Are you afraid of car camping at Coachella? Don’t be! While camping may not be a 5-star resort, it can still be luxurious.
While camping at Coachella has long been a long-standing tradition for many attendees, there’s a growing trend towards elevating the camping experience and turning it into one of the main events of Coachella weekend.
In this blog post, we’ll explore fun and simple ways to transform your car camping experience at Coachella into a luxurious space.
From stylish and comfortable camping setups to gourmet dining options and exclusive amenities, these tips take your festival camping to the next level.
Related Post: What to Pack in Your Coachella Festival Bag
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How to Upgrade Your Coachella Car Camping Experience
I love to upgrade every vacation, no matter the type. Upgrading our camping experience has been a major priority for me for years, especially for car camping at Coachella.
A lot of attendees book the nice hotels in the area but prices can double or triple in price for Coachella weekend.
These insane prices had me running to the site to book a car camping spot. But car camping doesn’t mean it’s not nice, clean and comfortable.
The first major upgrade I would make if you’re car camping is to purchase preferred car camping.
We arrived around 1 PM on Thursday and we parked 3 rows from the front entrance of Coachella. The extra money was 100% worth it. Especially for late at night after the festival and you’re trying to find your way back to your campsite. It’s 10x easier to find your spot and you don’t have a long walk.
The second way to upgrade your camping experience would be to get two spots. You do need one car per spot so you will need another car to go with.
We arrived together and did tandem parking….it was perfect.
Originally, our neighbors arrived together and parked side by side but the setup didn’t work at all. There was no space. They ended up switching spots with another group before everyone had unloaded their items.
The rest of the upgrades are more tangible items to make your life more comfortable. Coachella Valley can get crazy hot, so be prepared and pack accordingly.
I love camping but being in the blazing sun isn’t fun for everyone. Check out the list below of items to upgrade your Coachella campsite.
Personal Shower
Coachella showers aren’t terrible but the lines are. Plus the showers are in the dirt, so you exit the shower and immediately get hit with dust and it’s not the most pleasant experience.
I was able to shower each day with no issues but once again, there was a wait. We waited about 40 minutes each time to shower.
The longest wait day was definitely on day 1 when everyone had the most energy.
Arriving early used to be helpful but people are lined up around 6:30 AM now. Everyone is an early riser these days.
Packing your own shower is definitely the way to go. Grab one of those lightweight and foldable popup shower tents and a shower with a pump.
The bag showers are too heavy for the tents and will weigh it down. Packing the camping shower with the pump is the easiest way to shower.
I would still suggest wearing your swimsuit in the pop-up shower, just because you are still outside.
Be sure to stake the tent down because it does get crazy windy in Coachella and pack a shower mat so you’re not showering on wet grass.
I also find wet grass creepy…so I purchased a shower mat. You can grab everything easily on Amazon, and Walmart was also a great place where we purchased 80% of what we needed for our campsite.
NOTE: If you’re planning on packing a personal shower you will need to have extra water. Packing more than one storage container of water will take up too much space in your car. Instead, pack a water container and refill it at the water stations at CAMP. You can also pack a wagon or something else with wheels to help you take it back to your campsite when it’s full.
No Hanging Trash
I have never been a fan of hanging trash bags. First off, where do you hang them? They usually end up at the end of the campsite attached to your pop-up tent. It doesn’t make it easy to access and it can add weight to your tent.
We packed pop-up trash cans and they were a hit!
I purchased this two-pack from Amazon and they were super easy to pack. It was nice to have them marked for trash and recycling too because we ended up having a ton of cans.
They do take up space but we kept them in the same spot for the most part. We had 5 people in our site and they fit with all of our chairs and tables.
They made keeping our campsite clean a lot easier because they were so easily accessible and they were super lightweight to move around.
Self-Care Items
- Face Masks for Hydration
- Eye Mask for Sleeping
- Ear Plugs
- Sound Machine
Self-care is very important no matter where I am. Even camping, I need to have my morning skincare routine and honestly, you need to moisturize all day in the dry weather, so keeping with your routines is necessary.
Each day before getting ready I laid down in our tent with a sheet mask while sipping coffee and listening to music. It can be kind of overwhelming to be surrounded by people for four days straight, so this was my ‘me’ time.
I would also apply lotion at least three times a day. You will be applying sunscreen a lot but adding in an extra lotion for moisture helps to keep you from getting dry and scratchy.
Staying comfortable while camping is the ultimate luxury.
For better sleeping while camping at Coachella you may want to pack a few essentials. The first item that I love to travel with is a weighted eye mask. I purchased this for long flights and it’s been a lifesaver.
