Tested
tent out of ten

8 best festival tents for 2024: tried and tested pop-up and inflatable tents

All recommendations within this article are informed by expert editorial opinion. If you click on a link in this story we may earn affiliate revenue.

SUMMER means music festivals and a heady combination of live bands, friends, sunny days and hot nights under canvas.

Unless you’re there for the day, you’re going to need a tent – and the best festival tents will help ensure your trip is amazing,  as well as not costing you an arm and a leg (you’ve already spent those on your ticket).

Of course the British weather often has other plans, with rain and mud up to your knees, yet that doesn’t need to dull your experience. Taking account of likely eventualities before buying your tent will help set you up for a successful stay.

Don’t go for the cheapest available. You’re ideally looking for something that will last, rather than a throwaway or leave-behind version – and the more festivals you use it for the better the cost breakdown.

Finding the best camping tent can be a bit of a nightmare though, not least because there are so many to choose from, but at the most basic level it should be easy to pitch and keep the rain out – look for a waterproof rating so you know it does.

Beyond that, the market is massive, with festival tents of all shapes and sizes, which is why we have turned to our festival expert Devinder Bains to help guide us through the canvas maze.

A veteran of Glastonbury (19 times), Latitude (10 times), Reading and Leeds Festivals (10 times) and multiple other multi-day festivals over the last 25 years, we could think of nobody better to put a range of tents through their paces.

Read on for Devinder’s reviews of the best festival tents available to buy right now in the UK.

Best festival tents at a glance:

  • Best overall festival tent: Snugpak tent
  • Best budget festival tent:
  • Best inflatable festival tent:
  • Best pop-up festival tent:
  • Best family festival tent:

Snugpak Ionosphere

Snugpak Ionosphere One-Person Tent, £155.56 from Amazon

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Pros: Super light, really easy and quick to put up, can fit in, or tie above, travelling rucksack

Cons: The pegs can be a little tough to put in - ask a neighbouring tent for a mallet

Rating: 5/5

Who is it best for?

  • Single occupancy for someone who still wants a fair bit of space for their belongings.
  • Those with a long walk to a camping area at places like Glastonbury.
  • Two mates who don’t mind squeezing in because they don’t plan on sleeping much.

This super light, fuss-free festival tent is for anyone who doesn’t want a big bulky tent to weigh them down on the way to and from the festival, someone who is happy with a very cosy space for two with space for a few belongings or a comfy space for one.

The Snugpak weighs just 1.2kg and can easily fit in a large rucksack and is ideal for people who are cycling to a festival. It also only takes 10 minutes to put up, starting with a No-See-Um Mesh Mosquito Net inner and then a water-resistant fly sheet outer with waterproof seams.

For a one-man tent, you can definitely have two adults sleeping in there but that does get a bit tight if you have a lot of belongings - but could work well for a couple who are at a single-night festival and only intend to sleep in it for a few hours.

The tent is very quick to put up - it took just 10 minutes on the first attempt and just under 10 to take down and squeeze back into the bag. This is a really good shout for festivals that have a long walk from your car or public transport to where you’re supposed to pitch, and for those travelling to festivals abroad such as Primavera.

The tent opens from a large side door which works well for ventilation and there’s plenty of small pockets for storage inside the tent too.

Material: 100% nylon outer and polyester inner, Size: 239 x 89 x 71cm metres, Weight: 1.2kg, Waterproof: Yes

Quechua 2-Man Pop-Up

Pros: Super quick to erect, great ventilation mechanisms, black-out tech, very roomy, good price

Cons: Can get a bit hot but that can be rectified

Rating: 5/5

Who is it best for?

  • A couple who want a bit of room
  • Three mates who don’t mind snuggling up a bit.
  • Those attending shorter festivals who don’t want to spend an hour at the festival putting up a tent when they only need it for one or two nights.
  • Festival-goers who like a late night and a lay-in the next day.

The best thing about this festival tent? It actually does pop up into shape in a matter of seconds once you’ve unclipped the straps that are keeping it under wraps.

