On the 25th June 2025, over 200,000 festival fans will descend on the famous Worthy Farm in Somerset for Glastonbury Festival. Here is my essential Glastonbury packing list for 2024.
I have been attending Glastonbury since 2007, with 2024 being my 11th year at the festival. My first year saw the most amount of rain ever to hit the festival. On the Friday alone, 60.1mm of rain fell on the site, and the rain just kept on coming all weekend long. Whilst the rain didn’t put me off, it took me four years to return, and I learnt a lot about wet weather clothing that year.
In my ten attempts since at the greatest show on earth, I’ve finally cracked the code on what to bring to make the weekend as perfect as possible! I’ll admit that I like to bring more than the average person, but that’s mainly due to wanting to save money on food and drink. 🍻
For context on the type of festival goer, I am:
- I always drive (from London).
- The back seats of the car are folded down (Only 2 people in the car). I’ve driven a 2005 VW Polo to the festival for the last two years.
- Arrive very early on Wednesday morning.
- Regular ticket camper (We bring our own tent).
Glastonbury – A Brief History
Founded in 1970 by Michael Eavis, the first Glastonbury was held for just 1,500 people. In the 54 years since its inception, the site on which the festival is held has grown by many orders of magnitude.
In the half a century since Glastonbury began, our desire for home comforts, gadgets and fun has meant the number of items we want to take away with us has never been higher.
Your Essential Glastonbury Packing List
Every item on this list is what I take to Glastonbury each year. My festival gear has been built up over three decades of attending the festival. I have included links to specific items I recommend, please keep in mind that some of the links on my Glastonbury packing list are affiliate links. By using these links you are supporting the running of this site.
Car Park Pass 🚘
You will need a car park pass if you are driving by car. In 2024, these cost £60 and could be purchased at the same time as your ticket. Alternatively, you can buy a pass up to about a week before the festival from the Glastonbury See Tickets page. And if you forget, I believe you can pay at the car park entrance – but don’t risk it!
Car Park passes come as a sticker and must be displayed on your windscreen before you enter the festival site.
Festival Tip: For the easiest journey into the site, arrive in the middle of the night on Tuesday PM into Wednesday AM.
The official festival information advises entering through the east side of the site for the easiest access.
However, after trying multiple car parks, I’ve found that the entry and exit process is largely a matter of luck. I’ve been able to exit in as little as 30 minutes, but one year it took me 8 hours.
The last few years we have hung around until after 3pm on the Monday and have better success in getting out in a reasonable amount of time.
Trolley 🛒
An optional addition to your Glastonbury packing list. Your decision to bring or not will greatly influence the amount of items you can bring. In 2023 with two trolleys, we managed 4 tents, 4 crates of drinks, 4 chairs and a few bags full of most of the items on this list.
Festival Tip: Don’t be fooled by the cheap ‘festival trolleys’ online.
If you do decide on a trolley, I highly recommend a solid ‘sack truck’ or ‘hand truck’ with big wheels to get over the bumpy terrain. These types of trolleys will lie flat in the back of a car when the rear seats are down (with the wheels positioned in the rear footwell), taking up little space.
A trolley allows you to take a lot more equipment into the site, including more drinks (alcohol) that could save you a fortune at the bars.
Remember to bring a lot of straps to hold your load together. Anything strong enough and long enough to tie around your trolley and items will do the trick. Don’t be afraid to bring too many straps, you can always leave them in the car. In 2024 I took 20 straps for two trolleys.
Festival Tip: In severe weather, a trolley will be very difficult to manoeuvre in the mud. The bigger your wheels, the better chance you have of not getting stuck in the mud! Check the forecast in advance.
Recommended Links:
- Straps – https://amzn.to/3XPffOK
- Trolley – https://amzn.to/3XPffOK
Festival Tip: Buy a trolley with rubber wheels (puncture proof tyres)
Tent 🏕️
I always recommend doubling the displayed tent capacity. For example – if four of you are sharing, get an 8-person tent. If it rains (really rains), you will have plenty of space to carry on with a ‘tent party’.
Our current tent is the Eurohike Buckingham Elite 8-Person tent. It has lasted us 4 Glastonbury’s and a few other events. Can’t fault it. However, we will be replacing it in 2024.
Festival Tip: Always check the ‘Hydrostatic Head’ when buying a tent. This is the amount of water the material can take before water starts to penetrate the fabric. For Glastonbury, I would recommend a minimum Hydrostatic Head of 3000mm.
Festival Tip: Single-skin tents are useless against rain. In 2024, a couple we were camping with had a Berghaus blow up tent and it was so lush!
