First Festival - Camping

[Calza]

I've only ever been to a day festival about 6 years ago. So I've jumped in and booked a 3 day festival in Germany! (New Horizons).

Having never done this before I have no idea what to do / bring / expect. I'm a bit worried as normally I'm quite fussy and precious about my comfort so I'm sure this will be an experience

Plan is to drive over there (since it's at the Nurburgring). We're camping and I have a tent lined up (quite a big one that my dad uses if he's doing endurance races etc), along with airbed. Got a powerbank to keep any mobiles going.

Any tips / advice welcome. Even things like where should I leave my passport / spare cards. In the tent or hidden in the car?

[Type R Tom]

I've been to Glastonbury a few times but my first comment is to pack light if you have to carry your kit a long way or be prepared to do two trips, its hard work!

Wet toilet tissues for going to the toilet, you feel a bit cleaner when you can't shower.
Solar shower to have a basic wash every other day
Baby wipes for washing the other days
3 in 1 coffee sachets to save carrying separate stuff.
Gas stove
Breakfast bars for something to eat while taking tablets for a hangover.
Dehydration tablets - useful for being in the sun / drinking all day
Hat / suntan lotion
LED strips lights for the tent plus head torches
A chair
Small mats from poundland to sit on when inside the festival
Bin Bags – lots of uses from sitting on to keeping bag contents dry
Gaffa tape to fix stuff
Walking boots, better than wellies while walking about
Vitamin tablets, you’ll be eating rubbish

Off the top of my head, I’ll add more if I think of any

[C0ffin D0dger]

Just take as much beer as you can carry, hedges, ditches, fields etc. are all comfy if you've had enough

[ChrisnChris]

[opieoilman]

I've not been to any overseas festivals, but a friend went to one in Germany and he said it was much more hygienic than a UK festival. I'm pretty sure he said they were very careful about what was taken in, checking your stuff quite thoroughly for glass bottles, gas canisters etc, over here it was pretty much just a cursory glance at our stuff when I went to Reading. On their website, there should be a list of banned items, so be careful not to take the wrong things.

[lord summerisle]

first of all - this isnt Wacken festival (just north of hamburg) where you camp by your car....

From the FAQ on the new horizons site - your gonna have to lug your gear from a car park to the camping field, plus: "5.15 Camping spot size per person
The admissible space per person on camping areas is maximum 4 m²." so bear that in mind when planning on what kit your gonna take.

security wise:
1.15 Burglary and lockers
You’re a reliable and honest person? Great! Wouldn’t the world be a lovely place if everybody was a little bit more like you. Unfortunately, that’s not the case (yet?). To protect yourself against burglary, please:
Take only the valuables you really need. Your tent, bag nor car are safe storage places. We are not accountable for any of your losses.
There will be lockers available so you won’t have to carry your valuables around all day.
You’ll probably want to keep some money and your phone with you. A traveller’s pouch or bum bag is a good way to keep things on you, and it allows you to (hopefully) notice if someone is trying to open it.

[Voldemort]

Put the borrowed tent up at home before you go. Are all the poles and pegs present? Also, you don't want to have to work out what goes where if it's pissing down in the Eifel Mountains.
If you've to carry all your stuff for miles you won't regret a set of trolley wheels and the biggest plastic crate you can find to throw everything into.
Take several torches. You can't have too many torches when camping

[Calza]

Thanks for the notes so fa!

Baby wipes, some lighting is a must and MRP bars are a must, chairs make sense too.

The festival is apparently cashless, so that might help a bit although they have explained how yet. What do people think, would lockers or hidden in the car make more sense for things like passport and spare cards? I tent to wear shorts with double pockets and the lower ones are fairly secure so I think that will be okay for whatever I'm carrying.

They have actually increased the camping size, 3 weeks ago it was 3 m², but I've already checked and for two of us that's doubled. It's a big tent but it should fit in 8 m². You're absolutely right I should be testing this in advance, although living in a flat in London may make that tricky

I'm trying to black a trolley from my boss as he says it's invaluable too. I think I'm failing to grasp how far I might have to walk here.

Is it quite common to bring a gas stove and my own food to cook then?

