment when I found out she backed out. That said, Lady Gaga was a pretty good replacement. The lineup for this year was mentioned in my previous article, but you can find the official schedule here. We saw Kendrick Lamar, Martin Garrix, Lady Gaga, DJ Snake, Future, and a handful of other performers. Unfortunately, we missed PNL, the French rapping duo. You will not be able to see all of the sets you will want to see, so make a list of your favorite acts and then from that list, create another short-list of those you absolutely cannot miss.
Image Credit: Instagram/Coachella
The venue was so large that getting to know the map was crucial before we were able to do anything. It took us a while and we ran around in circles for a while but by the end of day one we had a relatively clear idea of where to go, how to go, and when to go (believe it or not, timing is crucial if you don't want to get mobbed by the crowd). Getting to the front or staying comfortably away from human interaction comes down to personal preference. After a terrible performance by Martin Garrix at the Sahara stage (I think anyone who went to Coachella this year would understand this reference), we decided to stay in relatively spacious parts of the crowd. We would have gone further into the crowd if there was available space or some people cleared out, but we were more interested in dancing and having a good time as opposed to being all the way at the front crammed like sardines. The Coachella App is hands-down the app I used the most over the weekend, especially because social media was a bust because of poor phone service. Beware of this, especially on days two and three - plan meeting points if you get lost during each set and never let anyone go anywhere by themselves. The app reminds before the start of each set you have saved under "favorites", offers cool playlists for pre-gaming and driving, displays all of the maps (they are slightly interactive too), allows you to activate your wristband, and also shows the food and beverage options available.
Image Credit: Instagram/Coachella
The Verdict
So.. Was it worth it? If you can afford to do it, yes. Absolutely. Spending a weekend under the sun in Palm Springs and reuniting with my friends from Boston, Washington, London, and Singapore, alone was worth it. But if you add all the performances I jammed out to, the foods I thoroughly enjoyed (I had my very first corn dog), and the whole Coachella experience, it was definitely worth going. This doesn't mean it wasn't difficult, expensive, and tiring. I spent almost half as much time traveling as I did at the actual festival. I didn't drink all weekend to avoid getting unnecessarily tired; although, I might actually consider this a plus because I really enjoyed myself regardless (less empty calories and less money spent on drinks). You will forget all of the other little inconveniences once you're there having fun. Until next year, 'Chella! Hopefully I'll see some of you there...
Image Credit: Instagram/Coachella
