The Ultra Music Festival Miami Survival Guide

If you live on the opposite end of the continent like I do, a trip to Ultra Miami is going to hurt the bank account. Ultra Miami is held on the last weekend of March, which coincides with spring break for a lot of the country.

Therefore, it is a VERY expensive weekend to travel and an even more expensive weekend to be in Miami.

 

Getting Tickets

I might also mention that tickets for Ultra Miami are ALSO very expensive.

As of 2014, the charges were:

GA ticket: $399.95
Service fee: $90.05
Shipping and handling: $19.95
Total Charge: $509.95

The Canadian Dollar hasn’t been doing very well against the US dollar in recently years, so I ended up paying over $600 CAD for a ticket.

But hey, it gets mailed to your front door and is pretty and holographic. And it’s the original Ultra Music Festival. And new acts like to make their debut there.

Also, due to the high ticket prices (up $100 from the previous year), Ultra did not sell out until the last week so there are chances to make a late decision about attending.

 

Getting To Miami

Unless you have a lot of cash to blow, book your flights early!

Prices go up exponentially the closer it gets to the date and the closer to the weekend you fly out and fly back. I flew out on the Thursday and back on the Monday and spent nearly $1000 CAD on airfare.

If I had been able to fly out on the Wednesday and back on the Tuesday, airfare would have been nearly half  the price, but I was out of vacation days.

(Also note that hotels in Miami are expensive as well, therefore take that into account when choosing your flight dates).

 

Staying In Miami

I mentioned above that hotels in Miami around Ultra weekend are expensive, so try to get rooms with 2 beds and a pull-out couch to share.

My room in Miami was $400 USD a night. When shared with 5 other people, the price becomes relatively acceptable.

Also, note that the festival is held in downtown Miami, which is about a 20 minute drive from South Beach.

I recommend that you stay as close to the festival venue as possible – within walking distance is best. There is no official transportation to and from the venue and once the festival lets out, 50,000 people end up roaming the relatively small downtown area in search of cabs.

It’s taken me an hour to find a cab back to South Beach before. One night, my party and I were even debating simply walking back.

 

Getting Around Miami And To The Festival

Cabs

Like flights to and hotels in Miami, cabs in Miami are also expensive. But they are a quick alternative to taking public transportation and relatively abundant.

However, I might add that due to the sheer number of people who descend upon the city of Ultra, empty cabs are hard to find and sometimes, you literally have to chase them down the street.

It costs about $30 USD to get from South Beach to Bayfront Park where the festival is held.

Private Shuttles

You may also find private shuttles driving around the city picking up festival goers. A large white van pulls up I who look like they are going to the event and ask you if you want to hop on. They charge $10 a person and I found them to be more convenient than cabs.

 

Festival Food

Festival food is, surprise surprise, also expensive!

This is an avocado cheese pasta which was a lot tastier than it looks. It also cost $8 USD.

There is a food court area located between Stage 1, washrooms, and the Main Stage serving all-American dishes as well as some healthier alternatives.

 

Keep Those Electrolytes Up!

Speaking of healthier alternatives to festival food, this is genius.

You may have experienced those hangover days when you are hungry but can’t find the will to eat anything. Bananas and fruit juices are a great alternative to starvation.

Even if you feel fine, it’s good to keep your electrolytes up since you are dancing for 3 days straight in the Miami heat.

 

Festival Merch

Located on the festival grounds is a swanky merch house filled with (also expensive) Ultra merchandise such as shades, blinders, shirts, and other swag.

It’s air-conditioned therefore a good place to go if you are overheating and has its own DJ spinning tunes all day long.

 

Alcohol at Ultra

I spent the entirely of Ultra sober so I can’t say much about the alcohol experience, only that I assume it was expensive like everything else.

If I recall correctly, a local beer costs $8 USD.

And if you are like me, in which any amount of alcohol fills your bladder very quickly, then you risk having to face the dreaded restroom lineups.

 

Restrooms

Ultra is not well-equipped in terms of restrooms.

There are 4 different restroom areas around the festival grounds, all with about 10 different stalls.

50,000 people attend every day. Do the math.

And prepare to wait 30 minutes in line each time you have to go.

Free Wi-Fi

Ultra offers free wi-fi throughout the festival grounds. It worked fine for some people but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get online.

There is also free wi-ifi offered by 7 UP around the Stage 1 area which I managed to hop onto but still found it unreliable.

 

Eat Sleep Rave Repeat

The raver’s mantra “Eat Sleep Rave Repeat” is relatively sound advice so long as you adhere in particular to the first two words.

Eat. Sleep.

Make sure you do both. Your body has physical limitations and there’s only so much you can YOLO before it refuses to YOLO anymore.

 

That’s all for today, kids! Have fun and be safe!