Guide 073 min readReviewed 2026-10-02
Budgeting a festival
The ticket is one line of the bill. Here is every other line, the add-on prices we recorded, how to split shared costs, and a worksheet that does the math.
On this page
The short version
Plan on the ticket being one line of the bill. The others are getting there, a bed, food, water, add-ons and the stuff you forgot. Add them before you buy, not after.
We do not guess your total. Prices change, and your costs depend on where you live and who you go with. What we can do is list the lines, show the prices we recorded, and give you a sheet to fill in with your own numbers.
Every line of the bill
| Line | What goes in it | Easy to forget |
|---|---|---|
| Ticket | The tier you will buy, plus fees and taxes at checkout. | The fee that shows up on the last page. Insist on the final total. |
| Add-ons | Parking, camping, shuttle, locker, wristband upgrades. | Camping and parking are often sold separately from the ticket. |
| Getting there | Gas and tolls, or flights, or a bus or train. Rideshare to and from the venue. | The ride home, which costs the most when everyone leaves at once. |
| A place to sleep | Hotel or rental for each night. Or the tent and a camp setup. | The night before and the night after. A late finish plus a long drive is a bad plan. |
| Food and water | Meals, snacks and drinks, in the venue and out of it. | Festival food and drink prices. Read the bag policy for what you can bring in. |
| Cash or card load | Money for the venue. Many festivals are cashless. | Top-up fees and unspent balances. Check how a refund of a balance works. |
| Gear | Earplugs, sunscreen, a hat, a poncho, a battery pack, a tent if you camp. | Replacing what breaks or gets lost. |
| Everything else | Merch, kandi supplies, an outfit, a babysitter, pet care, time off work. | Time off work is a cost. |
What recorded tickets look like
Sources 1
Below is the lowest recorded full-event general admission price for each festival, from our files. These are snapshots, not live quotes. The FTC says sellers of live-event tickets must show the total price, including mandatory fees, up front, so compare the final checkout total, not the headline.
- Breakaway Music Festival2026 · fees not confirmed$75.00
- Wasteland Southern California2027 · fees included$129.99
- Apocalypse: Zombieland2027 · fees included$149.99
- Decadence Arizona2026 · fees not confirmed$151.00
- Freaky Deaky2026 · fees not confirmed$169.00
- Beyond Wonderland Chicago2027 · fees included$169.99
- Countdown NYE2026 · fees included$179.99
- Dreamstate SoCal2026 · fees included$189.99
- Beyond Wonderland at The Gorge2027 · fees included$199.00
- Beyond Wonderland SoCal2027 · fees included$199.98
- Time Warp Los Angeles2026 · fees included$199.99
- HiJinx2026 · fees not confirmed$215.00
- Forbidden Kingdom2027 · fees included$229.00
- Lights All Night2026 · fees included$229.95
- Proper NYE2026 · plus fees$252.33
- Movement Music Festival2027 · plus fees$259.00
- Get Freaky2026 · fees not confirmed$269.52
- Escape Halloween2026 · fees included$269.95
- Boo! Seattle2026 · fees included$292.99
- III Points2026 · fees included$299.00
- Seismic Dance Event2026 · plus fees$309.99
- EDC Orlando2026 · fees included$314.99
- Decadence Colorado2026 · fees not confirmed$383.64
- Lightning in a Bottle2027 · fees not confirmed$395.00
- EDC Las Vegas2027 · fees included$399.99
- Ultra Music Festival2027 · fees not confirmed$419.26
Recorded snapshots for each festival's next or latest edition, not live quotes. Single-day, parking and camping products are left out. 15 festivals with no recorded full-event GA price: Give Thanks Festival, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Skyline LA, Day Trip Festival, Elements Music & Arts Festival, CRSSD Festival, Wakaan Music Festival, Niteharts, Day Trip Festival NorCal, Bass Canyon, Dancefestopia, Electric Forest, HARD Summer, Lost Lands, Nocturnal Wonderland.
Add-ons come on top. Here is every parking, camping and shuttle product we recorded, with the price.
