What to Pack for a Music Festival Abroad

International music festivals — Glastonbury in the UK, Tomorrowland in Belgium, Primavera Sound in Barcelona, Fuji Rock in Japan, Coachella for international travelers — combine festival packing realities with travel constraints. The kit needs to handle camping or budget hotels, multi-day intensity, mud and dust and rain, and the simple physics of carrying everything across festival fields. Here's what works.

The bag system. A medium-sized hiking backpack (35–45L) carries the festival weekend; a separate small daypack or fanny pack carries festival-day essentials. Avoid wheeled luggage — festival fields are mud, gravel, and grass, and wheels become useless within an hour. The hiking pack works as your primary travel bag in transit and as your accommodation bag once on-site.

Camping vs hotel decision. Most major European festivals (Glastonbury, Tomorrowland, Sziget, Primavera) have camping options and the camping is part of the experience. The festival field campgrounds are loud, often muddy, with shared facilities — but they're also where the festival's social atmosphere is most concentrated. For first-time international festival-goers, the hotel-and-shuttle option is often more comfortable but loses something. For experienced festival-goers and music fans where the festival is the whole trip, camping is the right call.

Camping gear if camping. A real waterproof tent, not a cheap pop-up — Glastonbury's mud is real, and a leaking tent on day three is genuinely miserable. A sleeping bag rated 10–15°F colder than the lowest expected nighttime temperature. A real sleeping pad (the air mattress that came free with your tent fails by night two; buy a real one). A tarp for rain protection over the tent. A small tent flag or marker so you can find your tent in a campground of 20,000 identical tents. Ear plugs (mandatory). A camp chair if your festival allows them.

Clothing in layers across days. Three to five festival outfits depending on length, in lightweight quick-dry fabrics. Festival weather is unpredictable — Glastonbury has been everything from 90°F sunburn weather to 40°F mud-pit weather in the same week. Pack a waterproof packable rain jacket regardless of forecast (mandatory at any UK festival). A warm fleece or synthetic puffer for cold nights. Comfortable shoes — sneakers or low-cut hiking shoes, never sandals (festival fields have broken glass, sharp objects, and need real footwear) or new shoes (blisters end festivals fast).

The festival-day kit. A small backpack or fanny pack with: bottled water (most festivals allow refillable bottles brought in empty), portable charger (festivals are battery vampires due to constant photo and posting), sunscreen and sunglasses, a portable poncho, snacks for between sets, hand sanitizer, baby wipes (festival bathrooms are what they are), a small flashlight or headlamp for finding your way back to camp at 3 a.m., and any necessary medications.

Practical items most travelers forget: earplugs (festival sound systems are loud enough to cause permanent hearing damage at the front of stages — protect your ears), a headlamp for nighttime navigation, a small lockable bag or money belt for tickets and wallet (festival pickpocketing is real), and a small towel and toiletry kit if showers are available. A festival lanyard for your tickets and wristband — you cannot lose these, and dropping them is more common than people think.

Documents and money. Print copies of your festival tickets (some festivals don't accept phone-only tickets at gates). A passport for international travel (entry visas required for some festival countries). Some cash for festival vendors who don't take cards. A waterproof bag for your phone and tickets — festival mud destroys electronics that aren't protected. Your passport stays at the hotel safe, never at the campground.