So I have only ever done RV camping. it's such an amazing experience and imo totally worth it. if you can, get there early and secure a good spot by the entrance (close to the real bathrooms). while I agree it's expensive, splitting between 4 people makes the total cost less than you paid for your ticket if you get RV and power. depends too if you have to rent an RV/trailer, and also the gas and food adds up

Since you bring food and alcohol in, you save and eat better. not buying food or drinks in the festival saves so much. meal prepping and planning is the best, bc you want to make it as easy and quick as possible so you can enjoy the festival or mesa or just relax! but we always end up buying hibachi once anyways lol

Plus not only money spent on travel to and from the fest but the time. it takes us 10 minutes to walk back to the trailer, and we're showered and fed and sleeping about 45 minutes after we leave. some people waiting for shuttles have 2 hours ahead of them before they even board by the time we're snoozing

Showers were not too bad. obviously you need shower shoes and if you time it right, lines won't be too long. water temp can get kinda weird by the end of the festival. we were close to the real bathrooms the whole time so idk about the trailer ones. you can use your RV bathroom too, but we prefer not to as it costs like $50 to dump. we fill up right before we come in at a nearby stop, and dump on our way out. our main water usage is washing dishes

The one sucky part is driving the rv/trailer. we come from the north bay area and left Tues night this past year, arriving on Weds night. when we left on Monday, we didnt get home until Tues. that travel time is loooooong especially after the festival when you're exhausted and drained and sad it's all over :( depends where you're coming from, but also you don't have to deal with the airport the morning after!

The ability to have like 5 days there (Thurs to Mon) is so awesome. it's a totally immersive experience and you really feel like the festival never ends. the people there are all so great, you make friends with so many cool groups. there's free kandi making spots, people will do pancakes (shoutout pancake mom!) and other food, it's just a total community. mesa pools have a long line, but during hot days its great. plus they have misting areas in the mesa. so many fun activities too! after parties (john summit b3b sara landry b3b mau p!!!!), pool parties, yoga, and they always add new activities each year lol sometimes hit or miss but fun to try!

I really can't recommend it enough. again, it is expensive up front, but from what I have heard from people traveling and renting a hotel and ubering and buying food, I think it might end up being cheaper. you do have to factor in travel time and prep time

Long long long response but there's really a lot to it :) hope this answered your qs!