How To Go to Burning Man For The First Time

When / How do I get tickets??

  • First try to find a camp through your existing network that you can join, they usually have a number of tickets pre-allocated each year.
  • Second, bookmark tickets.burningman.org and check for the schedule, typical years sell tickets between February through April.
  • Third, if you fail to get tickets in general sale, you can sign up for their waiting list called STEP.
  • Fourth, get on a Craigslist search (SearchTempest) and hit refresh once tickets start shipping over the summer around July/August. Stay on top of Craigslist in your area
  • Fif, reach out to your network CONSTANTLY and you WILL find a ticket. It is just a matter of HOW MUCH YOU WANT TO GO.

Black market prices jump 2x but BurningMan will invalidate tickets sold above Retail, so you will still be able to find them at cost without scalpers.

How much does it cost to go?

$2500-$3500

This assumes you are tenting/camping. You can RV but is $$$, probably $1k-$3k per person.

Here’s a breakdown:

  • Flights
    • from NYC to SFO ($500) or Reno ($700)
    • from DEN to SFO ($400) or Reno ($700)
    • All flights assume 1 carry-on and 2 checked bags
    • ALTERNATIVE: for my Denverites, Reno is about 1000 miles / 15 hour drive from Denver. You can save some money by renting from Denver Airport and driving to Reno instead of flying. The rental itself will be cheaper, you won’t pay for flights, and Denver companies will be less scrutinizing of playa dust. Car rental cleaning fees are no fucking joke, and may cost more than the rental itself. I DO NOT RECOMMEND BRINGING YOUR OWN VEHICLE. Playa dust gets into fkn EVERYTHING and is so so so hard to get out. Your car will never be the same, even after a Buggy detailing noted below.
  • Burner Express – Bus in / out of Burning Man: $350 (Recommended)
    • Ok but why? They are air conditioned Greyhound buses that will get you directly onto the playa by professional drivers who were not partying all week and/or sleep deprived on your way home. IN ADDITION. The bus SKIPS THE LINE IN AND OUT of the playa!!! For those that know, once you reach gate road it may still take four to TWENTY-FOUR hours to get in. And exodus / to get out? Can also range from five to nine hours just to reach the road. The bus literally takes a secret side road to skip all that, lawdamercy it is a wonderful thing to watch all the plebians in line in your cozy mf bus.
    • Fun fact: if it rains, which it has, they will shut down all roads and traffic for about 24 hours following a good downpour, assuming it stops after an hour. This is to preserve the roads, as playa dust turns into a slippery mudfest.
    • OR
  • Car Rental + Vehicle Pass: Assume $1500 total cost, can be split with friends
    • Vehicle Pass: This will get you inside with your vehicle ($175)
    • Gas: Figure two tanks of gas from Reno as you’ll be sitting in traffic for who knows how long ($75)
    • Cleaning the Car: At Buggy Bath Car Wash in Reno it is ~$250 to get the car detailed. They are burners so they KNOW how to clean playa dust. We’ve never paid a cleaning fee after going to them! ($250)
    • Rental: $800-1200 assuming 9 days intermediate SUV
  • Ticket: $600
  • Hotel Before + After Burning Man: $300
    • So you says “I will be flying directly home from Reno, I don’t need a hotel”. Yes dusty ewok, you will 100% need a hotel. If even to absolutely destroy the shower and towels, you will need to clean yo dusty self off before getting on flights. Other flyers be damned, you will be salivating at the thought of a shower as soon as you reach Reno.
  • Bike / Bike Rental: $200
  • Camp Dues: $400-600
  • Misc: $500-$1000 for first-timers

What Gear Do I Need?

Everything between snacks, alcohol, camping equipment, eyewear, glow gear, accessories, warm clothing. Remember that Burning Man takes place in a desert: Temps range from 100 down to 30. IT SNOWED ONE YEAR (yup).

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Vv0HSXmxZnio1JwsYJbZ5MFitrmnUzX5IRepYAq-R-A/edit?usp=sharing

Your best bet is to find a camp that will provide the basics: Food, Water, Shade structures. Camp dues will range from $4-600 on average, and north of $1000 for plug and play camps. This then leaves you with the packing list above. Not having to worry about bringing in food and water makes it feasible to fly in with two pieces of luggage and a backpack, load up 3-4 people in an SUV and drive in. I have fit a tent and sleeping bag with all of my stuff in those 3 bags, but it is tight and you really need to know what not to bring. This is easier if you are a couple and can split the tent and sleeping mat / bag between you.

To Bike or Not

It is highly recommended to have a bike! To bike from one end of the city to the other will take you a 20-25 minute bike ride. Walking will obviously take you longer.

  1. You can purchase one on Walmart.com and have it shipped to the Reno store for pickup so you’re not picking scraps or a unicorn Huffy made for someone half your age. Just be aware that you may have to assemble it on the playa! I have done it – its not so bad, just ensure you bring a couple tools with you to do so. Generally expect to spend $150-250 for a half decent playa bike.
  2. Playa Bike Repair (PBR) does offer a rental service some years, if the BMOrg allows. There might be a few other camps that offer this if you search around the Googles / Reddit / Facebooks. Through them, you pay the rental fee up front of about $150-250 and the bike will be waiting for you to pick up on the playa! At the end of the week, you drop it off and don’t have to worry about dumping it in Reno somewhere or worse, left on the playa.