Miami bound

If you are flying in, the closest airport to the festival is the Miami International Airport (MIA), which is about a 15 minute drive from Bayfront Park and a 20 minute drive from South Beach. Depending on where you are staying, you are looking at spending about $20 – $40 USD on a cab. Many hotels do offer a free shuttle service between the hotel and the airport though, and public transportation is fairly easy to navigate.

If you are interested in a cheaper flight alternative, look into flying in to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL). Although this airport is a half hour drive away from Bayfront Park and 40 minutes away from South Beach, the airport does provide a shuttle service to South Beach for $21 USD. Plus the amount of money you can save on the ‘inconvenience’ of flying into FLL instead of MIA may just buy you a round of drinks at one of the clubs.

Ultra bound

If you are staying at one of the suggested hotels on the mainland, chances are you can easily two-step your way over to the festival.

Opted on an option in South Beach? While it may only be a 15 minute drive from the festival, hailing a cab will be very challenging so give yourself at least one hour to make your way over and get ready to ruffle your tutu a bit on the bus ride as it is sure to be loaded with fellow Ultranauts. The 103, 119 and 120 will all take you over to the mainland. We recommend taking the 119 from South Beach to the stop at the corner of NE 6th Street and then walking the five minutes to the festival entrance. The 103 will take you directly to Bayfront Park however it does take a bit of a scenic route. The 120 will take you to the bus terminal from where you will need to hop on the MMO light rail towards the park.

Mainland

For those wanting to stay on the mainland, Ultra provides a list of partner hotels for the weekend. The Aloft Miami Brickell is the most economical at $279/night and is only a 30 minute walk from the park. This one is a high in demand option and does sell out quickly. If you’re looking for a shorter walk to the grounds, the Viceroy Miami is a good option.  Room rates start at $349/night and this hotel is located a brisk 10 minute walk from the event. For the Ultranaut who wants to be as conveniently located to the festival as possible, the Holiday Inn Port of Miami-Downtown is literally situated across the street from Bayfront Park. Although this is one of the most expensive hotels on the list, with room rates starting at $439/night, it will only take you as long as a traffic light change to get to the festival.

An alternative to staying in one of the Miami hotels is renting an apartment for the weekend. Many Miami residents will rent out their homes to Ultranauts for the weekend at a fair price. This can be an ideal option if you’re going with a group of people as the apartments available tend to still be centrally located and less expensive than staying in a hotel. Look into this early though as these sell out fast!

South Beach

Want to stay in the party-oriented South Beach? Ultra provides a list of partner hotels for here as well. Although staying in South Beach means a longer trek to and from the festival (about a two hour walk to the festival across the bridge if you dare!), many of the official after parties take place in South Beach. The most economical Ultra hotel to stay at here is the Essex House Hotel. Room rates start at $299/night and includes free breakfast.

South Beach also has plenty of hostels to choose from. Although prices do increase at these accommodations for this weekend, staying in a South Beach hostel is the most economical route and is also allow a great way of meeting other Ultranauts. The Bikini Hostel and the Miami Hostel are a short walk from the beach, shops and nightlife, and closely located to the bus stop that will take you to the mainland. The Miami Hostel also provides free shuttles to the nightclubs. The DecoWalk Hostel is the perfect alternative for those wishing to stay closer to the beach and is within stumbling distance from all the nightlife.

Prohibited and Okayed

To ensure it’s return in 2015, Ultra Music Festival had to make some changes to its rules and regulations. The festival is now an 18+ event, has a clear bag policy, and prohibits climbing trees and poles to gain a better vantage point.