Allow another five minutes to go around the tent and peg in the guy ropes. This festival tent scores full marks for ease in putting it up and full marks again for taking it down and packing it away, which can be one of the most annoying things about festival tents.

Folding it back into the circular bag only took five to 10 minutes the first time and just five minutes the second time we put it down. Unlike a lot of cheap pop-up tents that seem impossible to fold back into the bag, this one had clear instructions and the folding was made a lot easier with the addition of straps and clips that held parts of the tent in place.

For a two-man tent, this festival tent is incredibly roomy and could squeeze in three people for sleeping, and there’s plenty of room in the porch for all your stuff. There are lots of inside pockets for bits and bobs like ear plugs and torches, the tent itself is made up of an inside and outside fly sheet and has total black-out, ideal for those who want a lay-in without the sun shining in.

The only downside is that on a particularly hot day, the tent did get quite warm due to the blackout material but luckily the tent has ventilation sections all around the tent that can be unzipped to let in air.

Material: Polyester, Size: 210 x 120 x 98cm (sleeping area), Weight: 4kg, Waterproof: Yes

Coleman Cortes Octagon 8

Pros: Very fairly priced, easy to put up and take down, incredible ventilation on hot days, nice modern shape and design, waterproof, the storage case is on wheels

Cons: Heavy to manoeuvre in areas that aren’t “wheel friendly”, nothing to tie the brilliant doors open with

Rating: 5/5

Who is it best for?

  • Festival-goers who want total comfort and space at a multi-day festival like Glastonbury and don’t mind putting in a little bit of effort for it.
  • Family of festival-goers who need more room.
  • Show-offs who want the coolest tent at the festival.

This was probably our favourite festival tent of the ones we reviewed.

Despite its size it was fairly straightforward to put up because of a simple colour-code system, taking one person just 20 minutes on their own, and about 10-15 minutes to take down and pack away in the long wheelie case that it comes in.

And it really does need the wheels as it comes in at a whopping 28kg, so it’s super heavy and probably better suited to festivals where there’s not a huge walk over rough terrain, or for those who don’t mind putting in a bit of effort to get utter luxury at the end.

The tent is well thought out and very roomy even for an eight-man tent and could double up as a gathering place for you and your mates out of hours, as the height means it’s easy to stand in and the space means there’s room for plenty of camping chairs.

The festival tent has actual pull-open style doors on either side that are made using poles so you don’t need to keep zipping and unzipping, the tent can be used with just the inner mesh body or once the waterproof fly sheet is added, it can be tied back the whole way around for ventilation.

This tent really does provide a huge inside space, but if you’re sharing and need privacy - there’s a detachable inner partition that can be added, as well as extra ground sheets for dirty wellies inside or can be used to sit outside when it’s dry.

This is a cool tent for a bit of luxury - especially if it’s raining outside.

Material: Polyester outer and breathable mesh inner, Size: 208 x 396 x 396cm, Weight: 28kg, Waterproof: Yes

READ MORE:

Highlander Elm 4

Pros: Super spacious, inside liner prevents condensation, good sized compartment to keep your gear
Cons: Cumbersome to carry – requires at least two people to set up
Rating: 4/5

Who is it best for?

The first thing to mention is this tent is seriously massive.

We’ve been fooled too many times by tents claiming to be "four-person" that can barely fit two people and some bags, but with the you could comfortably fit four people in the interior, with space for your bags and other gear in the front of the tent.

If you’re bringing airbeds along, though, then you may struggle to fit more than three in the sleeping compartment of the tent.

When packed up the Elm 4 is 12.7kg, which is over 10 times the weight of some of the other tents on this list. Keeping this in mind, we would make sure to bring a sturdy trolley along for your trek to the campsite.

We made the mistake of not doing this when testing out the tent and as a result, our tester was worn out before the music even started.

The Elm 4 is fairly straightforward to put up, with easy-to-follow instructions provided. However, due to the sheer size of the tent, you will need at least one other person to help you out.

Most camping enthusiasts will recommend that you put a new tent up at home before taking it out on your adventures, and with the Elm 4 we found out why — unfortunately, the rope inside one of the tent poles snapped off while erecting the tent.

