Festival Guide · 2026
Camping Festival Tips.
8 practical tips for festival groups — not generic sun-cream advice, but the things that actually go wrong when camping with a crew.
Most festival problems aren't caused by missing kit — they're caused by missing communication. Who's bringing the canopy? What's the plan if it rains? Who's buying the water? These things don't sort themselves out.
Also useful: Festival Packing List → Group Organizer →
Split gear before you leave home
Tent, canopy, cool box, camping table: your group only needs one of each. Without a plan, everyone brings everything — and you end up hauling three times the kit. Decide in advance who takes what, who drives, and what goes in which car. This doesn't sort itself out over chat.
Fix a meeting point before anyone arrives
At a festival with 50,000+ people, "meet at the entrance" is not a plan. Agree on a camping area, a specific landmark — tree, flag, post — and a time. First person there stakes out the spot. It sounds obvious, but every group that skips this wastes at least an hour searching.
Set a group budget for shared supplies
Water, charcoal, ice for the cool box, gas canisters — one person usually buys these but everyone benefits. Agree upfront on how much goes into a shared pot, who manages it, and how you settle up. Without a clear arrangement, you get quiet resentment: one person always paying while others assume someone else will.
Share the packing list early enough to act on it
If you share the list two days before the festival, there's no time to fix gaps. Share it at least a week out so everyone can pick up what's missing. Better still: go through it together and assign items. 'Who has a camping stove?' is a much easier question a week before than on the morning you leave.
Have a rain plan — for real
Mud, wet sleeping bags, leaking tents: if it rains, any group without a plan suffers. Wellies and a rain jacket for everyone, one canopy as shared shelter. And a concrete answer to 'where do we regroup if we get separated on site in a downpour' — ideally a fixed spot at camp.
Charging strategy for the crew
At a 3-day festival, everyone needs power. Power banks are non-negotiable — at least one per person. A multi-socket is worth it if your camp has electricity. Settle it beforehand: who has what capacity, whose cables fit which devices? That way there's no scramble over the one socket on day three.
Emergency contacts and a fixed meetingpoint
At bigger festivals, someone always gets lost. Agree in advance: what's the fixed meetingpoint on the campsite, who has the site map, who knows where the nearest medical tent is? Write key numbers on paper — festival hotline, medical service, your camp coordinator. When batteries die, you need a backup plan.
Pack down as a group
Last morning: tents down, rubbish out, kit loaded — without an agreement this falls on one or two people every time. The night before, agree who breaks down what and when the camp needs to be cleared. Five minutes of planning saves two hours of morning friction — and leaves the site the way you found it.
Next step
Coordination for the crew — simple.
PackShare turns these tips into a shared planning board: who brings what, who buys what — live, for the whole crew.