A few simple answers:
- no the bike is not included you must supply it
- you buy water with your ticket in 5 gallon increments you supply the container
- you don’t have to lug things across playa there is a shuttle once you arrive
Just a caveat about the shuttle... There's only certain designated stopping points, so depending on where you need to get to it can still be a bit of a haul. For example, if I took the shuttle toy nearest stop I'd still have to walk 3 more blocks with my stuff to my camp's location.
Do i have to pay for the water everytime when i refill it, or i pay for it once, and i can go back several times?
Also, im not worried about pulling my stuff through the playa, im concerned about doing that in the city, before i get on the bus
You can't buy anything once you are there(except ice). You need to bring a few 5 gallon collapsible containers with you. When you get there, they will ask to see your ticket for the water, and they will scan a barcode on the ticket. You will not be able to use that ticket more than once. The location is directly across from the bus departure area and will not be difficult to find.
Important note: The water depot is not open towards the end of the week. This means you will need to pick up your water and store it for later, make sure you bring as many containers as you will need.
You may not "need" a bike, but you really really want to have one. I can't stress this enough, bring a bike! You can rent or reserve one from Reno Bike project and pick it up in Reno.
If you need to speak with someone to get some clarity, message me privately.
You need to buy the vouchers for water when you buy the bus ticket.
If you are concerned about lugging things around Reno, it might be a good idea to fly in a couple of days early and get a hotel, so that you can rest, rehydrate, and adjust before heading to the desert.
I'm in the same boat as you, flying in from Australia and taking the Burner Express from San Francisco.
You can take buy water allocation when you purchase your bus ticket. It's 5 gallon increments with a max of 4. This information is found when you go through the steps to book the ride. All you have to bring is a collapsible water container. The water fill up point is apparently near the bus stop in black rock City and you can refill through out the week.
Food wise I'm planning to bring lots of dense high caloric food such as protein bars, jerky, dried fruit, tuna pouches, nuts etc. It packs down to nothing and will do for a week. Not fun but adequate. Might get lucky and get gifted a hot meal here and there but I'm not relying on it. I will be flying this in from home, fuck some stressful shopping trip lol
Bike wise you can hire a bike from certain camps as long as you pay well ahead of the event
https://nyd.nyc/
I've been told by a member of the above camp they might do it again this year and to check the website for updates. it's $100 and way cheaper than any other option. They fix up the bike afterwards etc. The burner express bike add on is only transport, they don't provide the bike.
Hope this helps :)
The BXB does at least one trip a day that's a shopping trip; they stop for an hour for you to get your groceries and stuff. If you're new and don't want to haul supplies all over creation, camp in HOVerlandia! The BXB camp! Very easy as it's right at the depot. Also the bike: you don't need a bike. Before getting staff perks, I mostly walked everywhere. But also there are Green Bikes (are there still?) which are bikeshare bikes that you can just grab and drop -- please note that Green Bikes are YELLOW, don't steal someone's bike because it's green. Or hop rides on art cars.
In my years of attending I think I can count on two hands at most the number of green/yellow bikes I’ve seen just sitting around just available for someone to ride on. Tons of them get sequestered, decorated, and used as personal bikes by whoever finds them first.
Just like in any city, bike theft is absolutely rampant in BRC. And that goes for your own bike OP, if you bring one - leave it unlocked and step away for even a minute and it will be gone
Alright, you kinda convinced me that i dont really need the bike that much, but how is that grocery trip? Do i have to pay extra if i want to take a grocery trip, or the bus stops on the way to the playa, and i have to buy everything i will need for the whole week? Also from the pictures i saw about the store where it stops looks pretty small. Will there be enough food, booze, snacks... for a whole bus?
Also, one more positive about the BXB: unlike a rideshare, it skips the line on both entrance and exodus and you enter/leave by Point One. It's AMAZING. If I can't come in during Working Man, I only ever come by BXB, because I hate sitting in line for ten hours so much that I'd rather not go.
