Ok so you’ve got your tickets (or at least the confirmation email) and your travel plans are set. You’re going to Tomorrowland. Now let’s make sure that you have the best experience you possibly can. Below are some tips on what to pack/bring, where to eat, how to move around the festival, etc.
Tickets and Bracelets:
Ok its already June, the festival is in less than a month and you still don’t have your bracelets – am I right? This is, sadly, totally normal. Don’t panic. TML is notorious for mailing this stuff out late and making it basically impossible to track the package. In fact, there are a ton of Reddit threads about the topic every year and you can check those to know when other people start to get theirs. The one thing I’ll say is that even if they don’t arrive in time, it’s ok. You’ll just go to will call and they’ll give them to you at the festival. You can also check your country’s facebook group for more info. The US has a big one at this link.
Bracelet activation – if/when you do get your bracelets in the mail, make sure that you activate them before you leave home. Depending on how many pearls you load, if you do so in advance you get a “free beer” aka some extra pearls.
Keep your bracelets every year. You’ll see people with full arms of them. One tip though – wear this year’s bracelet on a separate arm from the others because the devices to get in and out of the festival get confused when you tap old bands. The TML logo will be what you tap to pay and get in/out of all areas.
Do NOT forget to pack your bracelet once it’s activated. You can go to will call, but they have no way to know if you’re lying and gave it to someone else and it’ll be a huge hassle.
Pearls:
The currency in the festival and the campgrounds for anything – food, drinks, even TML gear – is Pearls. It’s some made-up thing that’s essentially Monopoly money and has no obvious conversion rate, even to Euros. While it makes things super simple operationally, it’s also dangerous because you more or less have no clue how much money you’re spending.
You can “top up” your bracelet before the festival when you activate it and then you can continue to top it up at any time in the campground or inside the festival.
As far as how much you’ll need to put on it, I went with 300EUR and I think ended up topping up another 75EUR. Everyone is different though. You do get the money back after the festival if you don’t use everything on your bracelet.
Packing:
This is my list of what to pack, assuming that you’re flying in and can’t bring your own camping gear. I always stay in Easy Tents, so I don’t have to worry about a pillow or sleeping bag, mirror, chairs, etc. Double check the TML website for your camping area so you know exactly what you’ll be provided.
If you do have a different Dreamville package and you don’t want to fly with your own gear, there is a store in Mag Greens that you can purchase stuff like chairs, sleeping bags, etc. but it’s definitely not affordable prices. I think there is also an option to rent a tent in Mag Greens, so you can look into that as well.
Packing List:
Bathroom gear - you can pay for a hot shower or there are cold outdoor showers in the camping area.
Sunscreen for the sunny years
A small shower caddy like you’d use for a university dorm. Makes it easy particularly in the hot showers that are basically just outhouses inside a large building
A towel - Some people have space for full on towels, but I usually just bring a camping towel
Hair dryer/straightener/curling iron – I think there actually are hair dryers for use in the hot shower area, but for the girls with frizzy hair, let me tell you right now that area is a nightmare. I usually just let my hair air dry and then curl it in my tent
Clothes – the main thing I’ll say is LAYERS
Bathing Suit – for the outdoor shower
It can get extremely cold at night, particularly in the campground, so make sure you have pants and long sleeves. I’ve actually aimed to buy a TML long sleeve in the store in Mag Greens on the first day before it sells out and I wear that every night
For the daytime, it can get up to 100 degrees some years and down in the 50s other years (I’ve seen both) so you just never know
For those who like US festival-style outfits, know that you’ll be in the minority. There definitely will be people dressed like you’d see at Coachella, but it’s not a popular look in Europe so it’s up to you. Most people just dress casually in shorts and cute tops. The more dressed up you are though, the more likely the cameras will find you and you’ll end up in the TML wrap up video or on the facebook or even in the daily newspaper!
Note that jean shorts will immediately tell everyone that you’re American, good or bad :)
Keep in mind that even if you’re camping, it’s unlikely that you’ll walk all the way back to your tent to change unless the weather really shifts. If you’re not camping, you can rent a locker in the festival to bring a change of clothes, but you’re better off just wearing layers
Rain jacket – just in case (in rainy years the festival will start handing out ponchos, but usually way too late)
Flip flops for the shower
Comfy shoes – you’ll be walking probably 10 miles in a day and on your feet for 10+ hours, so go for comfort over cuteness.
Additional Items
Earplugs and an eye mask – the campground can go all hours of the night, so if you do want some sleep, this is a must. TML has a partnership with Loop earplugs that are great for the daytime in the festival but also work pretty well at night to keep sounds out.