Tent Pegs & Mallet 🔨
If your tent is on its 2nd, 3rd, 4th or even 5th outing – get a bag of new tent pegs. They are very easy to bend or lose.
The hot weather can dry the ground out, making it very difficult to get a tent peg in the ground. Invest in a mallet to save yourself some seriously painful hands.
Recommended Links
- Tent Pegs – https://amzn.to/46OzAYu
- Mallet – https://amzn.to/44nA3zs
Festival Tip: Store your mallet deep in your tent bag so security don’t take it off you and it is in easy reach for setting up your tent.
Water Container 🪣
Having a supply of water at your tent will save you countless trips to a water point. Queues can be as long as 30 minutes in the morning to get water. Water at the tent is for more than just drinking. Use water for washing, brushing teeth and cleaning cups, plates etc.
A foldable 10-litre plastic water container is a lightweight item that will fit in any bag.
Recommended Links
• Water Container – https://amzn.to/3ObcRP4
Festival Tip: Fill up your water container at night when the taps are less busy or get up around 7pm for no queues.
Foldable Camping Chairs 🪑
Whether you’re planning to camp in front of the Pyramid Stage all day or need a few hours at your tent, a camping chair is a non-negotiable item. Foldable chairs are light to carry and normally come with a bag and strap.
My chair doesn’t often leave my tent area, but in 2022 I did spend 7 hours at the Pyramid Stage for HAIM, Noel Gallagher and Paul McCartney. The chair was a godsend.
Camping chairs will be available from almost all supermarkets in early June. They cost between £10 and £15 each and will last 4 or 5 years if treated well. I saw a 2 for £16 deal in Tesco for 2024.
Portable Camping Table
A fold-up camping table can be a great addition to your temporary home. Use it inside or outside your tent. A table is very useful for cooking on, just ensure you peg it down to avoid any accidents.
Gas Stove & Kettle 🔥
2023 was the first year I took a gas stove and I can confirm it was a great decision. Every morning I brewed a few kettles full of water for tea & coffee, much to the pleasure of my campmates. I also boiled eggs and cooked beans by heating the tin in water.
A cheap breakfast from a food vendor is about £6.00, and a hot drink is ~£2.50. Over the course of four mornings for four people, that is £136! A DIY breakfast is significantly cheaper.
Festival Tip: The Co-Op (located at the Park Home Ground) sells a good selection of breakfast goods: Sausages, Bacon, Eggs, Beans, Bread, Butter, Tea, Coffee & Milk (Cow and Oat).
Recommended Items:
• Camping Stove – https://amzn.to/44N5lj7
Mugs, Plates & Cutlery 🍽️
If you’re opting to bring a Gas Stove, you’ll want to bring some accessories for cooking, eating and drinking. Camping mugs, plates and cutlery are relatively small items to pack, and you can wash them up with that water container I mentioned earlier. Also, don’t forget a saucepan if you plan on cooking anything.
Festival Tip: Bring a small amount of washing-up liquid in a jar and a sponge for cleaning dishes, mugs and utensils.
Food & Drinks 🍬
The food offering at Glastonbury is incredible. There are over 400 vendors, and you will find almost any cuisine you can think of. You should always eat out when you can.
Food can get expensive, with a meal costing up to £12. The festival does encourage vendors to offer cheaper meals, though. This used to be ‘Food for a Fiver’, but in 2023 it went up to £6.00.
Festival Tip: Never eat at the same vendor twice. Be adventurous!
To save yourself a good chunk of money, here are some food and drink items you should consider bringing with you:
Alcohol
This is the no-brainer choice. Glastonbury has no restriction on alcohol other than the ‘no glass’ rule. You are free to bring in as much as you can carry and take it to any part of the festival. I recommend decanting spirits into 2 litre water bottles.
I bring about 90% of the alcohol I plan to consume with me. The other 10% is cold beer bought from one of the many bars around the site. It’s a delight to have a cold beer when you’ve been drinking warm cans most of the time!
Soft Drinks
If you can manage it, a crate of soft drinks will save you a small fortune. A can of drink will cost you £2.50 from most on-site vendors.
Festival Tip: Remember that the sale of plastic bottles is completely banned at Glastonbury.
The Co-Op sell 6 packs of soft drinks for about £7.00. For comparison – we bought 24 cans of Irn-Bru in 2023 off Amazon for £8.00.
Tent Snacks
Nutri-Grain bars were my go-to at Glastonbury for many years. Having a few small snacks in your tent is great when you haven’t the energy to walk to a Festival Shop.
Festival Tip: Don’t bring anything that might melt. The inside of your tent will be very hot in the middle of the day, even if the temperature outside isn’t.
