Festival tip 1: Do some light planning before you goDon’t worry- I’m not talking about creating a strict itinerary. We didn’t buy a programme before we got to the festival. We thought we’d be better off walking around and just seeing what was on- and after all, the main stage line-ups were online! But we really regretted this decision. Getting there with no clue what we actually wanted to do meant we missed a lot of the activities that were on. The programme included the timings of so many other stages and areas we should have really looked at the types of things that were available. The programmes sold out the day we arrived (although they were back in stock later in the weekend) and some of the activities did need pre-booking, so if you can, plan early!
Festival tip 2: Arrive at the festival with plenty of time to set-upRemember this isn’t your usual camping trip. The car parks might be a considerable distance from where you camp, and at Camp Bestival it was up and down a hill (hard work in the heat). We were lucky that a tractor was on hand to take us up the hill, and there were festival taxis that donated their money to charity if you were prepared to pay for help, but it still took longer than we realised (and a couple of trips) to get everything from the car to the campsite. PLUS all our bags and kit were checked on arrival, so that takes time too.
Just a word of warning- no glass included my concealer and some salsa jars being taken off us, and we left our cooking knife and a bottle opener in the camping box which was also removed.
Festival tip 3: Festival trolliesWe debated for a while about getting one of these. In the end our well seasoned friends persuaded us to get one. It was the best decision ever, not only to take our camping stuff to and from the car to our pitch (I think we would have had to pay for a festival taxi had we not had one), but also it meant we could use it in the evenings for taking our camping chairs, layers, food and children (!) back and forth from the arenas. Many small children slept in trollies in the evenings, so you could take blankets and pillows too! Trollies were available to rent at Bestival, it might be worth checking this out in advance as it might work out better than buying!
Some people did take pushchairs with them- the off-road varieties with big wheels seemed to work fine, but the ground is uneven and smaller pushchairs would struggle- especially if it rains and is muddy! We took a carrier to use for my pre-schooler when he got tired!
Festival tip 4: Enjoying the musicShockingly, our taste in music is not the same as our kids. Before Camp Bestival, we created a play list on spotify which included many of the acts that we knew would be there as well as some child friendly classics (Frozen, Greatest Showman, all that jazz) that they would enjoy too. We played this in the run up to the event on any family trips out so that they would recognise some of the songs we enjoyed.
Ear defenders are a great investment, especially if you go to any performances in tents where the sound just reverberates around you! For small children, they also seemed to help them get to sleep in the evenings.
Food and drink is available at the festivals but obviously adds to the expense. Take as many snacks as you can to help reduce the costs (and queue times). You may not be able to keep snacks cool, so think about things like apples, dried fruit, cereal bars, breadsticks, nuts, jellies, crisps.
There were water stations across the event site- so take refillable water bottles with you. We took a small Robinsons Mini to squirt into the kids bottles.
At the campsite, consider which meals you would like to try and make. Remember that there is unlikely to be proper washing up facilities and that your tent may not be that close to the arenas, so you might not want to return multiple times. We took a small one hob camping stove with us and predominantly used that to make hot water to make; instant porridge pots, pot noodles, pasta and stir in sauce and noodles. Plus cups of tea and coffee in the morning (yes, there were coffee vans on site but the morning queues were lonnnnnnnnnng). For the first day we had taken sandwiches/ packed lunches with us. You could also consider for the first/second days taking pre-made frozen family meals (pasta bolognese, chilli concarne etc). Keep them in your cool bag and they should have nicely defrosted for you to eat on the first/ second day. You could also freeze milk to take with you (although we took small long life milks and opened there).
Plan carefully- you dont want to take lots of clothes that you’ll never wear. The kids WILL get dirty. You WILL get dirty. You’re unlikely to want to trek back to the tent to get changed so you wont need multiple changes of clothes. Just remember that this is the UK, so you will need to take a warm layer and waterproofs! If rain is forecast, you may want to take waterproof trousers or dungarees for kids so they can sit down in the mud without any worry.
In terms of footwear, a word of warning that it is hard to pull a trolley across fields in flip flops! Make sure that you have sturdy shoes and options if it does rain.
Festival tip 7: Accessories and fancy dressLook at the social media tags and pages of previous years to get inspiration for accessories that you would like to wear and buy in advance. Face glitter and face painting will likely be available- but again, may take up more of your time in queues and more money! We loved the sequins. Things like glow sticks can also be bought in advance and taken with you.
The showers at Bestival were actually great, BUT the queues were long- especially in the morning. You might prefer to just use flannels with soap and water at your tent some days!
In terms of toilets, Bestival did have a range of options, including kids only loos, chemical toilets, compost loos and you could pay more for ‘posh loos’ where they were cleaned after each use. Generally though, other than the paid ones they did get pretty dirty and smelly with the volume of people using them. Hand gel was available as an alternative to hand washing, but even that ran out at times. Consider taking a little bag with wipes, hand gel and spare loo roll. There were no sanitary bins in toilets, so you might want to consider sanitary bags as well if you will need them!
You could also consider taking a potty with you for your tent, this might be a life saver in the night if it’s a distance to the toilets and your children are desperate!
Festival Tip 9: SafetyThere are a lot of people at the event. Make sure that your child has your contact details on them at all times. Many children wore wristbands (Bestival provided them for free), or you could write your number on your wrist with permanent marker. You could also consider a digital locator/ wristband.
On arrival at the festival we spoke to our six year old very clearly about what to do if she became lost. Read guidance from the festival information before you arrive about lost child procedures. Take a picture every morning of your child and the clothing that they are wearing.
Familiarise yourself with the location of the first aid tents/ site hospital. Take a small first aid kit with essentials. Remember prevention basics in all the fun – wear a hat and suncream, encourage lots of drinking and try and stick to the shade.
Valuables- consider carfeully what you need to take. There may be lockers available (there were at Bestival, including ones with a socket for charging)- but these may need to be booked in advance. Think about the bag that you use and how you can keep things safe.
Festival Tip 10: Enjoy yourself!Family festivals are there for you to have fun and enjoy yourself. Try not to worry about routines and itineraries. Enjoy the moment and have fun. Rules went out the window with our kids and what they ate, bedtimes and activities. They were absolutely shattered at the end of it but we all had an incredible time!
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