I love music festivals. I’ve been to Outside lands in San Francisco, Bottlerock Napa Valley (every year), and Coachella (twice). My boyfriend Ben, has never been to Coachella, so I wanted him to have the best time and the best coachella experience ever.


From my past coachella experience my major cons were:

- Getting to and from the venue. I drove both years and I remember parking and then walking forever to get to the front entrance. My feet were dead! Even wearing the most comfortable shoes, your feet will get tired from walking all day.
- Leaving Coachella. Once I’m done, I’m D O N E. Like I want to be home immediately. But unfortunately leaving coachella takes hours. Leaving the parking lot took at least an hour and a half and once you’re out there’s so much traffic because everyone is also trying to leave.

Based on my past experience, we decided to stay in the Safari Tents, which are located right on the polo fields of Coachella.

Safari Tent Glamping

We flew into Palm Springs on Thursday, we had a driver take us to the Renaissance Indian Wells Resort hotel to pick up our wristbands and from the hotel, the safari concierge drove us to the safari tents. Once we arrived to the safari campgrounds, we were greeted with champagne and the concierge showed us to our home for the next 5 days. The tents come with a queen size bed, air conditioner, and a mini refrigerator. Glamping at it’s finest.




Once we settled in, we went to the front desk to book our complimentary 30 minute massage (You need to book right away because early morning time slots get booked first) and to put in an order of items that we wanted to bring but didn’t have space in our luggage for. The safari concierge is available 24 hours a day, they can run to the store and pick up anything you want. We ordered a inflatable pool and a couple snacks. Within a few hours it was waiting for us in our tent.


The Safari campgrounds has a lounge tent with a bar, foodservice, D.J., and a T.V. where they live stream the coachella performances. There were not many vegan options during food service times, which was a little disappointing but we were totally fine with because the best vegan food to eat is at Coachella. Plus, the staff always stocked the front desk with lots of snacks so you’ll never go hungry.










Showers - This was one I was most concerned about because I was worried that there would be a line and I would have to wait to take a shower. Luckily, everytime I went to take a shower there was only one other person in the showers with me. There were two mobile showers and each one had six showers. (Tip: Bring a robe, you will need to walk to and from the showers and you don’t want to have just a towel to cover you up)


Once the sunsets, it gets COLD. Especially in the Safari tent campground. We went off grounds the first night to get dinner and stopped at Target. We wanted to get a heated blanket but they were sold out so we grabbed a heavy blanket. We also picked up two camping chairs because we wanted to sit comfortably outside of our tent, drink champagne, and relax.




If you’re thinking of staying at the Safari tents here are the benefits:

- 24 hour concierge service
- Safari wristbands get you in the artist lounge and a special viewing area close to the stage
- Golf cart rides to and from all the stages
- Safari Lounge - DJ, food, bar, and T.V.
- Complimentary massage



Tips if it’s your first time staying at the Safari tents:

- Bring a robe
- Heating blanket
- Flip flops for the shower
- Drive a car (there is a special parking lot for safari campers)
- Bring a rolling rack - to hang your clothes (there is no wardrobe storage in the tent)
- BYOB - we brought champagne and kept it cool in the mini refrigerator

Beychella 

"I came here for the music" -Everyone at Coachella. My top three favorite performances at Coachella are: (Drum roll please)

Queen Bey (Duh)

They didn’t rename Coachella to Beychella for nothing. Unfortunately, I was not able to watch all of Beyonce’s performance live because the crowd started to become aggressive to the point where there was almost a fight, I felt unsafe and uncomfortable, and to be honest I couldn’t even see in front of me. Ben and I decided to watch the rest of her performance in the Safari lounge, in a comfortable chair, with a cocktail.

Kygo 

kygo

He has the best music to dance to and being able to hear it live was just amazing! The best part was his special guests that made his Coachella performance extra special. My favorite guests were Jamie Foxx, who sang Marvin Gaye’s "Sexual Healing" and Rita Ora who took Selena Gomez’s place for "It ain’t me".

Mø

Mø

She was amazing! I loved her high energy, her voice, and her music was definitely dance worthy. She put on a great performance and I loved that she ran out into the crowd and sang with her fans. She is so friendly, after her performance I saw her in the artist lounge taking selfies with fans.

The Art

Coachella is known for talented artists displaying their art across the entire polo field. So this year I was not surprised by the amazing artwork. My favorite was the Supernova, which is a multi colored star shaped sculpture.


Another favorite was the "Spectra" a seven-story monumental structure featuring 300 colored Plexiglas windows and 6,000 LED lights. We were able to walk up the spiral building and enjoy the stunning view from the top.


Lodestar - made from found, repurposed, and recycled objects


Etherea - translucent like shapes of classic architecture

Vegan Coachella

I came to Coachella for Bey and the vegan food. Ben and I would head into Coachella around noon, eat yummy vegan food, drink, and maybe watch a performance, and then head back to the safari tents to chill for a couple hours before we headed back in for more vegan food and amazing performances till Coachella was over.

Day One

On the first day it was a tough decision on where to eat because there were so many options and we wanted to try everything! We went for Cena Vegan, I got the nachos and Ben got the burrito. OMG these nachos were so good! And so filling! I needed a nap after eating.


Later that evening, we got a Fiesta bowl from Vibe Organic Kitchen, I was unable to get a photo of this delicious bowl because it was dark and I was famished after waiting in line for thirty minutes. But it was well worth it!

Day Two

Lunch was at Sage Vegan Bistro, I tried their street tacos which are "carnitas" made with chili seasoned jackfruit. They were really yummy.


For dinner, we decided to try out Little Pine popup restaurant in the VIP section. Little Pine Restaurant is founded by musician and animal rights activist, Moby. Little Pine was created for, "it’s the ability to take a bunch of the things i care about: community, veganism, architecture & design, and represent them in one space." All profits go to animal welfare organizations.
The menu was a three course meal for $50/per person. We tried everything on the menu.

Fried Cauliflower with Kimchi Aioil

Sriracha Glazed Brussel Sprouts

Panko Crusted Piccata

King Trumpet Scallops

S'mores Ganache

Cookies & Milk

We enjoyed it so much that we plan on visiting their location in Los Angeles.

Day Three

We had run into Amanda of @raw_manda and she was running around with this fried chicken sandwich in her hand from The Herbivorous Butcher. So, of course we had to try it! We had the "Double Down" which was fried "chicken" as the buns with lettuce, tomato, and onion. This was so good and definitely so fried and so delicious. Sorry not sorry.




Our last meal at Coachella was at Cena Vegan again because we loved it that much but this time I had the burrito AND tacos. We started strong with Cena and ended strong with Cena!




I wish we had been able to try all the vegan food at Coachella, that just means we have to go again next year!
Tips if you’ve never been to Coachella:

- Wear comfortable shoes. I recommend flat booties. Because they cover your toes and are stylish.
- Bring a bandana - there is so much dust from the wind and people walking that you don’t want to be breathing in all that. Plus if you hate the smell of cigarette smoke this will help as well.
- Bring tissue - sometimes the porta potties run out of toilet paper and it’s good to have your own back up.
- Ear plugs - You always want to protect your hearing, especially if you’re in the front of the stage.
- Wear sunscreen!