Top 9 Things to Know Before Tomorrowland Winter

Tomorrowland Winter is epic. The mountain stages are unlike anything else you can find on this planet. Planning for Tomorrowland is not the easiest thing in the world. As someone who has now planned multiple Tomorrowland group trips, here are some things that you have to know before going:

1. You MUST stay in the village of Alpe d’Huez

The mountain, Alpe d’Huez is comprised of a handful of towns – Huez, Vaujany, Oz-en-Oisans, and Auris-en-Oisans. All of these towns have ski lift access to Alpe d’Huez. However, the last lifts end around 6pm. So, you will be good to go for the mountain stages, but you are at the mercy of taxis or a DD for the night-time stages. Make sure that you stay in Huez.

Stay within the yellow circle

2. Find an accommodation in Alpe d'Huez via Tomorrowland or property management companies

Airbnb’s are very limited in Alpe d'Huez. By very limited, I mean there are less than 5. I was booking our place 9 months out from the festival, and there were less than 5 options. Yes, I checked VRBO also.

To ensure that you are staying in Huez, you have two options:

• Book an accommodation package through Tomorrowland.

  • Simplicity is a benefit of booking a package through Tomorrowland. Tomorrowland is incredibly organized and their package deals can make it easy for first timers.

  • There are two primary downsides to the Tomorrowland packages. Pricing is slightly elevated in comparison to the local companies. More importantly for us, a group of 10, was that there were limited big group accommodations.

• Book an accommodation with local property management companies.

  • We used Alpes Locations Vacances, a local property management company, to book our accommodation. We were able to get a place that slept 10 people for a week for under $2500. Yes, there may have only been one toilet, but it did the job. Pricing & large group options are definitely a plus with these companies.

  • These local businesses lack some of the common creature comforts that travelers from the US expect. There is not a log-in portal, you have to pay via international wire, there was no wifi, and linens were extra.

  • This is the best path for group travelers.

View from our apartment

3. Tomorrowland uses pearls as currency

   
   

If you have never been to a Tomorrowland, you may have no idea what I am talking about. The pearl system is great. You can upload ‘pearls’ to your Tomorrowland bracelet & never have to bring your wallet anywhere. The exchange rate for Euro’s to Pearls is 2.77/1. A bud heavy was 2 pearls.

One thing to be wary of is that pearls are the singular currency – you cannot use your card to buy things within the festival grounds.

A fair warning – pearls can lead to excessive spending. One member of our group showed the bartender her bracelet, asked “what can this get me”, and next thing we knew, she had 0 pearls & a 1.5L bottle of Rose. She got placed on a 24 hours pearl ‘cooldown.’

4. The mountain stages are awesome

Our year, there were three mountain stages – Amare, Frozen Lotus, and Reflection of Love.

In my opinion, this is what makes Tomorrowland unlike anything else in the world.

All of the mountain stages are accessible via gondolas. So, if you have non-skiers in your group, they are easily able to access the stages.

Another option for the non-skiers is to attend Camp Calvin. Camp Calvin is good for beginners to learn to ski. Our group had mixed reviews for Camp Calvin as the primary instructor was sometimes seen holding 7 Budweiser’s at the stages prior to mountain lessons.

5. Not a trip for the lactose intolerant

The French Alps are known for their hearty, cheese-filled cuisine, and Alpe d’Huez is no exception. After a long day of dancing on the mountain stages, nothing hits quite like a fondue Savoyarde, a bubbling pot of melted cheese served with chunks of fresh bread. Or, if you want something even heavier, raclette—where a giant wheel of cheese is melted and scraped onto potatoes, charcuterie, and pickles—is a must. And let’s not forget tartiflette, a rich combination of Reblochon cheese, potatoes, lardons, and onions that is quite tasty.

One of the lactose intolerant

6. Don’t expect to hop on the decks at Tomorrowland

One evening, my wife, and the owner of this blog, decided to try and get myself and my brother-in-law on the decks at a Tomorrowland cocktail bar.

She worked her way up the chain of command. From barback, to bartender, and all the way to the head of food and beverage.

When she had made it that far, we thought it was serious. Another perk of staying in the village, is that if you need to leave the festival to get a jumpdrive to hop on the decks, you can do so quickly. Some people are saying they saw two guys with pashminas on their heads running through the village of Alpe d’Huez saying they were about to play at Tomorrowland.

Despite valiant efforts, we were unable to hop on the decks. If you know anyone in the TML artists division, lmk.

7. Weather is incredibly important

We were blessed with snow before we arrived, and sunny days while the festival was going on. Basically the entire mountain was open, with decent snowcover. The days called for t-shirt skiing, which was absolutely awesome.

We had talked with some past Tomorrowland-Winer-goers, who had said the previous year was rough. Limited snowcover led to poor vibes & the mountain stages being overly crowded.

On our last night, we had a wintery mix, making the Core stage in the town basically empty, apart from us. We toughed it out. It was cold. I was shirtless. It was worth it. I guess the European festivalgoers can’t handle weather like us Americans who have experience camping through torrential downpours & extreme heat.

8. Reddit is your friend when it comes to additional research

There is a guide for Tomorrowland Winter on r/Tomorrowland. Included in the guide are ticket types, sale dates, prices, and more frequently asked questions.

If you cut through the general cynicism about life of redditors, you can find great information to share with your group.

Here is a link to the reddit guide.

9. Tomorrowland Winter is not Tomorrowland Belgium

   
   

Comparing Tomorrowland Winter and Tomorrowland Belgium is comparing apples to oranges.

Belgium has massive stages, more diversity of music, camping, and is clearly one of the top festivals in the world.

There is something about being in the mountains, snowboarding to your stages, drinking alt-beers, and raving to Dutch-polka remixes at Moosebar that makes Tomorrowland Winter special.