Your Guide to Coachella

What: Coachella 2011

When: April 15, 16 and 17, 2011

Where: Empire Polo Club, 81-800 Avenue 51 Indio, CA 92201

Planning on seeing Kings of Leon, Kanye West, The Chemical Brothers, Duran Duran, Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, Paul Van Dyk, Jimmy Eat World, The Black Keys, Ratatat and many, many more acts at Coachella this spring? Look no further: this insider guide will take you step-by-step from that chair/bed you're sitting on to the lush grasslands of Indio, CA in April for the best music festival you'll ever be a part of. Time to make your plans a reality and rock out!

This is the first thing one should consider before anything else. Past personal experience has shown that camping tickets are the quickest to sell out. Hesitate and you will have no choice but to purchase them on Craigslist for twice the price.

Camping tickets are available as early as the 1st week of December. There is no will-call: you have to pay for them to be shipped to you.

Campers must be 18 or older or accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. Camping opens on Thursday at noon: the earlier you arrive, the closer you can camp to the venue.

There are three (3) camping options this year (2011): car camping, tent camping and Lake El Dorado.

1. Car Camping - $55 + $10 shipping + taxes

• Park your car in a 10'x30' spot near the venue, pitch a tent or two beside it, and that's your home for the entire 3 days. Remember, if you drive out before the festival is over, you can't drive back in.
• If your camping group is bringing 2 cars to Coachella, you need a companion car pass, which costs $15. Car #2 parks in a lot next to the campgrounds. Without this pass, Car #2 cannot park overnight.

2. Tent Camping -$55 + $10 shipping + taxes

• Pitch a tent on a peaceful 10'x15' grassy spot near the venue away from the nasty, exhaust-spewing cars. This comes with 1 overnight parking spot in a lot next to the campgrounds. Again, Car #2 will need a companion car pass for $15.

3. Lake El Dorado - $1,000 to $1,600

• This isn't really camping as it is basically an exclusive "tent hotel," and therefore shall not be discussed here.

Why camp?

• Traffic is a b!@#$ coming in and out of day parking. Expect to wait more than an hour just to get out the parking lot on Friday or Saturday night because you can't leave your car overnight. People's nasty sides come out during these stressful times.
• If you must book a hotel or motel, consider nearby Palm Springs, a 15-20 min. drive away. Two awesome spots in one trip!

Buy your tickets here!

Flying: Palm Springs International Airport is 23 miles from the venue. Ontario International Airport is 92 miles from the venue. Visit Kayak and find airfares to and from where you live.

Driving: The address is Empire Polo Club, 81-800 Avenue 51 Indio, CA 92201. Take advantage of technology and use Google Maps.

Now that you have a place to stay and a way to get there, it's time to take out a loan to pay for the tickets (just kidding. not really). The tickets go fast, but not as fast as camping passes. Festival tickets usually sell out a week or so before the event, but I would definitely not wait that long to purchase them.

3-day passes (the only option) are $281 plus service fees (TBA).

Layaway plans for tickets+camping passes are available online until February 11, 2011. Visit the Coachella website before then to find a payment plan that's right for you.

A list of things to bring to Coachella is similar to a list for a weekend camping trip. Sure, you can head on over to a nearby Vons and get supplies anytime, but trust me, you won't want to waste any time doing this, what with all the great bands playing all day long. I would try to spend the entire weekend inside the festival if possible.

Prepare:

• a cooler and ice
• water, lots of it
• booze (permitted only in the camping areas and parking lots)
• food (same as above. you can get food from the numerous stalls inside the festival)
• clothes, towels and toiletries
• baby wipes
• sunblock

Insider Tip: Car camping is the best option because your car acts like a big locker where you can store your valuables while you go party. And if you score a nice spot near the venue, it becomes convenient to come back to your car for any reason, and so you don't have to lug all your stuff around with you.

Coachella is one big party, but for the unprepared, it's no paradise.

Basically, the venue has a main stage, a secondary stage, and 3 covered tents. These are all separated by a vast patch of grass, so expect a LOT of walking. There will be around 75,000 people populating the same area, so crowded is an understatement.Temperatures can get up to the 90s or higher, so if you aren't hydrated, the heat may get the best of you. Apply sunscreen.

1. What to Bring Inside the Venue

• Travel light. I cannot stress this enough. Take with you a small backpack with canisters of water, maybe some power bars, an extra shirt for when it gets chilly at night, some chapstick, sunblock and that's it. The less clothing, the better.
  
• Forget: lawn chairs, blankets, big ass backpacks, booze and pets. They won't let those in with you.

2. Watching the Concerts

• The draw of Coachella is the sheer number of awesome acts. Sadly, you will not be able to watch all of them. Every year, Coachella goers are faced with many little dilemmas on which awesome artist they want to see at a given time slot. The schedule comes out a few days before the event: Plan ahead, and choose wisely.
• More often than not, if an act happens to be extra popular, people will start gathering an hour or so before they are scheduled to perform. Showing up just on time will land you a place at the very back of the crowd. If you want a great spot for a popular act, camp out at the stage or tent ahead of time.

3. Know When to Take a Break

• There are numerous lounges around the venue that offer A/C, and a couple of areas that spray mist. Use them if you need a breather.
• Bottled water is $2. Just bring your own.
• Car camping will allow you to come back to your car to relax and refuel conveniently.

You will only have as much fun as you allow yourself to. Come to Coachella with a good mood and an open mind. Let loose and get lost in the moment. Your mindset will be the difference between a bust of a weekend and the best time of your life.

Rock on!