It’s not too heavy to be uncomfortable, just enough weight to be comforting. It blocks out all the light and helps when people are up partying all night with lights on.
I highly recommend packing earplugs for sleeping. Some neighbors may go straight to bed after the festival but SOME may want to party until 6 AM. We had these neighbors that loved to party and I regretted not wearing my earplugs…even though I packed them. I was very lazy after a full day in the heat.
A lot of people stay up late at CAMP too and party in the dance tent until around 4-5 AM. You can hear the music perfectly. Pack earplugs if you like to sleep. If you plan on partying each night until 4 AM, skip them.
Something I’ve recently added to my sleep routine is a sound machine. I wouldn’t recommend using your phone because you need to save your battery but packing a battery-operated or rechargeable sound machine is perfect to help drown out the parties going on outside.
All Day Battery
- Pack multiple portable chargers
- Charge your phone in the ice chest in a ziplock
- Pack a solar battery
- Don’t use the large charging stations at CAMP
Don’t get stuck with a dead phone at Coachella. Instead, pack a few portable chargers that will last all weekend for all of your electronics.
We only packed 1 portable charger last time and assumed it would be easy to recharge at the charging stations at CAMP….it was not easy.
These huge power banks are sitting in the 100+ degree heat all day. The battery is so slow to charge anything, let alone the 200+ phones plugged in.
DO NOT use the large charging stations. You will end up sitting there for over an hour for half a battery charge.
Our friends were smart and packed multiple chargers. They purchased the heavy-duty ones that give 3-4 charges before running out.
Since our last Coachella, we’ve invested in a larger solar portable phone charger. It’s been amazing and charges quickly in the sun.
I highly recommend investing in some good chargers to keep your phone alive and to stay connected and safe with your friends.
Another tip for charging your phone at Coachella would be to charge your phone in a ziplock in your ice chest.
This may sound crazy but it’s not. Even in the shade, it’s still over 90+ degrees and your electronics will hate you. They will want to melt into the earth just like you.
To get a quick charge, store your phone and portable charger in a ziplock in the cooler to charge. It was one of the best tips we learned.
Shade/ AC
- Tents
- Cover every inch of your campsite, including the car
- Use solar/battery-operated fans in your tent and your canopy tent
- Insulate Your Tent for Summer
- Keep Your tent under the canopy tent/tarp
- Ventilation
- Reflective tarp
Staying cool in your tent and at your campsite is very important. The heat can be so intense and even dangerous.
Please remember to hydrate between your party beverages.
The first tip for staying cool while camping at Coachella would be to pack canopy tents. We purchased (2) 10×10 pop-up canopy tents from Walmart that worked perfectly. Crazy easy to set up and take down.
We had 3 tents total and one was a budget-friendly version. The budget-friendly one was easy to set up but the more expensive ones took half the time to set up.
The nicer tents were 1000% worth the investment.
We wanted to bring another tent to go over our car but we couldn’t fit it. Next time we will pack a bit better to make sure our (2) 10×30 campsites are completely covered to stay cool.
We cooled down our tents using battery-operated fans. You can purchase hanging fans for your tent that also include lights, so they’re extra handy to have in your tent for nighttime.
I later found these great larger solar and battery-operated fans you can hang from your pop-up tent. These will help to keep the air flowing in your area to keep you cooler.
The last tip for keeping your campsite cool is to use reflective tarps or insulation. The reflective tarps help to move the sun away from your area to cool it down.
5-Star Meals and Drinks Camping at Coachella
- French Press Coffee
- Shaken Cocktails
- Brumate Coolers
- Keep all drinks in insulated cups
- Prep Meals ahead of time
Just because you’re camping doesn’t mean you need to eat cheap food. Prep some meals before you leave that you can reheat at camp to enjoy.
The easiest meals are definitely burritos, we prepped a lot of breakfast burritos and next time we’ll prep a variety. We enjoyed a TON of great food while camping, check the post for everything we made.
Everyone in our group likes specific things, especially me, so I wasn’t about to go without my cold brew coffee each morning and shaken Titos on the rocks.
My husband loves French press coffee, so we packed a travel French press along with my favorite Stok cold brew.
Once again, little luxuries make the experience better.
We also packed a cocktail shaker for my drinks along with a bag of cut-up lemon and limes to garnish.
We had two great coolers by Coleman but I think we’re ready to upgrade to the Brumate coolers.
I’ve been influenced 100% to buy the Brumate coolers with the drink storage and separate compartments. They got me.
Lastly, unless you’re playing beer pong, skip the red solo cups. I tried to drink my iced coffee in a Solo cup and the ice melted within 2 minutes. It’s way too hot to try to keep any drink cool in a non-insulated cup.