The following items are allowed into the festival
– Hydration packs that are not backpacks and are empty upon arrival… i.e. Camelbaks
– Fanny packs
– Cell phones, non-professional cameras, action cameras
– Sunglasses, hats and earplugs
– Illuminated and/or glowing jewelry or costumes (laser beam pasties anyone?)
– Flags and banners without a hard pole
– Sealed packs of smokes
– Sealed tampons…

But you’re going to want to leave these out of your rave kit
– Illegal substances and paraphernalia
– Weapons and anything flammable
– Outside food and beverages, bottles, cans, flasks, coolers
– Professional cameras and recording equipment
– Backpacks and purses… Strict new rules regarding this
– Stuffed animals, face masks, pacifiers, glow sticks, whistles
– Poles, sticks, or totems… #nomoreselfiesticks
– Toys: balloons, frisbees, inflatable balls, laser pointing devices, water guns, spray bottles, instruments
– Opened packs of smokes or tampons…

Sustenance

Let’s be honest here… Ultra is not known for the food it provides to festival-goers. Little boutique, pop-up food stands that are characteristic of many other festivals don’t make much of an appearance under the laser beam filled Miami sky.

If you do get hungry at the festival though, you are looking at spending about $20 – $40 USD. The Bayside Marketplace however, is located next-door to the festival and provides quick and cheap options like Subway, or sit-down restaurant alternatives. Rather than spending $10 on a hot dog in the festival, you’re better off stopping in at the Marketplace beforehand and filling up on good grub there.

Wobbly-pops

Water is a steep $5 per bottle. Being surrounded by fellow Ultranauts under the hot Miami sun all day make it a hot commodity too. There are water refill stations located throughout the festival so if you don’t want to spend all your money on purchasing this necessity on the grounds, invest in a Camelbak.

The official beer at Ultra is Heineken so expect to drink a lot of it. A regular beer is $8. If you’re not a fan of Heineken, you can also purchase basic high balls for about $12.

A Little Advice

I first attended Ultra Music Festival in 2013. My advice here is based on personal experiences from then but (for the most part) remains pertinent to the festival as it is today.

There is no re-entry into the park! Once you have entered the festival, you are in for the day. Most of the headliners are scheduled to perform later in the evening so prepare your schedule for the day accordingly. I sacrificed seeing some of the earlier acts to ensure that I’d still have the energy to attend some of the later sets.

The Ultra Music Festival app is super useful. It provides a map for the festival, along with a full lineup. You can also customize the lineup for your likes and set up push notifications so that you will be made aware when Steve Aoki is hitting someone with cake in an hour.

Get to know the festival grounds before you get there. Bayfront Park is not the largest venue but it can still get confusing.

KEEP YOUR TICKETS IN A SAFE SPOT. You get the one ticket with three stubs for each day of the festival so do not lose that ticket. If you lose your ticket on the first day you most likely have ruined your chances of getting back into the festival for the rest of the weekend.

The party does not stop once the U stops changing colors… There are so many festival after parties to choose from. Many of which are located in South Beach so accommodation here might be more suitable.

Cabbing after the U has stopped changing colors? Good luck.

Don’t bother with the ATMs at the festival… The service fees and lineups are through the roof so try and plan your spending accordingly. And then bring an extra $30.

For accommodations, I decided to stay as close to the festival as possible at the Holiday Inn right across the street from Bayfront Park. Although I had to spend a couple extra dollars for this spot, the convenience of being a five minute walk from the festival, and not having to worry about how to get home at the end of the event, was pretty awesome. The hotel however only allows entrance to people who present their room key so try and hang on to that.

Ultra is an experience that every raver needs to experience at least once. I loved the experience being an Ultranaut for the weekend and wound up with some super awesome NSFW stories as well. However, from personal experience and research, I would approach the whole weekend completely different the second time around. Ticket prices for the festival are pretty steep. Instead of purchasing a $400+ ticket to Ultra, I would choose to buy tickets to some of the beach parties and after parties, picking and choosing which DJs I am most interested in seeing. Most of the DJs will host one of these parties throughout the weekend and the week leading up to the festival, providing a more intimate experience. While you wouldn’t be attending Ultra and doing Miami as an Ultranaut, you would still be getting an unreal experience and seeing sets being played by your favorite artists.

Miami is expensive. Enlarge your budget.