This resulted in a slightly lopsided frame, however to its credit, the Elm 4 was able to stay strong for 5 nights, even without all of the frame intact.

The spacious two-layered tent provided a super comfortable environment. We never had any problems with morning condensation and the interior porch came in very handy as our gear got more and more muddy each day.

We have to dock a point for the tent breaking straight out of the bag, but otherwise, we can’t fault the Elm 4 for anyone in need of a proper-sized 4-person tent.

Material: Outer/fly sheet: 190T PU breathable polyester Inner: 190T Polyester, Size: 370cm x 315cm x 180cm, Weight: 12.7kg, Waterproof: Yes

Geediar Automatic Pop-Up Tent

Pros: Very quick to erect and dismantle, cheap, UV sun protection, light

Cons: A bit small for four people, single layer only - tent walls aren’t protected from heavy sideways rain

Rating: 4/5

Who is it best for?

This is the cheap and cheerful option, though it’s not as quick to pop up as the versions we’re used to that practically spring out of their cases.

The Geedier festival tent comes ready-made with all the poles already fitted in, folded up and their ends bunched together, you lay out the edges of the tent and then lift the centre of the bunch of poles and they all ping into place.

And just like that you have a single-layer dome tent with a small waterproof roof layer that you can clip on. It’s advertised as big enough for three or four people but I think four would be very snug, especially with belongings, and a night or two without a shower might make things a little awkward even among friends!

Saying that, the tent does come with doors on two walls as well as mesh windows so ventilation is good. This is one of the lighter festival tents and comes in a very easy carry bag that you can sling over one shoulder - perfect for the long walk to the pitch site.

This is a really good budget option for someone who is not sure how many festivals they will attend over time and doesn’t want to spend too much money but still wants a good quality tent that is easy to put up and take home.

Material: Polyester, Size: 210 x 210 x 135cm, Weight: 3.15kg, Waterproof: Yes

Kelty 4-Person Freestanding Rumpus Tent

Pros: Light and airy, very roomy for a four-person, lots of pockets inside, waterproof

Cons: Tricky to stretch over the fly sheet once the inner mesh of the tent is up, needs careful navigating the first time you put up, can be quite bright during the early morning sun

Rating: 4/5

Who is it best for?

This is a good technical festival tent that comes in a fairly large bag but has an easy carry strap so it doesn’t feel super heavy as you’re walking over to where you want to pitch up (which can be quite a distance at a lot of festivals).

It does take a bit of brain power to put up as there are lots of mechanisms: there are two types of clips, velcro straps and two layers of tent that need to be erected: a mesh inner using the poles and then a waterproof fly sheet is stretched over afterwards with the help of the aforementioned clips, another pole for the entrance, and held in place with the pegs and guy ropes.

It took about 15-20 minutes to put up with two people the first time around but we did get this down to 15 minutes the second time. It’s a mere 10 minutes to get down and it’s easily stuffed back into the spacious bag.

This tent is definitely worth the effort to put up as you’re left with a really roomy tent that’s almost tall enough to stand in, with a huge porch area that totally opens up to allow in air.

Material: Polyester outer and mesh inner, Size: 244 x 216 x 147cm, Weight: 4.99kg, Waterproof: Yes

Luna Bell Tent

Pros: Super spacious, luxury glamping feel, fabric has been treated with water, UV, mould and rot-repelling agent, the canvas on the Oxford Light version we had does let in a lot of light but you can swap for other fabrics when purchasing

Cons: The pole in the middle of the tent could be a hazard late at night if you walk into it, very heavy, can be complicated to put up the first couple of times

Rating: 4/5

Who is it best for?

  • Those who have VIP camping or a parking space very near their pitch so they don’t have to carry the tent that far.
  • For longer festivals like Glastonbury where a couple of hours effort at the start means up to five nights of total comfort
  • Festival-goers who want that hippie/glamping vibe

This festival tent comes with a total wow factor, throwing it back to the hippie days of Woodstock and the very first Glastonbury festival with its yurt/teepee feel.