Luckily, we had picked up some cute Stanley cup dupes from Walmart on our way in and those worked perfectly! I enjoyed every drink in that cup from coffee to cocktails and they all stayed ice cold.
Storage Organization Coachella Camping
- Top of car storage
- Pack the most you can
- Keep your campsite clean
- Hanging storage
- Storage bins for under the table
Keeping your campsite clean and organized is very important and helps to make it more enjoyable. We saw a few sites that were just a mess and it gave me so much anxiety.
The goal is to relax and have fun. You can’t do that if you’re tripping over items everywhere you step.
For traveling, I recommend using storage bags on top of your car. We picked this one up from Amazon but it’s also available at Walmart.
The roof storage bag fits a ton of items and as an overpacker it was a life-saver. Our friends purchased one for their next trip too after they saw ours.
To help keep our campsite clean we had two trashcans, one for trash and one for recycling. We also had storage bins under the tables to hold anything we weren’t using at the moment.
We organized and combined between groups to keep the food in one bin, cold items in the ice chests and random kitchen items in another bin. Having everything clearly labeled keeps things from getting lost or forgotten.
Something I didn’t purchase and absolutely regretted not buying was the hanging storage organizers.
These would have been great to hold plates, cups, paper towels, etc. It’s definitely in my cart for this year’s Coachella.
In our tent, we also packed a TV tray that we used as a side table and we used those large IKEA-type bags with zippers to separate clean and dirty clothes.
I wish we had purchased some additional organization for the tent. I found a few options that will be great for next year.
Seating
Invest in good camping chairs. We picked up a great set from Costco that lets you rock in the chair and our friends picked up some nice swinging chairs.
Get something that’s going to last a few years. The rock hard cheap chairs are easily forgettable and not comfortable at all. This is going to be your seat for 4 days, invest wisely.
Lighting
- Solar lights for site
- Battery lights for inside your tent
One of the best things we did for our campsite was purchase solar lights. We picked up a cute set from Walmart that we strung across the popup tent. They ended up being so bright and helped a lot when we were trying to find our campsite at night. It’s also nice to see when you’re in your campsite lol.
Tent
Standing room tents only! None of this hunched over business. We’re not camping in the wilderness, there’s no minimalism here.
Purchase the tall tent. Ours was about 6 ft tall and it fit us perfectly.
Having a taller tent makes changing easier and gives you more space to move around and hang lighting.
We purchased a 10 ft wide tent and 6 or 7 feet deep. It fit our queen-size air mattress with a headboard. So fancy hahaha.
And please use real sheets. Nothing is better than a real bed with sheets and comforters after a long day at a festival.
Skip the sleeping bag, go for real bedding, and get a good night’s rest.
We’re also investing in a bit more storage/organization for the tent too.
We already had some large bags for clean and dirty clothes and a hanging fan with a light. But this year we’re also keeping a pop-up storage bin in there for a bit more organization with accessories like chargers, shoes, jewelry, etc.
Entertainment
- Bluetooth speaker
- Cards
A huge part of camping is the joy of camping and being with other festival goers.
Pack a bluetooth speaker for music to get pumped up while you’re getting ready and hanging at your campsite.
We like to play card games and beer pong. Pack whatever works for you!
There’s also a ton of activities at CAMP. We made jewelry, DIY’d some shirts, got free slushies, and more!
You definitely won’t be bored.
Fresh Clean Water
One of the biggest upgrades for our campsite was packing a large water jug with a spout.
We created a little water station for washing dishes and brushing our teeth. Be sure to also pack a bucket or wash bin to catch all of the dirty water so it doesn’t soak the grass and make your campsite muddy.
We only had to refill on the last day and we ended up filling it up with one of the extra jugs of drinking water we had.
If you need to fill it up, pack a little wagon or something similar to carry it back to your campsite when it’s full of water. The large jug can get pretty heavy.
Having a water/sink station was a real luxury because we didn’t have to rush to the porta-potty area in the mornings and evenings to brush our teeth and wash our faces.
Is Luxury Camping at Coachella Possible?
Transforming your Coachella car camping adventure into a luxurious space is entirely possible with the right tips and tricks.
Securing a preferred car camping pass sets the tone, offering prime real estate for the festival.
From investing in a quality air mattress and real bedding to packing essential self-care items and a portable shower, prioritizing comfort ensures that your nights are as rejuvenating as possible.
To truly indulge, don’t overlook the importance of craft drinks and simple and filling meals to make during your trip.
Additionally, keep your devices charged with reliable battery chargers.
By incorporating these elements into your festival preparations, you’re sure to have a great Coachella camping experience.
XOXO,
Julia
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