Battery-powered fan – in the hot years, the inside of your tent can get extremely hot. This is super helpful particularly for the girls that have to do makeup or hair inside. In fact, if you find one that hangs on your neck, that’s good for inside the festival too. I also have one that is technically for baby strollers that I was able to wrap around tent poles inside to blow on us all night (link to this one)
Charging packs for your phone – with 150,000 people around you all day, your phone service will be shit and it’ll kill your battery. Plus, if you don’t get a specific camp site like Spectacular Easy Tents that come with a plug, you’ll need a lot of these charging packs for nighttime too
Glitter – optional but always fun.
Canopy Tent – if you do happen to have one of these and can check it, I highly recommend it if you’re camping. They’re all over Mag Greens and Easy Tents so your area has something to hang out under in case of hot sun or rain
Cards to pass the time with your camping area friends
Plastic baggies – you just never know
Zip-ties – same thing
Your country’s flag – to decorate or wear into the festival
A small bag for inside the festival – I have a fanny pack that has a zipper on the inside that sits against my body for important stuff like ID (you won’t need a CC inside the festival)
Decorations for your tent – I have a set of solar powered lights that we hang on ours so that we can find our tent area at night. Some people do some crazy stuff, but it definitely helps after a long day in the dark when you’re just wandering through 100s of tents that look the same
A clear water bottle empty – you can’t take any open container into the festival itself but you can bring an empty water bottle. Every sink in the festival and campsite runs on drinking water, so you can refill all day long
Food and Drinks - You actually can bring your own into the campsite (not the festival), so we always go grocery shopping in whatever city we’re in before the festival. There is a grocery store in Boom that you can walk to from Dreamville but it’s expensive
Water – bring multiple liters/gallons. As many as you can carry. I think my cousin and I had 6 and it was just enough
Cheap beer in cans only – buy in cases. You can also do a beer pick-up in the Mag Greens area from the market but you need to plan for that in advance (add-on sale) or right away when you get to the festival
Liquor – make sure you move it to plastic containers
Mixers for drinks, particularly energy drinks (these are long days) since they don't need to be refrigerated (unless you find a small cooler)
Snacks for nighttime in particular
Breakfast stuff – they do have breakfast food stands available, but the lines are always crazy because there are fewer of them
Paprika pringles. If you haven’t had them before, just trust me
*Something to keep in mind, particularly for Global Journey folks, is that you’ll need to be able to carry all of this unless you bring a small grocery cart or something with you. It’ll also have to fit on the coach bus that you’ll take from the train station to the festival grounds, so you might be smart to bring an empty backpack or buy the big strong grocery bags in the store.
Things that you don’t need to pack
Air mattress pump – they actually have these for you in the campgrounds
Toilet paper – the festival does a fantastic job of keeping the restroom port-a-potties clean (yep outside of Montagoe, it’s all port-a-potties)
Soap – there’s almost always soap available to wash your hands, but no paper towels or dryers
Cash or credit card – obviously you’ll probably have a CC in your hotel or campsite, but you don’t need it in the festival. You pay for everything in pearls (one exception is the TML apparel store and probably the market – you can use a CC there)
Plastic cups – unless you want to play flip cup, don’t go with these. There are bees and they LOVE open containers
Things that you shouldn’t pack or have on you:
Note that they do pretty thoroughly search every bag you have upon entering the campsites. While things like food and alcohol (in cans or plastic) are allowed, there a few things that they prohibit
Glass bottles – I bought an expensive bottle of Scotch in Scotland prior to the festival and it took every single ounce of my effort to convince them to let me put this in a locker before entering the campsite. This also means no champagne or beer bottles. My only other option would have been to turn it in to Lost and Found and pick it up at the end of the week. I got lucky that I didn’t have to.
Laundry detergent – a guy in front of me had some in a small container and they definitely thought it was something else (use your imagination)
Anything else prohibited on the TML website
Add-ons Advance Sale:
This is something that a newbie could easily miss. Every year, they’ll send out an email to folks with tickets to register for the add-ons which include lockers, restaurant experiences, beer pick-up, etc. Make sure that you look for this in your email. It can go to spam in some cases.
Here’s the link to the options: https://belgium.tomorrowland.com/en/add-on-sale/
The restaurant experiences are well worth it. I’d recommend doing at least one of them if you can. There’s a few inside the festival and then for those in Dreamville, there are breakfast options. I’ll be honest, I always seem to forget about the breakfast even after I’ve paid for it, so unless you’re in Mag Greens, I’d skip that.
The add-on sale happens the same way that ticket sales did, so of course be patient when you get into the site/queue, have a plan for what you want, and don't hit refresh!
Your country's local facebook group is another great source of experience TML folks that are always willing to answer questions and share their favorite spots and artists. They'll also arrange a photo for everyone from your country at some point during the weekend. Lean on your new friends and have so much fun!
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