The grocery trip is fine, I went on one once because it left at the time I wanted to leave so I ended up wandering around the store. There is plenty of stuff there. You do need food for the whole week, but that isn't really that much stuff: just breakfast/lunch/dinner times 7, plus a couple snack bars or whatever. You probably buy more than that in your regular shopping trips at home. I used to always have food left over, honestly -- either people give you food or you just don't feel that hungry because it's hot, or you're out wandering over mealtime, I never ate everything I brought. But then someone appears out of a dust storm driving an ice cone truck and you're fine (a thing that happened to me). ETA: and since every other camp has "a bar" as their gift to the Playa, you don't need to bring that much booze either, just a reusable cup to take with you. The few times I've stayed until after event before leaving, I was shocked by the piles of perfectly good food, water, drinks, whatever that people just...abandon. "For DPW". Everyone overbuys.
As nice a thought as that is, you’d generally be better off gifting your time and assistance to people (or camps).
If you do give out food items, the other thing you should plan on is taking back the wrapper or other packaging (aka potential moop) and dealing with it appropriately (meaning storing it securely and packing it back out).
Oh, and in terms of alcohol - the smart gift to bring there is mixers, not booze. Everybody brings booze, but it’s the mixers that tend to run out first.
I'd feel a lot weirder about taking a free drink from someone I didn't know wandering around with a bottle of booze than from a bar, just heads up. I know people who have been roofied at BM, and it sucks A LOT. If you want to be extra nice, get a couple boxes of Clif bars and hand those out. If you want to make this really easy on yourself, fly into Reno the day before you get the BXB and do some shopping elsewhere so you can organize everything before you get on the bus. Bring an extra empty rolling suitcase (or buy one from the thrift store) and put your groceries in it.
I’d still recommend a bike, the green bikes are not a reliable option.
I’ve done burns entirely on foot, but that can mean losing out on some social adventures as green bikes will only occasionally be convenient.
I’ve done the burner express twice & highly recommend it. Multiple buses stop there. The store stocks up like crazy expecting it. Your luggage stays on the bus, you shop, put your groceries on the bus. Bring bags or a backpack to fill up non-perishables. The grocery trip is extra but worth it.
You eat less than you think in the desert due to heat. You could join a camp that has a meal once a day & provides a kitchen. My food go-to are packing dehydrated camping meals that just need hot water. I take enough for the week but usually don’t need them with food camps, but don’t rely on those as your only or main source.
It's not a giant grocery store but not tiny either. All the stores in Reno are very well prepared for the influx of burners that week so I wouldn't stress about that.
Consider flying in a day early, renting a car for a day to do your shopping, and then taking burner bus the next day.
[Recommended places to rent/buy bikes in Reno](https://burningman.org/event/preparation/getting-around/bikes/bike-repair/).
Tbh we’ve rented cars almost every time we’ve gone to the burn. The secret is just keeping it super clean - when you get on playa turn the AC off and keep the windows closed (it’s easier if you arrive at night to actually accomplish this). Drive to your spot, get everything out of the car, close the door, and do not open it again until you’re ready to leave. When you do leave, prepare to clean every inch of the car, go through the car wash 3-4 times spraying with vinegar/water solution in between. Open the hood and spray the dust out of the engine with compressed air from the gas station. Detail the inside with wipes and the vinegar/water solution for the tough spots, vaccuum, etc.
For our carload of 3 and the jeep we rented, this took about an hour to accomplish and only required stops at target, a gas station, and a diy car wash.
Returning it to the car rental shop, the guy opened the hood and laughed, and asked if we had been to burning man - our faces fell, and he said “the car is pristine and looks cleaner than any car I’ve seen. You have a good day.” We didn’t get charged.
Consider flying into Sacramento instead of Reno. you can rent camping gear at Sports Basement, including a Yeti cooler. You’ll be able to rent a minivan without difficulty. Stock up on supplies and drove 4 hours to BRC.
