10 ways to save on festivals in 2025

Festival season is in full swing, but the cost of attending can quickly add up. A weekend ticket to Glastonbury is now £378.50 including fees, while Reading and Leeds charge around £325.

If you're planning to go to a festival this summer, it’s not just the ticket you need to budget for. Travel, food and camping gear can all push up the price – but there are ways to keep your spending in check. Here are 10 practical tips to help you save.

1. Save on your festival ticket

Lots of festivals offer early-bird tickets that are cheaper than the general ticket price. However, you’ll often have to secure your ticket up to a year in advance and put down a non-refundable deposit.

If you don’t mind a bit of work, you can sign up to volunteer at a festival and still have time to catch plenty of acts.

Oxfam runs a scheme where you can be a volunteer steward for 17 of its partner festivals, including Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds, Wilderness and Womad.

Volunteers are required to work three eight-hour shifts over the weekend, but they also enjoy free camping and a meal voucher per shift. 

Although applications have now closed for most schemes, it’s worth bearing in mind for next year’s season if you’re interested.

• Find out more: how to get a refund from a ticket seller

2. Plan your travel in advance

You can make big savings by buying your train or coach tickets in advance.

Train

Booking advance single tickets, which typically go on sale 12 weeks before the trip, can save you a lot of money.

You could also consider buying a railcard – it costs no more than £35 a year and could pay for itself with the money you save on your journey to the festival. There are nine types of railcards available, with discounts varying from 33% to 50% off.

If you're paying for train tickets, make sure you get cashback on your purchase. You can use sites such as Top Cashback or Quidco, or a cashback credit or debit card.

• Find out more: best cashback credit cards 2025

Coach

Lots of festivals offer coach packages or a free shuttle from the nearest train station.

Students sometimes get a discount on coach travel - for example, 10% off Megabus with a Totum card.

Alternatively, you may be eligible for a Coachcard with National Express. Similar to a Railcard, this saves you a third on fares, and there are three options available: Young Persons Coachcard, Senior Coachcard and Disabled Coachcard. They cost £15 a year plus £3 for postage and packaging.

Car

If you do end up driving, try to carshare where possible. You should also shop around for the cheapest fuel — generally, larger supermarket chains offer the lowest prices. 

It's worth checking which petrol stations are the cheapest locally before you fill up. Websites such as PetrolPrices.com can help, and some sat nav apps such as Waze display live prices for stations nearby and on your route.

• Find out more: money-saving driving tips

3. Save on camping equipment

See if you can borrow or rent your camping equipment rather than buying new.

Fat Llama enables people to rent out their stuff, so you might snap up a bargain. When we looked, we saw a two-man tent for £7 a day available to collect from London, and camping chairs for £1 a day. 

Decathlon is running a ‘No Tent Left Behind’ initiative this summer: if you buy a tent in-store or online and return it after the festival, you’ll get the full value back as a Decathlon gift card. The scheme is designed to reduce the number of abandoned tents that end up in landfill.

If you do have to buy equipment, make sure you get the best value. We’ve tested the best tents, camping chairs and cool bags.

• Find out more: the 10 best 2025 tents from our tests

4. Don't forget a portable charger

Many festivals have charging stations with secure lockers, but you’ll have to pay to use these. 

We’ve tested the best power banks and portable chargers – which could save you money in the long run. 

You might be able to find free portable charging at a festival. For example, this year Vodafone’s Connect & Charge tent will also offer free phone charging and wi-fi at Glastonbury. However, these often have long queues.

5. Bring your own food and drink

Most outdoor camping festivals allow you to bring your own food, and some may even let you bring alcohol, so it’s worth checking the rules before you travel. 

For example, Glastonbury bars charge ‘London prices’ according to its website, however, the festival allows you to bring alcohol with you as long as it’s not in a glass bottle. 

For food, make sure you shop around for the best price – Aldi has been named the cheapest supermarket by Which? every month in 2025. 

Wherever you choose to shop, see if you can order the food to a supermarket near the festival using click and collect – it may save you lugging it around and means the food will be fresher for longer.

6. Bring your own water bottle

You could be charged anything between £2 and £4 for a bottle or can of water at a festival.

Bring your own bottle to fill up yourself. Many festivals have dedicated drinking water facilities where you can replenish your water. Not only will you save money, but it’s a good way to ensure you stay hydrated throughout the day.

• Find out more: best reusable water bottles

7. Buy festival clothes second-hand

There are plenty of ways you can shop around for festival outfits without spending a fortune.

You could use second-hand platforms such as Depop, eBay and Vinted or more traditional routes such as charity shops and car boot sales.

You could also swap outfits with friends or upcycle older items to give them a new lease of life, for example, customising an old denim jacket. 

For practicality, if you need a raincoat, our experts have reviewed the best waterproof jackets worth the money.

• Find out more: best places to shop second-hand online 

8. Avoid festival ATMs and set a daily budget

Withdraw all the cash you need before getting to the festival, as the ATMs on-site may charge a fee. Some independently operated machines can charge around £3-£5 per transaction, so if you do need to use one, get all your cash at once. 

Do keep your money on you rather than leaving it in the tent. And bear in mind that the festival may be cashless so take your bank card as well.

To help control your festival spending, try setting a daily budget for food, drink and activities and doing your best to stick to it.

If you’re with a group and plan on doing rounds at the bar or splitting transport to get to the festival, it might be worth using a budgeting tool to keep track. Splitwise is a free tool for friends to track bills and other shared expenses, so everyone gets paid back what they’re owed.

• Find out more: best budgeting apps 2025

9. Recycle paper cups

Many festivals have a scheme where you pay a small deposit on the cup when you buy a drink at the bar, which you get back when you return the cup. So if any fellow festivalgoers have ditched their cups, collect them up and cash in the deposit for yourself. 

For example, at Latitude Festival, you’ll pay a 10p deposit on each paper cup, bottle or can bought in the arena – return at least five and you’ll get 50p back on your card.

10. Protect your valuables

If you do need to take a laptop, camera, or portable speaker, a travel insurance policy can protect your valuables for trips in the UK and abroad against loss or theft. this means it could cover you at the festivals you plan to attend.

To avoid any issues if you do need to make a claim, make sure you keep valuables on you and don’t leave them unattended.

The festival you’re attending might also have a locker facility to rent.

• Find out more: best travel insurance 2025

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The article was first published in June 2024 and was last updated in June 2025