It can sleep eight people or be used for a family, or a very spacious glamping option for two or three. Once it’s up, it ticks all the boxes, roomy, bright, hippie cool, easy to stand up in, easy-open doors and ventilation…but be prepared to put in the time and effort to get it up.

There’s no cheating with this festival tent, it’s heavy…16kg, piled into a bulky bag with long straps and every peg and guy rope needs to be properly placed and tightened to give the bulbous look of the tent – and indeed to hold it up. Putting the tent up involves laying out the tent on the floor, pegging in all the edges and then centres around an extra large metal pole that sits inside the middle of the festival tent and holds up the tent’s ceiling, then smaller poles are added inside, followed by lots of tugging and pulling of guy ropes around the outside - it took two of us 45 mins the first time around, we did eventually get this time down to 30 minutes once we knew what we were doing.

The tent comes with a cute little bag marked ‘Spares’ and also a mallet - which really is needed for the bigger pegs. So, it takes a bit of thinking and effort, but once it is up, it’s bright, airy, and huge in size.

The door sits open with a little porch over the top and two round mesh windows let air in on either side of the door. This is very much for glampers who want next-level luxury and don’t mind getting their hands dirty.

Material: Oxford Ultralite 100gsm, Size: 400 x 250cm, Weight: 16kg, Waterproof: Yes

Quechua 4-Man Inflatable Blackout Tent

Pros: Quick to put up, pretty minimal effort until putting in pegs etc, can be put up by one person

Cons: Pump is not included, expensive, heavy

Rating: 4/5

Who is it best for?

  • Festival-goers who don’t want to waste time putting up a tent
  • Revellers who have a bit more money to spend on their tent
  • Good for festival families
  • Group of friends as the separate compartments allow some privacy

A lot of festival tent makers have cottoned onto the fact that festival-goers need, and want, tents that go up as quickly and easily as possible and are equally easy to get down.

This Quechua inflatable tent was made with that in mind. You start by folding out the tent into its large rectangular shape, pop in some pegs around the edges and then pump air into valves around the tent until it stands tall!

One pole is fitted onto the inside roof of the tent, a few more pegs outside and Bob’s your festival uncle! The tent has three sections - a middle area which is high enough to easily stand in and two bedroom areas on each side. The tent sleeps two people in each bedroom compartment with ample space in the middle area for bags and belongings.

Annoyingly, the pump to make all this magic happen isn’t included with the tent and needs to be purchased separately, there’s one available on Decathlon for £24.99. The festival tent has black-out tech to ensure a dark night’s sleep by not letting in any lights from passing torches or bright sunshine in the early hours, the tent is also wind and waterproof.

On the downside it is a very heavy tent at 18.5kg and comes in a big rectangular bag, so probably not ideal for a festival that needs a long trek before you pitch.

For those where camping is not far, or is actually next to the car, then this is the perfect festival tent.

Material: Polyester with Fresh & Black heat reduction and black-out technology, Size: 510 x 280 x 195cm, Weight: 18.5kg, Waterproof: Yes

Where can I buy tents for festivals in the UK?

Amazon is a great place to look for festival tents, but also check out camping and outdoors specialists, including , and .

Camping shops on the high street, such as and are also great for tents and camping equipment, while DIY stores like and homewares stores like are also worth considering.

offers a range of tents, as does ; even supermarkets such as and stock camping equipment – including tents – during the summer.

We found the tents featured in our review round-up at

How much do festival tents cost?

Festival tents are available to suit a range of budgets, with price depending on size, material and the technical features incorporated into the design.

Basic tents are the cheapest, usually suitable for one or two people these usually have enough room for sleeping, but little else in the way of space. They’re perfect if you’re only going to be using them for a few hours or short trips and you’re not worried about roughing it. Expect to pay from around £30 upwards.  

The most luxurious tents are tall enough to stand up in and even have removable partitions for privacy as well as separate sleeping and living areas. These are more pricey, costing several hundred pounds.

The cheapest tent our reviewer tested cost £54.99 and the most expensive was £449.99.

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