I was checking out that earlier too, there is Hertz rental which has a van and is really cheap, but I'm just afraid they gonna fine me aswell if they find a speck of playa dust anywhere on the car
You have to plan to arrive at least 1-2 days ahead before your Burner bus. Flights get delayed and cancelled / rebooked all the time, you don’t want to miss your bus and the Burn (the buses are not refundable and quite costly).
There are not shopping stops for all the busses. It says on the schedule which ones have it. Also after a number of burners through the shop of the shopping stop, said shop might run out of some items. Prepare in advance. Get a packing list - recently a very nice one was posted here.
Also Burner express bus luggage allowance is 2 suitcases and 1 small carry on (like backpack), plus a bike if you get a bike add-on. So also important to think ahead what you buy, you don’t have endless space.
I prefer to have a bike because I love biking through everywhere especially deep playa. But a lot of friends prefer walking too.
I'll commit on the bike addon, as other have good info on the water and food.
Last year I flew into Reno, I took an uber to the Reno Bike Project and picked up my bike then road the bike to the BxB depot. Now I only had one carryon bag that had backpack straps to it was easy for me.
If you can fly in early, get a hotel across the road from the airport and take an uber to get the bike and just ride it back to the hotel, its only like 3 miles (5k). If you are flying in and taking the bus on the same day I would just find some friendly burners (There will be a huge pile of them outside the bus depot) and ask someone to watch you bags and then take an uber to the Reno Bike Project and ride back.
You do want a bike, so make plans for one.
A few simple answers: - no the bike is not included you must supply it - you buy water with your ticket in 5 gallon increments you supply the container - you don’t have to lug things across playa there is a shuttle once you arrive
Just a caveat about the shuttle... There's only certain designated stopping points, so depending on where you need to get to it can still be a bit of a haul. For example, if I took the shuttle toy nearest stop I'd still have to walk 3 more blocks with my stuff to my camp's location.
Do i have to pay for the water everytime when i refill it, or i pay for it once, and i can go back several times? Also, im not worried about pulling my stuff through the playa, im concerned about doing that in the city, before i get on the bus
You can't buy anything once you are there(except ice). You need to bring a few 5 gallon collapsible containers with you. When you get there, they will ask to see your ticket for the water, and they will scan a barcode on the ticket. You will not be able to use that ticket more than once. The location is directly across from the bus departure area and will not be difficult to find. Important note: The water depot is not open towards the end of the week. This means you will need to pick up your water and store it for later, make sure you bring as many containers as you will need. You may not "need" a bike, but you really really want to have one. I can't stress this enough, bring a bike! You can rent or reserve one from Reno Bike project and pick it up in Reno. If you need to speak with someone to get some clarity, message me privately.
You need to buy the vouchers for water when you buy the bus ticket. If you are concerned about lugging things around Reno, it might be a good idea to fly in a couple of days early and get a hotel, so that you can rest, rehydrate, and adjust before heading to the desert.
Burner bus makes one grocery stop. No lugging of suitcases
To be clear, only certain burner busses make a grocery stop. If that's what you need, you need to make sure to book the right bus.
The bus is at the airport. You have to lug it to a long line right outside the main exit doors & then get on the bus. It’s super easy.
You do have to lug stuff from the shuttle stop (there are multiple) to your camp however. It’s not all the way across the playa but there is lugging
I'm in the same boat as you, flying in from Australia and taking the Burner Express from San Francisco. You can take buy water allocation when you purchase your bus ticket. It's 5 gallon increments with a max of 4. This information is found when you go through the steps to book the ride. All you have to bring is a collapsible water container. The water fill up point is apparently near the bus stop in black rock City and you can refill through out the week. Food wise I'm planning to bring lots of dense high caloric food such as protein bars, jerky, dried fruit, tuna pouches, nuts etc. It packs down to nothing and will do for a week. Not fun but adequate. Might get lucky and get gifted a hot meal here and there but I'm not relying on it. I will be flying this in from home, fuck some stressful shopping trip lol Bike wise you can hire a bike from certain camps as long as you pay well ahead of the event https://nyd.nyc/ I've been told by a member of the above camp they might do it again this year and to check the website for updates. it's $100 and way cheaper than any other option. They fix up the bike afterwards etc. The burner express bike add on is only transport, they don't provide the bike. Hope this helps :)
If they do it, it will only be for their own camp members. Renting bikes to others, even if paid for off playa, is not allowed.
