Sleeping bag? Check. Tent? Check. Excitement? Check. While you might have the essentials covered, many festival first-timers still fall victim to an array of problems. Thankfully, these common music festival misfortunes are easily avoidable – if you’re in the know, that is.

Here are five hacks to ensure your first music festival experience is one to remember for all the right reasons!

1. Set realistic schedules

Whether it’s Falls Festival, Download, Bluesfest or Splendour, Australian festival-goers are a lucky bunch. With the likes of Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals, Amy Shark and Slayer taking to stages around the country, we don’t blame you wanting to catch each name on your festival roster.

However, this ambitious tactic will only leave you red in the face and worn out. You see, the acts on your specific festival line up are likely to be spread across a number of stages. If you’re aiming to see ‘X’ at 8pm but ‘Y’ at 8:30pm, chances are they won’t be within close proximity, leaving you desperately flitting from stage to stage and running the risk of cutting sets short.

Instead, write down your top must-see acts and put a realistic schedule in place. This will give you maximum time to relax, see the entirety of said acts and enjoy everything else the festival has to offer.  Be sure to check out the Falls Festival App, it can help you schedule and plan your activities from the convenience of your smartphone.

Make sure you see your favourite artists by setting realistic time schedules.

2. Bring the camping essentials

While glow sticks and glitter are fun additions to your first festival experience, prioritising these over camping essentials is a rookie mistake. Before packing your festival kit, make sure the following items are already in your bag:

• Torch for midnight walks to the portable toilets.
• Wet wipes for all cleaning purposes – footwear and face!
• Cereal bars for morning snacks and energy on-the-go.
• Warm layers for when the sun goes down.
• A pillow to rest your head after a long day of dancing!

3. Camp at the top of a hill

Although Aussie summers are renowned for their scorching heat, unfortunately no one can predict what the weather will do next.

While the patch of grass at the bottom of the hill is empty and appealing when carrying a lot of things, it’s worth working those glutes a little more to avoid running into troubled waters – quite literally. Camping on higher ground means you’ll be safe from sleeping in swampy conditions in the event of rain.

Camping at the top of the hill will prevent potential tent leakages!

4. Stylish and sensible footwear choices

Dancing, walking and being on your feet all day is a recipe for tired feet. Don’t sacrifice comfort over looking cool as you’ll simply end up miserable and irritable. Prevent problems by packing and wearing a solid pair of boots or sneakers. These footwear choices are perfect for lasting all day and night, and with so many styles and colours, you’ll easily find shoes to suit you!

5. Have a partner in crime

When snapping selfies and recording your favourite artists on stage, your poor smart phone battery doesn’t stand much chance of lasting the experience. If your battery dies and you lose touch with your group, make sure you’re buddied up with at least one person to avoid spending all day looking for your friends. This will ensure you can still have fun and with two sets of eyes, you stand more chance of finding your group!

TID is a proud partner of Falls Festival 2018. What if you could big it up as VIP at Falls Festival? Win* 4 x VIP passes for you + 3 mates + $2K spending money plus General Admission tickets for runners up. Enter now.

You may also like: Your complete guide to international music festivals in 2019