Top money-saving tips for festival goers

Festival season is hotting up, so if you're planning to attend any festivals this summer but want to keep down your costs, here's everything you need to know...

If you're ready to put on your welly boots and sunglasses and head off to one of the many summer festivals this year, here's everything you need to know to ensure you have the best time possible...

Insurance check

It might sound dull, but the very first thing you need to think about is insurance. After all, it's highly likely you'll be taking a rucksack full of personal possessions - but will you be adequately covered?

Before you set off, take a proper look at your home contents insurance policy to see how much cover you have and what it covers you for. Standard home contents insurance generally only provides cover while you're in the home. So if you're taking valuable items to the festival and they're stolen, you won't be covered.

If you're not sufficiently covered - and don't just assume you are - it's worth taking out personal belongings insurance as an 'add-on' to your home contents policy. This will usually only set you back around £15 to £20 - a price well worth paying to have peace of mind.

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Most insurers will also only cover you for single items up to a certain limit - typically, £1,500. So if you're planning to bring an item that's worth more than this limit, it's important you notify your insurer before you go. That way, you've covered all bases.

It's also a good idea to check with your insurer whether your tent and other camping equipment will be covered. Some insurers will automatically include this as part of your personal belongings insurance, but others won't. So find out exactly what will be covered before you go. And if you need to add camping equipment to your policy separately, do so.

One other point worth noting is that if you already have a travel insurance policy in place, it may in fact cover you and your possessions in the UK. So give your insurer a ring to find out and check exactly what will be covered when. Some policies may cover you, while others won't.

Essentials only

Before you set off, have a serious think about which items you need to take with you. Do you really need your iPod? Is it really necessary to bring your laptop? Leave as many valuable items at home as possible and only bring the bare minimum.

When you get to the festival and set up camp, be careful where you leave your stuff. Do you really want to leave your belongings lying around in your tent while you head off to enjoy yourself? Leaving your possessions in your tent could jeopardise your insurance claim if you find they've been stolen because your insurer won't believe you've looked after your possessions with 'reasonable' care.

You could look into getting a padlock for your tent, but the problem with this is that it can attract thieves as it highlights you've got something worth stealing inside. So if you really must bring certain valuables with you, a much better option is to make use of the 24 hour lockers if there are any - even if this means paying a small fee.

Not only will your valuables be safer, but you're more likely to have a successful insurance claim should the worst happen. Alternatively, if you have access to your car, you could lock your stuff away in the car boot.

Finally, it's also a good idea to mark your valuables with a UV pen, so that if you lose them and someone hands them in, you can easily get them back.

Thifty thinking

To cut the cost of getting to and from the festival, why not car share and divide up the cost of the petrol? On the other hand, if you're travelling by coach or train, it's worth booking early to get the best deals. National Express and biggreencoach.co.uk are both worth checking out for cheap travel. Biggreencoach.co.uk will take you right to the door of selected festivals.

You can also save money by bringing your own alcohol along - although be warned that many festivals will not allow you to have glass bottles, so you may want to switch to plastic. Similarly, it can help if you bring your own food so that you don't have to buy more than one or two meals each day. Cereal bars can be useful for breakfast, while crisps and biscuits are handy snacks in case you get peckish.

Don't carry around too much money with you - only take what you need. Many festivals will have ATMs on site, but you're likely to have to pay a fee to use them, as well as queue. That said, you may be better off paying this fee and only taking out the cash you need, rather than carrying around a wallet full of cash which could easily get lost/stolen.

It's also worth doing a thorough wallet clean-out before you go, removing anything you don't need, such as store cards, your driving licence, and old receipts. Only take one bank card and keep it separate from your cash.

Finally, don't forget...

• Loo roll
• Suncream and hat
• Baby wipes
• Wellies
• Bin bags
• Sleeping bag
• Bottled water
• Torch
• A fleece/waterproof jacket

This is a classic article that has been updated for 2011.

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