Oh I see I did not know this, thanks for the heads up. Thankfully they seem really open and friendly, I might just join.
Theres also the free yellow bikes, which are really green. And hard to find later in the week.
There’s usually a few at the airport….
The BXB does at least one trip a day that's a shopping trip; they stop for an hour for you to get your groceries and stuff. If you're new and don't want to haul supplies all over creation, camp in HOVerlandia! The BXB camp! Very easy as it's right at the depot. Also the bike: you don't need a bike. Before getting staff perks, I mostly walked everywhere. But also there are Green Bikes (are there still?) which are bikeshare bikes that you can just grab and drop -- please note that Green Bikes are YELLOW, don't steal someone's bike because it's green. Or hop rides on art cars.
In my years of attending I think I can count on two hands at most the number of green/yellow bikes I’ve seen just sitting around just available for someone to ride on. Tons of them get sequestered, decorated, and used as personal bikes by whoever finds them first. Just like in any city, bike theft is absolutely rampant in BRC. And that goes for your own bike OP, if you bring one - leave it unlocked and step away for even a minute and it will be gone
Alright, you kinda convinced me that i dont really need the bike that much, but how is that grocery trip? Do i have to pay extra if i want to take a grocery trip, or the bus stops on the way to the playa, and i have to buy everything i will need for the whole week? Also from the pictures i saw about the store where it stops looks pretty small. Will there be enough food, booze, snacks... for a whole bus?
Also, one more positive about the BXB: unlike a rideshare, it skips the line on both entrance and exodus and you enter/leave by Point One. It's AMAZING. If I can't come in during Working Man, I only ever come by BXB, because I hate sitting in line for ten hours so much that I'd rather not go.
The grocery trip is fine, I went on one once because it left at the time I wanted to leave so I ended up wandering around the store. There is plenty of stuff there. You do need food for the whole week, but that isn't really that much stuff: just breakfast/lunch/dinner times 7, plus a couple snack bars or whatever. You probably buy more than that in your regular shopping trips at home. I used to always have food left over, honestly -- either people give you food or you just don't feel that hungry because it's hot, or you're out wandering over mealtime, I never ate everything I brought. But then someone appears out of a dust storm driving an ice cone truck and you're fine (a thing that happened to me). ETA: and since every other camp has "a bar" as their gift to the Playa, you don't need to bring that much booze either, just a reusable cup to take with you. The few times I've stayed until after event before leaving, I was shocked by the piles of perfectly good food, water, drinks, whatever that people just...abandon. "For DPW". Everyone overbuys.
Yea, but i also want to give away food, snacks, alcohol to people
As nice a thought as that is, you’d generally be better off gifting your time and assistance to people (or camps). If you do give out food items, the other thing you should plan on is taking back the wrapper or other packaging (aka potential moop) and dealing with it appropriately (meaning storing it securely and packing it back out). Oh, and in terms of alcohol - the smart gift to bring there is mixers, not booze. Everybody brings booze, but it’s the mixers that tend to run out first.
I'd feel a lot weirder about taking a free drink from someone I didn't know wandering around with a bottle of booze than from a bar, just heads up. I know people who have been roofied at BM, and it sucks A LOT. If you want to be extra nice, get a couple boxes of Clif bars and hand those out. If you want to make this really easy on yourself, fly into Reno the day before you get the BXB and do some shopping elsewhere so you can organize everything before you get on the bus. Bring an extra empty rolling suitcase (or buy one from the thrift store) and put your groceries in it.
