Top travel tips for festival fans in 2018

So you’ve relentlessly spammed your besties with festival memes and had them over for a few drinks to convince them to join you at one of UK’s upcoming music festivals. It’s happening. The squads keen. You’re downright pleased.

You’ve sourced a few tents, a couple of blow-up mattresses, some sleeping bags, and a hammock. Sam has dusted off his ukulele, Nancy’s sorting out the meal roster and Corban has agreed to organize the travel snacks (with vegan options included).

This leaves you to book tickets to the festival and compile The World’s Most Epic Travel Playlist for time spent on the road. You’re still needing to figure out the best way to get to the festival - but more on that later.

Unforgettable road trips require some forward-planning

Seasoned festival goers will confirm that the fun factor of any road trip depends on the compatibility of the different types of people you choose to cram into one vehicle for any given length of time.

For instance:

• If Nancy is a control freak who hates ‘pit stops’ along the way, then she’ll likely start raging at you after your third or fourth meander off the beaten track (for ‘just a spot of sightseeing’). This won’t be much fun for either of you.
• If Sam is tone deaf and only knows how to play one song but insists on singing it while hammering the chords out on his ukelele - the WHOLE trip long - then nerves could get a bit frazzled.
• What if Corban thinks boiled egg and mayonnaise sandwiches are viable snack options for road tripping? How then will you all stay true buddies while he munches on egg mayo sandwiches in your tightly packed car?

The answer is quite simple - set expectations upfront and breathe

What time do you plan to leave for the festival? Best to tell the notorious late-comers in your friendship group to be there an hour earlier than they need. It’s sneaky, but at least you’ll actually leave on time.

Travelling well together also includes:

• Sharing DJ responsibilities so everyone gets a chance to have their favourite music played on the trip.
• Deciding ahead of time who is best at cramming too much luggage into small, cramped spaces and assigning them the job of packing the car to void any conflict.
• Agreeing to share driving responsibilities; this will keep all the other A-types personalities in the car happy and will also ensure everyone gets enough rest.
• Chatting with Nancy well ahead of time about how many side adventures she can realistically handle on a given road trip.
• Calculating petrol costs ahead of time and setting expectations with the crew about how expenses will be split and by when they need to make repayments. Tattoo your bank details on everyone’s arms if you must, just make it all quite clear.
• Packing in earplugs to drown out any unwanted noises and an emergency can of deodorant for any unpleasant smells during the trip.

What if you could get you and your crew to the festival without all the fuss?

As fun as implementing all these tips might sound, we have a better suggestion: travel direct to festival with Zeelo!

We do group bookings to reduce costs for festival goers. Enjoy 25% off your booking when booking for three or more people!

Jump aboard a comfortable, air-conditioned, executive coach heading straight to the festival (yes, Nancy, STRAIGHT to the festival). No need to worry about not having enough space for luggage, driving long distance, or your car breaking down along the way. You can BYOB on the trip too.

Sound good? Find out more about our private and direct coach hire options here.