Tea, Coffee, Sugar and Sweeteners
If you bring a gas stove, you’ll want these items too. Pints of milk and other perishable goods can be bought on-site. You may also consider a small cool box if you can’t finish your perishable items in a day or two. A cool box would also be a great addition for cold beer! The Co-Op sells ice too.
Recommended Items:
Reusable Water Bottle 🚰
Since 2022, Glastonbury has banned the sale of plastic bottles. You can bring plastic with you, but you can’t buy it on-site. It’s also worth noting that you can’t bring any glass on site, which will be confiscated if security finds it.
Having a reusable bottle that you can carry around with you is a great way to keep hydrated and save on the £2.50 it will cost you for a can of soft drink or water.
When you buy your ticket, you will be given the option to purchase a Glastonbury-branded metal water bottle. Whilst these are a good option for the money, I wouldn’t recommend them for repeated use as the plastic seal tends to wear down after a while. Instead, I bought a couple of YETI bottles in 2022 and a drinks holder to go over the shoulder. Both were fantastic purchases.
Recommended Items:
- Yeti Rambler – https://amzn.to/3PTvIzu
- Water Bottle Holder – www.oliverbonas.com
Wellie Boots 🥾
The Glastonbury weather is about as unpredictable as their ticketing system. Bring wellies even if the forecast is sun, sun, sun. You don’t need to buy a pair of Hunter Wellies or other branded boots, just opt for a cheap comfortable pair.
Whilst on the subject of footwear. I recommend you bring a pair of wellies, a comfy pair of trainers that you don’t mind getting dusty and/or muddy and that you can walk all day in, plus a pair of sliders for wearing around your tent and venturing to and from the toilet during the night. Walking boots are also a great choice.
Festival Tip: No one is looking at your feet – choose comfortable over fashionable.
Sleeping Bag 😴
Depending on your cold tolerance, you will want a warm sleeping bag. It can get very cold at night but don’t be fooled as if you sleep too late into the morning, you’ll wake up in a dripping wet, sweaty sleeping back. I recommend getting up early and opening up your tent if you need a couple more hours of sleep in the heat.
Blow Up Bed 🛌
Whilst you could sleep on a roll-mat, a blow-up bed is much more comfortable. Beds are available in single or double sizes. Don’t forget a pump unless your bed has a built-in one.
Festival Tip: An electric pump is a good investment to get your bed inflated in a few minutes – make sure you have spare batteries, as you’ll need to top up the air every day or two. An electric pump can also be more compact than a foot pump and most can deflate as well as inflate.
Pillow
If you can’t live without some extra home comforts, a pillow is a lightweight item to carry. You can also buy blow-up pillows that pack down very small. Some blow-up beds also come with a built-in pillow.
Recommended Items:
• Inflatable Camping Pillow – https://amzn.to/3JVDogN
Toilet Paper 🚽
Whilst the toilets have got a lot better in recent years at Glastonbury, they do not have toilet rolls in them. You’ll need to bring your own. I’d recommend at least 2 rolls per person for the week.
If you do run out, the information point usually gives out rolls for a small donation to charity.
Festival Tip: Take the cardboard out of the toilet roll for easier packing.
Hand Sanitiser 🤲
Most toilet areas do not have running water (although in 2024 more sinks have been added at some toilets). Hand sanitiser is provided at most (if not all toilet sites), but it has usually run out by Friday, with no guarantee of when it will be filled up again.
Keep a little bottle of sanitiser in your bag. More can be bought from the Co-Op on Park Home Ground or any of the ‘Festival Shops’.
Festival Fact: Over 2000 “long drop” toilets and over 1300 compost toilets were installed on the site in 2023.
Sun Cream 🧴
If the sun is shining, get that factor 30+ on for sun protection. My sun cream of choice is P20, as you can apply it in the morning, and it will last all day!
Festival Tip: Free sun cream is provided at festival information points.
Recommended Items:
• P20 Sunscreen – https://amzn.to/3XOauoG
Washcloth, Soap & Dry Hair Shampoo 🧼
Unless you are happy to queue an hour or two for a shower (which I am not), you’ll need to have a ‘body shower’ at your tent. First-time festival attendees will shudder at the thought of not showering for a week, but once you’ve done it once – you’ll have a new appreciation for how well your body copes.
Glastonbury’s website asks attendees not to bring disposable wipes, instead opting for a washcloth and soap. Even plant-based biodegradable wipes release greenhouse gases when they decompose.
Remember that water container we mentioned earlier?
Also, consider bringing a small plastic basin.
I’ll admit that I have brought baby wipes in the past, something I’ll try and change for next year.