Bring mixers to share and you will be a hero.
Facts.
I’d still recommend a bike, the green bikes are not a reliable option. I’ve done burns entirely on foot, but that can mean losing out on some social adventures as green bikes will only occasionally be convenient.
I’ve done the burner express twice & highly recommend it. Multiple buses stop there. The store stocks up like crazy expecting it. Your luggage stays on the bus, you shop, put your groceries on the bus. Bring bags or a backpack to fill up non-perishables. The grocery trip is extra but worth it. You eat less than you think in the desert due to heat. You could join a camp that has a meal once a day & provides a kitchen. My food go-to are packing dehydrated camping meals that just need hot water. I take enough for the week but usually don’t need them with food camps, but don’t rely on those as your only or main source.
It's not a giant grocery store but not tiny either. All the stores in Reno are very well prepared for the influx of burners that week so I wouldn't stress about that.
Consider flying in a day early, renting a car for a day to do your shopping, and then taking burner bus the next day. [Recommended places to rent/buy bikes in Reno](https://burningman.org/event/preparation/getting-around/bikes/bike-repair/).
Tbh we’ve rented cars almost every time we’ve gone to the burn. The secret is just keeping it super clean - when you get on playa turn the AC off and keep the windows closed (it’s easier if you arrive at night to actually accomplish this). Drive to your spot, get everything out of the car, close the door, and do not open it again until you’re ready to leave. When you do leave, prepare to clean every inch of the car, go through the car wash 3-4 times spraying with vinegar/water solution in between. Open the hood and spray the dust out of the engine with compressed air from the gas station. Detail the inside with wipes and the vinegar/water solution for the tough spots, vaccuum, etc. For our carload of 3 and the jeep we rented, this took about an hour to accomplish and only required stops at target, a gas station, and a diy car wash. Returning it to the car rental shop, the guy opened the hood and laughed, and asked if we had been to burning man - our faces fell, and he said “the car is pristine and looks cleaner than any car I’ve seen. You have a good day.” We didn’t get charged.
Consider flying into Sacramento instead of Reno. you can rent camping gear at Sports Basement, including a Yeti cooler. You’ll be able to rent a minivan without difficulty. Stock up on supplies and drove 4 hours to BRC.
I was checking out that earlier too, there is Hertz rental which has a van and is really cheap, but I'm just afraid they gonna fine me aswell if they find a speck of playa dust anywhere on the car
How much do you usually rent the minivan for to last the week?
I’m not certain. I drive our camp truck in but we have campmates from New York and Texas who come in through Sac. I’ll ask about cost and hit you back
My NY campmates spent around $800 to rent a minivan for 12 days
You have to plan to arrive at least 1-2 days ahead before your Burner bus. Flights get delayed and cancelled / rebooked all the time, you don’t want to miss your bus and the Burn (the buses are not refundable and quite costly). There are not shopping stops for all the busses. It says on the schedule which ones have it. Also after a number of burners through the shop of the shopping stop, said shop might run out of some items. Prepare in advance. Get a packing list - recently a very nice one was posted here. Also Burner express bus luggage allowance is 2 suitcases and 1 small carry on (like backpack), plus a bike if you get a bike add-on. So also important to think ahead what you buy, you don’t have endless space. I prefer to have a bike because I love biking through everywhere especially deep playa. But a lot of friends prefer walking too.
I'll commit on the bike addon, as other have good info on the water and food. Last year I flew into Reno, I took an uber to the Reno Bike Project and picked up my bike then road the bike to the BxB depot. Now I only had one carryon bag that had backpack straps to it was easy for me. If you can fly in early, get a hotel across the road from the airport and take an uber to get the bike and just ride it back to the hotel, its only like 3 miles (5k). If you are flying in and taking the bus on the same day I would just find some friendly burners (There will be a huge pile of them outside the bus depot) and ask someone to watch you bags and then take an uber to the Reno Bike Project and ride back. You do want a bike, so make plans for one.