FAQs Contact us Sold outJoin the waitlist →
Join the waitlist
Camping

Rent a tent

Your tent is up and waiting when you arrive. No lifting, no poles, no fuss, just settle in.

Book now →
The quick version

Four things to know

Available fromSunday 4 JulyTwo nights before the music starts on Tuesday 6 July.
Sleeps1, 2 or 3 peopleBase tent for one. Upgrade to a 2 or 3 person tent for +$50 or +$100.
Drinking waterProvidedProvided for Rent a Tent guests.
From$605 per tentPaid in full when you book.

Your tent is available from Sunday 4 July. Your vehicle pass needs to let you camp on the night you arrive, and you must depart on Friday 9 July.

The idea

Arrive to a tent
that’s already up

Rent a Tent takes the whole camping problem off your hands. Your tent is pitched, your stretcher and mattress are made up inside it, and a lantern is waiting on the floor. You park nearby and you’re done.

It’s the obvious answer if you’re flying into Birdsville, if you don’t own a swag and a camp kitchen, or if buying a full setup for one week in the desert has never quite made sense.

A Rent a Tent set up at the Big Red Bash, with its front awning out

This is what’s waiting for you: pitched, awning out, stretchers inside

Prices

Priced by how
many sleep in it

Book the base tent, then upgrade it for the number of people sleeping inside. The more of you in it, the less it costs each. A tent for three works out at about a third of the price of a tent for one.

Base tent

1 person tent

$605per tent
  • Includes a stretcher and mattress for 1 occupant
  • Your own space, no sharing
Upgrade +$50

2 person tent

$655$605 base + $50 upgrade, about $328 each
  • Includes a stretcher and mattress for 2 occupants
  • Share it between two
Upgrade +$100

3 person tent

$705$605 base + $100 upgrade, about $235 each
  • Includes a stretcher and mattress for 3 occupants
  • Best value per person
  • Three adults is the most a tent takes

Add to any tent

Sleeping bag and pillow$70Waiting in your tent when you arrive. The bag is rated to −5°C
Blanket$22 per personWorth it. Nights here drop to around 6°C and sometimes to zero
Camping chair$35 per personUse it near your tent and take it into the Concert Area on music days
Camping table$45 each
Paying

Rent a Tent is paid in full at the time of booking. It is not available on Pay Over Time, even though your festival ticket may be. At the checkout you’ll see it as a base tent plus an occupancy upgrade rather than as one of the three totals above.

The tent

What’s standing
when you get there

Included

  • A 3m x 3m tent, pitched and ready
  • A 1.5m front awning for shade, which you’ll want by mid-morning
  • A camp stretcher and mattress for each guest
  • A lantern for basic light
  • Drinking water

Not included

  • Your festival ticket. You need a general admission ticket to attend, bought separately
  • Bedding. Sleeping bag, pillow and blanket are add-ons
  • A chair and a table, also add-ons
  • Food and everything else for camp. It’s BYO, so bring your own. See the camping page for the full list
  • Transport between Birdsville and the festival site
WhereA premium spot in the campgroundThe Rent a Tents have their own section, close to everything
ParkingVery close by, though not right beside your tentIf you’re driving you still need a vehicle pass, bought separately
Available fromFrom Sunday 4 JulyYour vehicle pass needs to let you camp that night. You must depart on Friday 9 July
Flying in?You’ll need to sort transport from BirdsvilleIt’s 35km out to the site. See the transfer bus
Where and when

Your spot in
the campground

The Rent a Tents sit together in a premium spot in the campground, close to everything. You’re also among people who arrived the same way you did, which is half of why the section works.

Aerial view of the Bashville campground with the Rent a Tent section circled, close to the stage and the Plaza

Circled: the Rent a Tent section. Everything else in that photo drove here and set up its own camp

Before you book

Three things
to know first

The tent isn’t your ticket

You need a general admission ticket to attend the Bash. The tent is accommodation, not entry. It won’t get you into the festival on its own.

Paid in full

Rent a Tent isn’t available on Pay Over Time. Your festival ticket might be, but the tent is paid up front when you book it.

They run out

There is a fixed number of tents and they’re put up by hand in the desert, so the number doesn’t move. For the final Bash, book early rather than late.

Right for you?

Who rents
a tent

  • People flying into Birdsville with nothing but a bag
  • Solo travellers who want to be part of a group, with everything set up for them
  • Couples who want the camping without the setting up
  • Anyone without a full camping kit, and no reason to buy one for a single week
  • Anyone who’d rather arrive and have it all done
  • Groups of two or three. Three adults is the limit per tent, so four of you means booking two
Bashers walking up the Big Red sand dune at sunset with the festival site below

Sunset from the top of Big Red, a short walk from the tents

One other option

No car either?

Rent a Tent solves where you sleep. It doesn’t solve how you get to a spot 1,600km from Brisbane and 35km past the last town.

Rent a tent

A tent in a premium spot, and you get yourself there. From $605. You need a car, a lift, or a flight plus the transfer bus.

Bus package

A tent and the travel. From $1,495 per person, return coach from Brisbane, tent included.

Either way

Your festival ticket is separate. Neither option includes entry to the Bash.

If getting there is your problem too, the bus package is probably the better answer. It already includes a tent at the other end, so you’re not booking both. You board in Brisbane or at any town along the route, and someone else does the driving.

See the bus packages →
Questions

The ones we
get asked most

From Sunday 4 July. It’s already pitched, with a stretcher and mattress for each guest and a lantern inside, so you can arrive and settle in two nights before the festival starts on Tuesday 6 July. Your vehicle pass needs to let you camp on the night you arrive, and you must depart on Friday 9 July.
Up to three adults. The tent is 3m by 3m with a 1.5m front awning, and every guest gets their own camp stretcher and mattress. The price depends on how many of you are in it: $605 for one, $655 for two, $705 for three.
No. You need a general admission ticket to attend, bought separately. The tent is accommodation, not entry.
A camp stretcher and mattress are included for each guest. A sleeping bag and pillow pack is $70, and a blanket is $22 per person. Nights in the desert drop to around 6°C and sometimes to zero, so if you’re not bringing your own bedding, add it to the booking.
No. Rent a Tent is paid in full when you book. Your festival ticket may be available on Pay Over Time, but the tent is not.
Yes, drinking water is provided for Rent a Tent guests.
The Rent a Tents have their own section, and it’s a premium spot in the campground, close to everything rather than out on the far edge. If you’re driving, you can park very close by, though not right beside your tent, and you still need a vehicle pass for the car.
Transport between Birdsville and the festival site isn’t included. It’s 35km out to Bashville, and a privately operated transfer bus runs on concert days. Sort that out before you arrive.
Yes, it’s BYO for the rest. Bring your own food, a torch and warm clothes, because there is no power and no showers at Bashville. The camping page has the full list.
Three adults is the most one tent takes, so a group of four books two tents. Two tents of two works out at $655 each, which is often what groups do anyway.
Keep planning

Where to next

Camping What do I still bring? It’s BYO for the rest. Food, warm clothes and everything else you bring, in a list you can tick off. Camping at Bashville → On site What’s out there? Toilets, food, recycling, firewood and ice, and what Bashville doesn’t have. Facilities → Getting there Can I skip the drive too? Brisbane to Birdsville by coach, with a tent already set up at the other end. Bus packages →
6–8 July 2027 · Big Red, Birdsville QLD

Turn up and
walk straight in

The last Big Red Bash, without owning a single tent peg. There are only so many of these, and they’re pitched by hand.

Book now → What to bring