22 products across 8 festivals
| Festival | Product | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Get Freaky2026 | 3-Day Shuttle Passplus fees · recorded 2026-10-02$99-$129 depending on pickup and departure; excludes taxes and fees (low end recorded).SourcesSources These are the sources attached to this record. No fact confidence level is recorded.
| $99.00 |
| Get Freaky2026 | Single-Day Shuttleplus fees · recorded 2026-10-02$35-$49; excludes taxes and fees (low end recorded).SourcesSources These are the sources attached to this record. No fact confidence level is recorded.
| $35.00 |
| Get Freaky2026 | Parking Passfees not confirmed · recorded 2026-10-02Per car; cash only on arrival, pre-paid available. The venue also lists the parking pass at $20.SourcesSources These are the sources attached to this record. No fact confidence level is recorded.
| $20.00 |
| EDC Orlando2026 | 3-Day Shuttle Pass (Tier 1)fees included · recorded 2026-10-02All-in, shown as $119 plus $4.59 fees; Tier 2 was $133.59.SourcesSources These are the sources attached to this record. No fact confidence level is recorded.
| $123.59 |
| EDC Orlando2026 | 1-Day Shuttle Pass (Tier 1)fees included · recorded 2026-10-02All-in, shown as $50 plus $2.88 fees; Tier 2 was $57.88.SourcesSources These are the sources attached to this record. No fact confidence level is recorded.
| $52.88 |
| Breakaway Music Festival2026 | Carolina 1-Day Shuttlefees not confirmed · recorded 2026-10-02Post-show shuttle; 2-day shuttle is $25.SourcesSources These are the sources attached to this record. No fact confidence level is recorded.
| $15.00 |
| Breakaway Music Festival2026 | Carolina 2-Day Shuttlefees not confirmed · recorded 2026-10-02Post-show shuttle service.SourcesSources These are the sources attached to this record. No fact confidence level is recorded.
| $25.00 |
| Breakaway Music Festival2026 | Carolina General Parking (per day)fees not confirmed · recorded 2026-10-02$30 per day for anyone who did not buy in advance; cash or credit at the lot.SourcesSources These are the sources attached to this record. No fact confidence level is recorded.
| $30.00 |
| Lightning in a Bottle2026 | Car Camping Passfees not confirmed · recorded 2026-10-02A commenter notes car camping rose to $199; fees not stated.SourcesSources These are the sources attached to this record. No fact confidence level is recorded.
| $199.00 |
| Bass Canyon2026 | Standard Campingfees not confirmed · recorded 2026-10-02Spacelab guide; price for one roughly 15x25 ft site. Fees not stated.SourcesSources These are the sources attached to this record. No fact confidence level is recorded.
| $193.00 |
| Dancefestopia2026 | 3-Night Campingfees not confirmed · recorded 2026-10-02Per person; an admission pass is also required. Tent-only camping.SourcesSources These are the sources attached to this record. No fact confidence level is recorded.
| $150.00 |
| Dancefestopia2026 | Parking (per vehicle)fees not confirmed · recorded 2026-10-02Paid in cash on arrival; not included with any ticket.SourcesSources These are the sources attached to this record. No fact confidence level is recorded.
| $60.00 |
| Electric Forest2026 | GA Car Camping Passfees included · recorded 2026-10-02One per vehicle, not per person; about 12 x 35 ft.SourcesSources These are the sources attached to this record. No fact confidence level is recorded.
| $150.00 |
| Electric Forest2026 | GA Preferred Car Camping Passfees included · recorded 2026-10-02Wednesday arrival, about 20 x 25 ft, close to the main venue entrance.SourcesSources These are the sources attached to this record. No fact confidence level is recorded.
| $350.00 |
| Electric Forest2026 | GA RV Passfees included · recorded 2026-10-02Wednesday arrival; includes one companion car pass.SourcesSources These are the sources attached to this record. No fact confidence level is recorded.
