How Do I Prepare for Bonnaroo?

If you're planning a trip to Manchester, Tennessee for the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, get ready for a good time. You already know you're in for four days of great music, comedy, and shows. But for those who do not properly prepare, a Bonnaroo dream can quickly become a nightmare. As someone who attended his first Bonnaroo a year ago, I made some of the standard rookie mistakes many people make, despite living close to Manchester and knowing what summer in Tennessee entails. Here you will find the best tips I learned from attending Bonnaroo. Follow these and you'll still be rocking on Sunday, instead of rolling away on a stretcher.

Bonnaroo Tip #1: Wear Sunscreen: You might have seen that graduation speech that floated around the internet a few years ago where the speaker tells the graduates that the best advice he can give is to wear sunscreen. That speaker wasn't talking about Bonnaroo, but his advice is the single most important thing to remember when packing for the trip. It may sound self-explanatory but Bonnaroo has several fully staffed emergency medical pods and they have a full time job keeping up with the people who didn't wear sunscreen or stay hydrated. Whatever SPF sunscreen you typically wear for a day at the beach, double it at least. I bought the SPF 75 Baby Sunscreen and would have bought higher if I had found it. Bonnaroo is not the time to get a nice tan.

Bonnaroo Tip #2: Go Primitive: One of the biggest complaints I hear from people attending Bonnaroo is the lengthy walk from the main campsites to Centeroo. Depending on where you are placed, your walk could be as little as ten minutes or as long as an hour. You get no choice in this. It's luck of the draw. An hour walk back to camp at the end of a long day and night of watching music is a daunting prospect for many. If you want to turn the fortunes in your favor and you are willing to pack lightly, you might want to check out the Tent Only camping section. Placed just outside Centeroo, tent only campers have better camping than some of the VIP campers. You also aren't confined to the small camping space behind your car like you are in normal camping. This convenience comes with a price, however. You must park your car in the regular camping section and hike in with your gear. There are golf carts for hire to help you transport your stuff but these stay busy on Thursday and Monday. But if you're willing to camp primitively, you can save yourself a ton of walking during the festival and have plenty of room to stretch out.

Bonnaroo Tip #3: Sensible Shoes: You'll be doing a lot of walking during Bonnaroo so you'll want to make sure your footwear can hold up. It always amazes me that someone will pay $250 for a ticket and walk in with their oldest, most worn pair of shoes. A new pair of really comfortable shoes will set you back around $50 and will be one of the best purchases you make. Cut back on anything but sunscreen to make sure you walk in with quality shoes. I didn't take this advice and spent three of my four days at Bonnaroo nursing blisters on both feet.

Bonnaroo Tip #5: Eat Out, Way Out: Eating at Bonnaroo can end up costing you just as much as your ticket if you aren't careful. While food isn't insanely priced, it is comparable to most fairs or festivals you attend so you can expect to pay $5 to $10 for anything you buy to eat in Centeroo. Fortunately, there are several food vendors that service the camping areas around Centeroo and the food in these areas is much cheaper than inside. Since the shows don't typically start before noon, you should be able to have a light breakfast in your camp, lunch at the camp vendors, and then only have to buy dinner in Centeroo.

Bonnaroo Tip #6: Plan Your Conflicts: With so many great bands playing Bonnaroo each year and six stages providing music, you're going to have some conflicts somewhere. It's just a fact of Bonnaroo life. When the schedule comes out, plan out your viewing ahead of time. But be aware that the walk between some of the stages can get lengthy so don't assume you can just jump from one stage to another across Centeroo. The distances may not look huge but there are 80,000 other people walking around the site as well so traffic isn't always fast. If there's a band you absolutely can't miss, I'd recommend going to the band before them on the same stage. You'll get a better spot for the band you like and you might be pleasantly surprised at the band you see before hand.

If you follow these simple steps, a trip to Bonnaroo doesn't have to be a nightmarishly hot endurance race but a weekend of fun and great music.