Tomorrowland; Itinari’s checklist & festival guide

Before moving to Belgium and thriving into its culture, I would tell you that the only thing that came instantly to mind when someone mentioned “Belgium” was Tomorrowland. What’s Belgium famous for after all? Is it its delicious fries? Its waffles & chocolates? Its history? Its national football team? Its cosmopolitan and multicultural population? Well sure…, all these things! But if you go ahead and ask someone outside Europe what’s Belgium famous for, the answer would most likely be “Tomorrowland”.

Tomorrowland Festival

PRC de Schorre, Schommelei, 2850 Boom, Βέλγιο

Let’s suppose that you are one of the lucky ones and that you’ve managed to get a ticket on time. As mentioned previously, the past 3 years the festival’s passes sell out in 35 minutes, so if you got one yeah, you should consider yourself nothing more but LUCKY! What’s the next step after buying those precious tickets? What should you know before going to Tomorrowland, and what’s to keep in mind?

The list that follows will tell you everything you need to know about Tomorrowland in the best possible way. (well, at least I’ll try)

Packing - the "lucky" 13 things that shouldn't be forgotten

It’s time to get packing for Europe’s biggest festival. What should you bring? Well, let’s start first with some basics. Considering that you’ve chosen to stay in the DreamVille, I’d suggest you copying the checklist that follows in your agenda; it was incredibly useful to me! (actually it is applicable to any kind of summer festivals including camping, so in general just save that list).

1) Tent, pillows, air mattress, blankets 2) Lantern / Flashlight 3) Trash bags 4) Toiletry bag for showering - it’s really comfy to have all your showering stuff in one place trust me! 5) Bath Towel 6) Hand held mirror (ladies you’ll appreciate it after seeing the first queue in the bathrooms) 7) Mouthwash (for when the bathroom is too far away) 8) Portable chargers and adaptors (especially if you’re not from Europe!) 9) Hand sanitisers and wet wipes 10) Sunscreen - yes, it can get hot so you don’t wanna get sunburnt during the festival 11) Ponchos and umbrellas- yes, remember you’re still in Belgium so it’s probably gonna rain, even if it’s hot. 12) Comfy clothes, and a long-sleeve sweater 13) Alcohol- yes, you can enter with it at least at the camping area, and it’s always cheaper to buy it outside the festival’s premises! BONUS; Your national flag! It looks cool in the pictures, plus it’s a conversation ice-breaker for making new international friends!

Getting there- All roads lead to Rome, or in this case to Tomorrowland!

If you are landing in Belgium during the festival week, then I can assure you that you’ll easily find your way to the venue. There are Tomorrowland help desks at every step, in each Belgian city and you can find them even inside the airports. At the same time, there are multiple shuttle buses taking you straight to Boom. Trains & buses are also going to Tomorrowland, while new routes are being added just for the festival week! Last but not least… everyone in Belgium speaks english! No need to worry about getting lost!

Tomorrowland’s currency system

In fact, like most European festivals, Tomorrowland has its own currency. Not only at the festival but also at the DreamVille everything works with Tomorrowland tokens. Make sure you buy plenty of those upon your arrival, so that you avoid the long queues later on!

Explore all the stages!

Keep in mind that there are way more stages besides the main one. Tomorrowland has a gazillion stages, where popular and not so much, incredibly talented artists are performing throughout the day! Grab a schedule, walk around and explore as many stages as possible!

You’re gonna get dirty accept it!

After all you’re in a summer festival living for a few days with thousands of people, who just came for the same reason you did. To relax, to enjoy and to party hard. Yes, there gonna be queues in the bathrooms and the showers, yes it’s gonna be raining and you’ll get wet and muddy, and yes people get drunk - with all the consequences that follow. Brace yourself, eat sleep, rave, repeat!

The after-Tomorrowland life

You checked where's Belgium on the map only when you needed to book your tickets to the festival. Now that you’re there…isn’t it the perfect opportunity to explore the area? Brussels, Antwerp, Mons, Brugge, Ghent etc, are all awesome cities to spend a few days at after the festival, to try some Belgian delicacies, to drink Belgian beers and to eat Belgian waffles! If that’s not a lifetime experience…then what is!?