Be prepared, be safe, be hydrated

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is held on the lush expanse of the Empire Polo Field, but it’s no walk in the park. Some tips for surviving:

The jam

Indio is not a big town. Coachella draws a lot of people, and they usually arrive in cars. No matter how you add up those factors, the result is traffic snarls. This year the promoters and venue worked with local officials to find some relief. The big change is that the local roads linking the freeway to the polo fields will be switched to one-way streets to free up lanes for the tide of cars before and after the shows. “It’ll be great,” promoter Paul Tollett promises. “Well, don’t say it will be great. It will be better.”

The lot

The parking lots are infamous. When you arrive, everything is sunny and fine, but at the end of the night the lots are transformed into Bermuda rectangles. This year, hot-air balloons will mark grids in the vast lots, and event staffers will guide drivers into spaces that will have them facing the exits, so the end-of-the-night derby should go smoother. Also, the promoters have rented more land to thin things out.

The bill

There are no two-day tickets left, but as of Wednesday there were one-day admissions for $81. (Parking lots and the box office open at 9 a.m. each day; gates at 11 a.m.) Inside, there will be an array of food -- the usual parade of hot dogs, burgers, pizza, barbecue, Chinese, Mexican, plus veggie options -- and most meals cost between $6 and $10. Water is $2 a bottle. Parking is free, as it has been every year. There have been cases of illicit entrepreneurs who act like parking attendants and try to collect $10 from unsuspecting fans. Do not pay them. And if someone identifies themselves as a valet? That’s a lie too.

Yes, yes, yes

The quick list of things you can bring with you to the show: backpacks (no bigger than 20 inches tall, 15 inches wide and 9 inches thick), hats, lip balm, sunglasses, sun block, lighters, cigarettes, beach towels, fanny packs, walkie-talkies, still-photo cameras (nonprofessional). If you have a medication necessity, such as insulin (and the proper prescription and ID), security can guide you to the medical tent for storage.

No, no, no

Items that will not be allowed at Coachella: umbrellas, pets, food or drinks from outside, tents, chairs, blankets, camel packs, drugs, drug paraphernalia, weapons, chains, chain wallets, stuffed animals, flags, bota bags, video cameras and audio recording devices. It can be a long walk back to the car, and there are no lockers available. There will be undercover police officers. And no, they won’t all be middle-aged guys with mustaches and Hawaiian shirts.

Temp work

The forecast calls for highs in the mid-80s. That’s almost frosty compared with the past, but don’t underestimate the toll of spending 10 hours grooving under the sun. Each year, heat exhaustion overwhelms some fans, especially in the swelter of the dance tents. Be sure to hydrate and eat well, and avail yourself of the drinking fountains and fans. The dry conditions and dust are rough on the eyes too, so consider eye drops. And think about wearing layers -- when the sun goes down, the lawn cools quite a bit. Night temperatures are forecast in the low 60s.

Flush with cash

There are ATMs, but the lines can get deep, and by night’s end a lot of the machines are flat out. Bring money with you to save time. You might also want to bring valuable paper of another sort -- the toilet paper in the bathrooms can be hard to find as the night wears on.

Happy campers

On-site camping is on a lawn by the main entrance and costs $35 per person for all three nights. Space is limited, so buy early. If you have a tent, you have to go to the campground first anyway -- tents won’t be allowed in the venue proper. Reserved parking for campers is in Lot 3C. To reduce traffic, the promoters have prizes for early birds in line by 8 p.m. Friday for a spot assignment. You must be 18 or older to camp, so have ID. As for RVs: Leave them at home; there are no spots.

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Final notes

Commodore Perry: The elder statesman of Coachella performers is Perry Farrell. The Jane’s Addiction singer is back, this time in his spinning mode as DJ Peretz (it’s his Hebrew name). That makes him the only person who’s played every Coachella.

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The beats go on: It’s one of the deeper years for underground hip-hop, with M.I.A., Jean Grae, Roots Manuva, the Perceptionists and more. One reason may be the receding electronic dance scene; the DJs remain a core presence but have given up some slots to their rhyming turntable cousins.

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The Brits are coming: We can’t speak for mad dogs, but the Englishmen will be out in the sun this year. From the new (Kasabian, Snow Patrol) to the old (New Order, Bauhaus), there will be more than two dozen British acts.

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-- Geoff Boucher