[C0ffin D0dger]

Calza said:

Is it quite common to bring a gas stove and my own food to cook then?

Can't comment on the festival you're going to but no I really wouldn't bother with stuff for cooking & food other than snacks especially if you've got to carry it any distance. Most of my festival experiences have been at Glastonbury and there has been such a huge array of food and drink stalls that you'd be missing out on trying all the lovely festival food if you took your own stuff. There'll be loads of stalls selling everything from burgers to Chinese, Thai, Mexican etc.

[djc206]

Cashless is great , they had that at Austin City Limits last year. Basically you get your wristband which has an RFID chip in it, you link your credit card to it online and then present it at the reader at the bar/food stall/shop. In the US you could add a tip as well. Very useful.

[StoatInACoat]

Calza said:

They have actually increased the camping size, 3 weeks ago it was 3 m², but I've already checked and for two of us that's doubled. It's a big tent but it should fit in 8 m². You're absolutely right I should be testing this in advance, although living in a flat in London may make that tricky

When I lived in a tiny flat I used to take my tent down to Brunswick Square gardens and put it up to check everything was there. Got some funny looks from tourists but as you live in London you'll already know that nobody else will give a damn

If you can, put it away dry and if you cant dry it out the day you get home, even if that means hanging it out of a window or over the bath. No matter how expensive your tent is it'll be wrecked within days if it's left wet.

[nitrodave]

if you want to get any sleep, ear plugs are essential. Get some pillows from Argos cheap that you can just leave there afterwards too.

I always take wellington boots in case it gets muddy, even if it's forecast to be dry. You never know what the conditions will be like and soggy feet can ruin your day.

Sounds like you're pretty prepared otherwise

[Calza]

Thanks for the advice so far - feeling like I'm ready.

Not looking forward to getting up at 4am on the Friday, driving there then waiting till probably 2 or 3am for the main DJ's but hey ho. Lots of birds killed in one stone on this trip and it looks like the track is open too for a quick lap!

djc206 said:

Cashless is great , they had that at Austin City Limits last year. Basically you get your wristband which has an RFID chip in it, you link your credit card to it online and then present it at the reader at the bar/food stall/shop. In the US you could add a tip as well. Very useful.

It's wristbands here, so sounds like a similar gig. I'm not a big drinker but do like a drink ... slightly concerned about using it drunk as it's basically "free" at POS!

C0ffin D0dger said:

Can't comment on the festival you're going to but no I really wouldn't bother with stuff for cooking & food other than snacks especially if you've got to carry it any distance. Most of my festival experiences have been at Glastonbury and there has been such a huge array of food and drink stalls that you'd be missing out on trying all the lovely festival food if you took your own stuff. There'll be loads of stalls selling everything from burgers to Chinese, Thai, Mexican etc.

That's what I thought, some snacks and maybe something when I first wake up. Possibly a kettle for a cup of tea in the morning though..

StoatInACoat said:

When I lived in a tiny flat I used to take my tent down to Brunswick Square gardens and put it up to check everything was there. Got some funny looks from tourists but as you live in London you'll already know that nobody else will give a damn

If you can, put it away dry and if you cant dry it out the day you get home, even if that means hanging it out of a window or over the bath. No matter how expensive your tent is it'll be wrecked within days if it's left wet.

I used to work right next to that, I bet you did! Fortunately we have a bit of communal space here I can test it out on.

Is it worth bringing a padlock for the tent?

nitrodave said:

if you want to get any sleep, ear plugs are essential. Get some pillows from Argos cheap that you can just leave there afterwards too.

I always take wellington boots in case it gets muddy, even if it's forecast to be dry. You never know what the conditions will be like and soggy feet can ruin your day.

Sounds like you're pretty prepared otherwise

Ear plugs definitely and an eye mask. I'm also taking a sheet and duvet / cheap pillows as I'm told it's just much nicer than a sleeping bag. I don't actually have any wellies so might have to hope for the best there. Walking shoes are the best I can muster but they don't go past the ankle!

[StoatInACoat]

Don't padlock the tent. Firstly it's pointless as they'll just cut it off and secondly it looks like you have something valuable in it. Leave anything you care about in your car.

It's a nice little area, used to live just off Judd Street