How Much for a Coachella Experience?

by John Webber

We are only a few weeks out from the unofficial, but pretty official, kickoff to festival season 2017: the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Definitely the largest and arguably the most-loved music festival in the U.S. – Coachella draws just under 600,000 attendees over the course of two weekends each year. And with that, the festival rakes in millions of dollars each year in ticket sales alone. But besides a ticket, what does it really cost to attend the music extravaganza?

You will obviously need food, water and shelter, the latter of which can come in the form of a one-person tent or lush glamping in a teepee-style abode for four. And, since Coachella is as much of a fashion show as a music festival, you will probably want to pull out the style stops on a chic bohemian outfit that pairs well with the dessert vibe. Add in sunscreen (trust us, you’ll need it) and you’re wallet is bound to be feeling a bit lighter.

When it comes to such an insane affair, we air on the side of go big or go home. But there’s always a budget-friendly option, too. Check out the full breakdown of how much it really costs to party the weekend away at Coachella in the list below and see just how much you will have to save to go dancing in the California dessert.

Coinage… Life… well spent. The Coachella line of this year is Killer but seeing that Lineup may just kill your wallet. Passes to the event run $400 for general admission and $900 for VIP. That is if you scored your tickets through the official channels – the 2017 festival sold out in three hours. If not then you are looking at paying around double the listed ticket price if you buy through secondary markets. And that doesn’t even include the fees for car parking or camping. And if you are super glamorous you can opt for a premium camping spot in Lake Eldorado – basically you are looking at between 3,000 and just over 5,000 dollars.

Flying in? Flights from New York or Detroit to Palm Springs Airport run $800 to $1,500 if you book in the weeks leading up to the concert. Essentials for camping, body wipes, toilet paper, mouthwash, sunscreen and a cheap one person tent will run you about $80. So let’s assume you live nearby, don’t have to fly and scored regular tickets with the cheapest camping option. You ‘re looking at an estimated total cost of $742 for the absolute minimum Coachella experience or about 93 flower head bands.

Let’s now assume you are a high roller flying from New York who has splurged on the VIP experience top to bottom including a posh four person glamping tent. A glam experience calls for a glam outfit as well for an epic Coachella look – you are looking at an estimated cost of just over eight thousand dollars for the primo Coachella experience. That’s over one thousand flower head bands, We almost forgot, you’ll definitely wanna snag that ten dollar bottle of hydrating sunscreen because you are gonna need it. So…… Life and major Coinage hopefully well spent…..hello Mastercard.

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