Ultra Music Festival is just around the corner! This year’s edition of the festival is returning to the iconic venue at Bayfront Park in Miami from March 20-22. Ultra is a huge festival and there are lots of things going on inside the festival and outside as well! Here are some tips before heading to Ultra.

1. Stay Hydrated!

There are lots of items that are allowed into the festival that you should definitely bring! With the festival taking place right at the start of spring and in sunny Miami, it’s very important to stay hydrated. Bring a hydration pack so that you can refill with the free water filling stations throughout the venue! There are many Hydration Packs that you can buy on iHeartRaves here that are stylish and perfect for a festival!

Neon Vibes Hydration Pack 

2. Bring Cash And/Or Card

In the Miami heat, it can definitely get hot and sunny out there with all the raving! Make sure that you bring in some spare cash or a card so that you can make purchases inside the festival. There are plenty of vendors for food, snacks, and drinks, as well as lots of bars for alcoholic beverages if you are over 21 years old. In the past, there's been popsicle stands throughout the venue that was super helpful for cooling me down and were refreshing also!

Photo credit: Ultra Music Festival 

3. Do Not Forget The Essentials!

It’s always nice to pack light so that you don’t lose any of your items or be in pain carrying a bunch of items. However, there are some things that you should definitely bring as they are essential! These include your Ultra wristband (just slip it on your wrist before the festival and leave it on all weekend; they’re not removable but they are waterproof!) and your ID or passport for getting into the festival since it’s an 18+ event and also for picking up wristbands at willcall, especially for international attendees! Check here for acceptable forms of identification into the festival.

Other Useful Items to Bring

For those that like to be prepared for the weekend at the festival, here are some other items that are great to bring! 

• Portable battery: If you like to record a lot and take lots of photos, make sure you bring in a fully-charged portable battery to give you and your crew extra power to your phones!
• Ear plugs: If you attend a lot of shows and festivals, or if you just don’t want your ears ringing at night, make sure you bring in some good earplugs. You can get the multipack foam earplugs at any drugstore, or you can upgrade and get nicer, reusable artists’ earplugs that help block out the loudness at festivals without muffling the sound. 
• Sunscreen: In the blazing Miami sun, it is especially important to make sure you are protecting your skin from the rays! Slap on some sunscreen before heading in and make sure to bring extra with you to apply throughout the day! The festival takes place mostly during the day and the last thing you want is to get sunburnt!

4. Download the Ultra Worldwide App

This app is super handy and useful, especially during the festival! It has all the deets about the lineup, the artists that are playing each day, as well as announcements during the festival so make sure you download this app and turn the notifications on! They’ve announced surprise guests and sets before through the app. The app is also useful for activating your wristband, and the more you check in to the app during the festival, the more points you get which means perks like designated entrances!

5. Create a Schedule

Once the set times for Ultra come out, it’s really helpful to create a schedule of who you want to see with your group! From my experience, it took some time to get from stage to stage and when I went to Ultra my first time, I definitely missed parts of some sets I wanted to see because I couldn’t get to the stage in time! The venue was a lot bigger than I thought and knowing who you want to see and where the stages are will give you extra time to move around and make sure that you get to see as much as possible! I did not expect the mainstage to be as crowded as it actually was, so getting out and into the crowd took a lot of time and is something that you should definitely factor in.

Pro tip: Make your schedule and set it as your lock screen on your phone for the night!

6. Head to the Merch Booths Early

If you’re someone who loves to get merch at festivals, make sure to head to the merch booth early! There are usually lots of exclusive items at the booth earlier on, including artist merch as well as festival merch. Getting there early will ensure that you have the best selection for items as well as sizes. I regret not getting any merch the first year I went because I visited the booth too late and was not able to find anything that fit. There are lots of items so getting there the first day means you can get what you want and show it off for the rest of the festival!

Photo credit: Ultra Music Festival

7. Check out Afterparties and Pool Parties

Miami is one of the best places to visit during Ultra because this means that Miami Music Week is taking place at the same time! MMW is a week full of tons of pool parties and late-night shows that run till the morning, all throughout the city of Miami. It’s a lot of fun for any music lovers and ravers and I recommend everyone who is hitting up Ultra to attend some of the afters as well as pool parties during the day! Miami has some of the coolest music venues in the US so this would be a perfect time to visit. The events start as early as the Monday before Ultra and runs until the end of week and there are literally over a hundred shows that take place day and night throughout the week. You can visit here to see the list of events, venues, and artists that will be performing! The list keeps growing leading up until the week of Ultra.

Photo credit: Ultra Music Festival

Ultra Music Festival is the place to kick off festival season, and there’s no better way to celebrate it than with sunny Miami! You do not want to miss out on any of the festivities for Miami Music Week. Tickets for Ultra are still on sale here and there will be so many more afterparties and pool parties that will be announced, as well as Tier 3 for the festival.