Defqon1 is an unmissable festival experience. I hate camping but I let my good friend Martyn persuade me that half the fun was on the campsite and well, it was his birthday weekend. I’m glad he did! Guerrilla shower tent speedcore raves and gazebo parades meant it lived up to the promise.
We also met so many fun people on the campsite. It’s a right mix of nationalities and it seems to be mostly people who have to fly. On our street we had the awesome Swedish who we realised a little late didn’t all come together. They taught us some card games and shared their local food. We partied all night and I hope to see them all again next year. There were also some German, Finnish and Norwegian. I met some Spanish speaking people around too so I tried to practise speaking with them a little bit but it came out in french or German instead.
Read on for all the details of our travel and stay package…
We compromised on booking a travel and stay package with Q-Dance to make it a bit easier and more comfortable. I’ve had some bad experiences on festival campsites in the UK like waking up in a flooded at Creamfields and being robbed while sleeping at Global Gathering.
I’m never camping at a festival again!
Famous last words from fordy
We opted for the upgrade so the campsite was a little more exclusive, we had something to sleep on and most importantly, we didn’t have to travel with everything from the UK to Netherlands and then put it up after a long day.
Unfortunately we didn’t have the money for the Sanctuary which is like first class glamping I guess. That would make highlands business class. Sanctuary campers can come to our campsite but we can’t go to theirs!
This year, we booked a little late so couldn’t get the Tipi like last year because it was sold out already. We went for another Highlands campground option, the Queen tent, instead but configured for 3 people so that we got a double airbed each. The tent isn’t any bigger so it means less room for your stuff so pack lightly. It was €322 each and the total price didn’t change whether I went for a 2 or 3 person set up.
It also comes with a sleeping bag and the pillow is the airbed so I brought my travel pillow which is perfect for sleeping with noise cancelling ear pods (a necessity at Defqon1). We also got a goodie bag each which was a printed festival towel and free access to the showers. I think it’s 1 token on the other campsites.
The showers were unisex this year which meant you had to try and get dry and dressed in a little cubicle next to the shower. I gave up with this in the heat and started taking cold showers outside which had no queue. The only problem is they are open for everyone in the hot shower queue to see so not much privacy. Oh well. It meant I could dry off in my bikini sat outside the tent while drinking a Stelz 🙂
The toilets are near the showers and they stink when you walk on the path behind them. I felt really sorry for everyone camping nearby in the pre set up weekend warrior tents. There was always a huge queue for the loo from 7am to midday which meant I couldn’t pop for a quick one and nip back to sleep some more.
There’s also an area with sinks for brushing teeth and filling water bottles as well as some slower sinks for washing hands by the loos. There’s guys cleaning up all weekend and it stays really nice. They put in a lot of effort and literally deal with crap all day.
The highlands campground also has a chill out area inaccessible to other campers (except those from sanctuary next door). It’s got a bar, the lockers, and loads of covered seating with charge points. It’s always really popular and you might have to wait for a seat but if you see a spare plug ask nicely and you can use it. Everything charges much slower so I was glad I brought a power bank too.
This time we had to pay for lockers separately. Last year they were included but it wasn’t too expensive. We paid €25 for a regular and it was big enough for our valuables and cans of drinks. It can be purchased in the add on shop around April.
We also got a coach to the festival with Q-dance. You can go straight from Amsterdam Schiphol or from Amsterdam Central. We realised it was easier to do a bit of shopping in central as the train doesn’t take long. We paid €55 each for a return coach. It left really early Monday morning but at least we didn’t miss our flights like last year with all those queues.
The airport coach picked up near the bus station, past the I amsterdam sign. You can get to the central stop by walking underneath the pedestrian subway at the central station and turning right until you get to the road next to a dock. If you get to a Mexican restaurant that sells cocktails under a bridge you’ve gone too far (but there’s a loo here if you’re desperate!). We had to wait four hours for our coach but then we heard the traffic jams were just as bad. By the time we got picked up, just before it started raining 🙂 we sailed right through to the door and there was no more queue.
Last year we stayed in the Tipi Pro and I really recommend them too. In 2020 they sold for €312 each. We got stretch beds, stools and a tiny table as well as pillows and sleeping bags and a locker. The best part was we also had our own electricity supply.
We had to pay €150 deposit for the Tipi and the Queen tent which I got back both times with no fuss. This year they didn’t even check the tent before we left but I took photos just in case.
This year the Highlands campground had moved to where sanctuary was last year and it meant we had a longer walk. But the tipis were closer so that’s another benefit.
I’d also recommend getting Dedicated membership with Q-Dance if you want to book one because then you get access to the pre-sale. They got snapped up so quick!