| $600.00 |
| Nocturnal Wonderland2026 | 3-Night Tent Campingfees included · recorded 2026-10-02All-in; page shows $339.99 plus $39.99 fees. 12x12 plot, up to 4 people, includes one parking spot.SourcesSources These are the sources attached to this record. No fact confidence level is recorded.
| $379.98 |
| Nocturnal Wonderland2026 | 3-Night Waterfront Campingfees included · recorded 2026-10-02All-in; page shows $469.99 plus $49.99 fees. Tent only, 12x12, up to 4 people.SourcesSources These are the sources attached to this record. No fact confidence level is recorded.
| $519.98 |
| Nocturnal Wonderland2026 | 3-Night Lakeside Campingfees included · recorded 2026-10-02All-in; page shows $539.99 plus $49.99 fees. Sold out at the time of check.SourcesSources These are the sources attached to this record. No fact confidence level is recorded.
| $589.98 |
| Nocturnal Wonderland2026 | 3-Night Car Campingfees included · recorded 2026-10-02All-in; page shows $649.99 plus $49.99 fees. 20x20 plot, up to 7 people.SourcesSources These are the sources attached to this record. No fact confidence level is recorded.
| $699.98 |
| Nocturnal Wonderland2026 | 3-Night RV Campingfees not confirmed · recorded 2026-10-02Page shows $919.98 plus taxes and fees; sold out at the time of check. 15x45 plot, up to 8 people.SourcesSources These are the sources attached to this record. No fact confidence level is recorded.
| $919.98 |
| Nocturnal Wonderland2026 | 2-Day Premier Parkingfees included · recorded 2026-10-02All-in; page shows $89 plus $3.82 fees. Pink Lot.SourcesSources These are the sources attached to this record. No fact confidence level is recorded.
| $92.82 |
| Nocturnal Wonderland2026 | 2-Day City Shuttlefees included · recorded 2026-10-02All-in; page shows $99 plus $4.08 fees. Downtown LA, OC and Riverside stops.SourcesSources These are the sources attached to this record. No fact confidence level is recorded.
| $103.08 |
Every parking, camping and shuttle product we recorded for the next edition. A festival missing here either has none recorded or no price confirmed. Prices are snapshots.
Splitting it with a group
Treat costs as one of two kinds. Per-person costs are the ticket, food and gear. Shared costs are the hotel room, the rental car, gas and a campsite. Shared costs get split by the number of people in the room or car, not the whole group.
- Collect money before you book, not after. The friend who says they will pay later is a reason to wait.
- Put one person in charge of the shared booking and send them the money first.
- Agree on the split for gas and parking before the trip, in writing in the group chat.
- Keep a spare buffer, a fixed amount per person, for the things nobody planned.
Group cost sheet / USD
- TicketFinal checkout total, one person
- Add-onsCamping, parking, shuttle, locker
- Getting there and homeGas and tolls, or flights and rideshare
- A place to sleepEvery night, including the one after
- Food and waterIn the venue and outside it
- Cash or card loadSpending money for the venue
- Gear and extrasEarplugs, sunscreen, outfit, merch
Enter your own numbers. Shared costs are divided by the number of people above. Fields left blank count as zero. Nothing you type is saved or sent anywhere.
Ways to spend less
- Pick a festival you can drive to in a day. Travel and lodging can be the biggest lines after the ticket.
- Go on a single day. A one-day ticket in your own city can be a better first festival than a weekend far away.
- Share the room and the ride. Four to a room divides the largest shared cost.
- Buy the earliest ticket phase if you are sure. Wait only if you can live with not going.
- Skip the upgrade you will not use. VIP is great if the extras are things you want. It is a lot of money for a shorter line.
- Bring an empty bottle. The heat guide explains why water matters, and free refill stations save money too.
Use the compare tool to put costs next to each other for up to four festivals. The table lists every festival with prices you can sort.
Sources
Every page below was fetched and read on the date shown. Pages change, so check the date before you rely on a detail. If a page contradicts this guide, trust the page.
- FTCDon't fumble in the red zone: FTC staff's warning about the new Fees Rule ↗Checked 2026-10-02Business blog dated 2025-05-16. The Fees Rule took effect 2025-05-12.