You've bought your festival pass, booked your hotel and started to salivate over the food lineup, but now it's time to figure out how to actually get to Coachella. We happen to think that driving is the simplest and most cost effective way to get out to Indio, but it's certainly not the only option. If you're looking to ditch your own car or splurge on a luxurious ride, these are all of the ways to travel out to Coachella this year.
By car
Allow us to do some quick math: It's 260 miles, roundtrip, from Downtown L.A. to the Empire Polo Club and back—not counting mileage from your hotel to the festival grounds. The average price of gas in L.A. is just over $3, according to AAA, with the average fuel efficiency of new cars around 25 miles per gallon, according to a 2015 EPA report. Standard Coachella parking is free, so unless you rack up any other car-related costs, expect driving yourself to cost not much more than $30. As is almost always the case in Southern California: it really just makes the most sense to drive.
Time: 2 hr 15 min each way
Cost: $30+
By carpool
Whether you're riding with your friends or random festival-goers, carpooling is by far the cheapest way to and from Coachella. If you can squeeze at least four people in the car and make a "Carpoolchella" sign, you may even drive away with VIP passes for life.
Time: 2 hr 15 min each way
Cost: Less than $30 per person
By Tesla
Tesloop offers city-to-city travel by selling individual seats in a swanky Tesla. Routes to and from Palm Springs range between $39 and $79 each way, though the company notes that prices may increase during peak travel periods—that said, we were still able to find a $59 seat for Thursday.
Time: 2 hr 15 min each way
Cost: $98+
By bus
Greyhound offers economy tickets that start at $20, though you'll have to leave pretty early in the morning to secure the cheapest seats. All fares include at least one bag as well as wi-fi and power outlets. The bust stop in Indio is only a couple of miles from the festival grounds.
Time: 2 hr 30 min to 4 hr each way
Cost: $40+
By airport shuttle
Coachella partners with Valley Music Travel for fairly reasonably-priced shuttle service between LAX and the festival grounds as well as select hotels. It's $70 each way, though the add-on $75 "Any Line, Anytime" pass—which offers service between hotels and the fest—is sold out, meaning you'll have to rely on ride hailing services for the last leg.
Time: 3 hr
Cost: $140+
By train
There is indeed an Amtrak line that runs between Union Station and Palm Springs. But—and this is a bit of a dealbreaker "but"—there's no service on Thursdays. The only option is a late-night Friday train that would have you miss the entire first day of the festival. On the way back, though, you could head straight to the train station for a 2am train on Sunday night/Monday morning. And then there's the added cost of getting from the Palm Springs train station to the festival grounds or your hotel.
Time: 3 hr plus each way
Cost: $84+
By plane
Why would you brave traffic and security lines at LAX for a one-hour flight that still lands you more than a half hour away from the festival? We don't know—but enough people have booked a flight to Palm Springs International Airport that a roundtrip tickets costs upwards of $1,500. If you're fine leaving halfway through Sunday's schedule, you'll cut the airfare price in half. Of course, that doesn't include the cost of actually getting to and from the airport.
Time: 1 hr each way
Cost: $1,500+
By helicopter
Last year, Uber partnered with Blade to offer private helicopter rides from Van Nuys to Indio for the low, low price of $4,170. We're still waiting for details about any sort of similar service for this year's fest.
Time: 1 hr each way
Cost: $4,000+ (TBA)
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