Personal transportation plans to the playa (and back out)
How you arrive on the playa and how you get out is a critical part of your Burning Man planning. Your travel plans could be as simple as I live a few hours from the Black Rock Desert, I’m driving my own car, no one else will be in my car, planning complete. For me, I have nine different travel steps to consider and plan for. Nine steps involved in my personal transportation plans to get in and out of Black Rock City.
I typically fly into Reno, which means I am usually car-less, and all the legs of my journey need to be pre-planned, arranged, coordinated and/or paid for.
While your logistics will be unique to you and your travel plans, I’m listing below the legs of my journey I need to arrange for. (My gear-transportation logistics are another matter wholly.) My steps (to jigger your thinking) are —
- Ride to local airport (ride from a family member or friend)
- Flight to Reno Airport (flight reservation)
- Reno airport to Reno hotel (shuttle)
- Errands and food shopping in Reno(Uber, shared car with campmates)
- Reno to the playa (ride with campmates, Burner Express, etc.)
- Exodus – the playa back to Reno and my hotel(ride with campmates, Burner Express, etc.)
- Reno hotel to Reno airport (shuttle from hotel)
- Flight from Reno to home airport. (flight reservation)
- Airport to home (ride from a family member or friend)
Getting my gear from my home to the playa to my camp…oy, vey! That’a a whole different ball of wax!
A note about car rentals
After renting a car one year and getting stuck with the majority of a 10-day car rental, I’m of the “never again” camp, and I do anything I can not to rent a car. I look for rides with campmates and am willing to pay generously for my share in a rental car. Heads up, if you end up renting a car (or are sharing costs), it’s wise to agree to the shared price per seat ahead of time. I recommend that you charge differently for the leg in and leg out. And remember to factor in your Black Rock City vehicle pass cost as well as a full car detail and engine cleaning afterward.
Many legs. Many details.
Airplane Photo by Ian Simmonds on Unsplash