Dry hair shampoo works incredibly well to keep your hair looking fresh. I have curly longish hair, and a couple of sprays over the course of the week is all I need. In 2023 the dry weather meant my head had a week-long dust bath. Oddly my hair had never looked better after I’d washed it when I got home.
Does L’Oréal sell dust shampoo? 👩🦱
Festival Tip: Showering at Glastonbury is cheating. 😉
Medicine 💊
Painkillers are a must for the morning after if you plan on staying up all night.
Rehydration tablets for the next morning are a cheat code to get you ready for the next round of fun.
Blister plasters will save your life. Even if you’ve worn your shoes in, you’ll be walking over 20,000 steps a day, bring blister plasters. If you don’t use them, a friend will!
Read Glastonbury’s prescribed medication policy.
Festival Tip: There are several medical tents around the site, familiarise yourself with their location.
Portable Battery 🔋
The mobile phone signal at Glastonbury seems to get better every year. 2023 was the first year I noticed a 5G signal. With this in mind, using your phone to connect with friends has never been easier. You’ll of course, also want to use your phone for photographing the thousands of amazing sights you will see over the course of the weekend.
A portable battery will give you a few extra charges for your phone.
The festival does have one charging tent, which you can pre-purchase a battery for the weekend. You’ll also be able to switch it for a fully charged one when it has run out of juice.
Personally, I prefer to take my own charger. My charger of choice is a 20,000mah battery by Anker.
Recommended Items
• Anker Power Bank – https://amzn.to/46JXlkG
A Torch & Lantern 🔦
Glastonbury is well-lit at night. Strings of lights service all walking routes. Despite this, I always ensure to have a small torch in my bag for toilet trips or finding my way to the tent.
I also bring a lantern to hang in the middle of the tent.
Recommended Items:
• Torch – https://amzn.to/3PVpZJv
• Camping Latern – https://amzn.to/43jBxJP
Handbag, Sling Pouch or Bum Bag 👜
A small bag that you can carry around with you is highly recommended. I have a Sling by Bellroy that holds my money, ticket, hand sanitiser, toilet paper, torch, phone, wallet, water bottle and enough room for a can of beer.
Festival Tip: Never leave valuables in your tent.
Recommended Items:
• Bellroy Lite Sling – https://amzn.to/3XRJOU1
Waterproof Coat & Trousers 🧥
If you are a regular Glastonbury attendee or general camper, you will want to invest in a decent waterproof jacket and trousers. Cheaper versions of these items will not keep you dry in anything more than a light shower.
I bought a Gore-TEX jacket from Berghaus in 2019, which has lasted very well, although we haven’t had a serious shower at Glastonbury for many years now. And long may it continue! 🤲🪵👋🪵👏🪵👐🪵🙌🪵
In 2022 I invested in a pair of Gore-TEX trousers by Berghaus, which I am yet to wear. At least I am well prepared!
Recommended Items:
Noise Cancelling Headphones
I’ll admit that this isn’t on my Glastonbury packing list, but my sister insisted I add noise-cancelling headphones. She would like you all to know that they have been a game-changer for her at Glastonbury and help her get a decent sleep.
Recommended Items:
- Bose QuietComfort 45 – https://amzn.to/3Daisz4 (the latest version of my Sister’s headphones)
- Apple AirPods Pro – https://amzn.to/3Dgp8f3
Bin Bags 🗑️
Bring a couple of bin bags to keep your dirty clothes and underwear in.
You can also use bin bags for non-recyclable rubbish. The festival has many refuse collection points dotted throughout the camping areas. These sites have green bags you can keep at your tent and place all recyclable rubbish in.
And that concludes my essential Glastonbury packing list! I’ve left off specific items of cloths as that is very up to personal preference, my list usually looks like something like this:
- 6 T-Shirts
- 2 Pairs of Trousers
- 9 lots of Underwear
- 2 Pairs of Shorts
- 1 Big Jumper
- 1 Cardigan
Whilst all of these items are great suggestions to add to your Glastonbury packing list, please ensure you only bring things you know you will use (except waterproofs). And the most vital thing you can do is Leave No Trace, take everything home with you, down to the last bent tent peg.
Valuables Lockup 💍
There are several valuables lockups located around Glastonbury. These are free to use and are open 24 hours a day during the festival.
What Not To Bring 🙅♀️
The official Glastonbury website has a list of items you should not bring, these include:
- Disposable vapes
- Gazebos (they take up valuable space)
- Knives (not even camping knives)
- Anything made of glass (except maybe your makeup or deodorant)
- Non-biodegradable body glitter
Click here for a full rundown of recommendations from the official Glastonbury packing list.
For more Glastonbury Tips, visit my Glastonbury Page.