Coachella / First Weekend
Palm Springs, CA: June 18 - April 14, 2013

As festivals go, Coachella is about as civilized as a festival can be. Besides the heat (which is stifling until sundown), the grass polo field and water features add to the feeling that you're not so much at a public festival but at a very well organized and exclusive pool party (with 300,000 of your closest friends). The rockstar itinerary requires a hotel room (as opposed to a tent in the adjacent campground), preferably one with a pool: get to bed at 3am, wake up at 11am (because mom always said to get your eight hours), lounge by the hotel pool until 3pm, then head to Coachella at 4pm (thereby beating the heat) -- rinse and repeat daily. Rooms fill up fast -- book now.