guide

Every Democrat on this list could be expected to work in general harmony with a Democratic governor and in opposition to key Trump administration policies.

There are differences in their backgrounds, but only minor policy divergences, including on the participation of trans athletes in women’s and girls’ sports.

Listed in alphabetical order, with an excerpt from their survey responses:

Richard Barrera, 59, is a longtime school board member in San Diego Unified, the state’s second-largest school system, a senior advisor to Thurmond and before that was a local labor union executive.

“The three experiences that best qualify me for this office are the ones that required me to govern a public school system, execute policy inside the state agency, and understand workforce realities in practice,” Barrera said.

Wendy Castañeda-Leal, 42, has pursued a career in more rural areas, currently serving as superintendent for the Semitropic Elementary School District, which has one TK-8 school with about 140 students off Highway 46 in Kern County. She’s also been director of whole child education for Roseland School District and a secondary alternative school principal.

“I lead districtwide efforts aligned with California’s priorities by advancing equity, strengthening academic achievement, and expanding supports for the whole child, including multilingual learners and underserved student populations,” Castañeda-Leal said. “I also bring extensive site leadership experience as a principal at the elementary, middle and high school levels, where I improved student outcomes.”

Nichelle Henderson

(Courtesy of Nichelle Henderson.)

Nichelle Henderson, 57, is an elected trustee of the Los Angeles Community College District. Her education career began as a teaching assistant. She later taught sixth grade math and science in Compton Unified. She’s currently a faculty advisor and clinical field supervisor in a Cal State teacher preparation program.

“What it is clear among Democratic candidates is that there are candidates that are seeking this position because they want a safe place to land after having termed out,” Henderson said. “My goal is to build the capacity of our TK-12 public schools to prepare students for higher education and to participate in the local and global workforce.”

Ainye Long, 41, a San Francisco Unified middle school math department chair, ran four years ago with no significant resources and came within less than 1 percentage point of making the runoff. It helped then that no Democrat ran against Thurmond and that Republican challengers divided the Republican vote. Long also had then — and still has — the ballot designation: “public school teacher.” She also is a past senior administrator at a charter-school group.

“One job of the [state superintendent] is to measure the effectiveness [in practice — what actually happens] of our laws, and help to find better ways to educate our body,” Long said. “The people closest to the work are closest to the problems of practice, so they’re the first to see the solution.”

Al Muratsuchi

(Photo courtesy of Al Muratsuchi)

Al Muratsuchi, 61, represents the 66th Assembly District, encompassing parts of the South Bay, and has been the chair of the state Assembly education committee. He taught briefly at the college level and served as an elected board member of the Torrance Unified School District.

“I am the only candidate running for State Superintendent of Public Instruction with the combined experience of statewide education policy leadership, … local school district governance as a former Torrance Unified School District board trustee, and classroom educator,” Muratsuchi said, adding that he authored 23 education-related bills that were signed into law.

Josh Newman

(Josh Newman)

Josh Newman, 61, has been a state senator, including chairing the education committee, and a technology company executive. He served in the Army and taught briefly both at the college and middle school levels.

“Among the Democrats in this race, the most significant distinction is between candidates whose approach to this office is primarily organized around labor relationships and funding advocacy, and my own, which emphasizes accountability, outcomes, and the full range of students’ needs alongside continued investment,” Newman said.

Anthony Rendon

(Photo courtesy of Rendon campaign)

Anthony Rendon, 58, was state Assembly Speaker from 2016-23, previously directed Plaza de la Raza Child Development Services and served as chief operating officer for Mexican American Opportunity Foundation.

He spoke of “the role that technology is playing in the degradation of youth mental health and happiness. The next superintendent needs to properly implement California’s ban on phones in classrooms, be ahead of the curve in establishing policies on generative AI use, and make sure teachers have the training and support they need to make sure the classroom is about learning.”

No candidate received enough votes to win the Democratic Party endorsement. The tally was as follows: Henderson: 24.75%; Muratsuchi 21.97%; Rendon 17.43%; Newman 16.82%; Barrera 12.77%.

McOsker said Mayor Karen Bass’ Inside Safe program has been effective in clearing homeless encampments and moving the residents inside. He supports reducing costs by doubling people up in rooms and cutting underutilized contracts.

“It’s unsustainable as it is to spend this much, and I think everyone recognizes that,” he said.

McOsker said he supports “no encampment” zones, per Municipal Code 41.18, around places like schools, day care centers, libraries and homeless shelters.

It’s especially important to keep encampments away from shelters, he said, so people can get help without distractions nearby.

“We really need to make that break and give folks an opportunity to put their lives together,” he said.

Rivers equated the no-encampment zones to federal immigration operations in the city, arguing that they enable law enforcement to snatch people off the street without giving them a place to go.

“Just moving homelessness doesn’t all of a sudden solve it,” he said.

Instead, Rivers wants to establish “safe shelter” zones where people can get their needs met instead of being chased out.

Rivers believes that Inside Safe contractors should be audited and that there should be “full transparency” in the amount of money spent to house each person.

“We need to actually have a track record of where these funds are going to,” so it’s clear the money actually is helping to resolve homelessness, he said.

Three seats — two contested — are on the June 2 primary ballot for the seven-member Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education.

The nation’s second-largest school system, with close to 400,000 students, faces evolving challenges and uncertainties that could alter the direction of the district for years.

In mid-April L.A. Unified officials barely averted a strike by agreeing to significant employee raises, rescinding about 200 layoffs and agreeing to hundreds of new hires of counselors, school psychologists and other student support staff. The contracts with three district unions, including teachers, will cost nearly $1.2 billion a year, and board members now must find a way to pay for them amid budget pressures.

Standardized test scores have trended upward since the nadir of the COVID-19 pandemic, recovering faster than the state average, but the pace remains too incremental for critics.

The future of L.A. schools Supt. Alberto Carvalho is uncertain. He’s on paid administrative leave following FBI raids of his San Pedro home and downtown office. At least part of the investigation centers on a failed chatbot project that was supposed to revolutionize and individualize education.

Carvalho said he’s done nothing wrong and would like to return to work. If he does not return — and cannot serve out his new four-year contract — board members would select a superintendent.

L.A. Unified also faces declining enrollment — which reduces state funding and increases pressure to save money by closing many campuses.

Heightened federal immigration enforcement also has affected enrollment and attendance while creating anxiety that spills over into the classroom. Officials responded by declaring L.A. Unified a sanctuary district — both for immigrants and for the LGBTQ+ community, which also has been a target of some conservative groups.

Carvalho’s central focus on improving test scores has led to increased tutoring, repeated diagnostic measures and phonics training. In addition, the district put a successful school bond on the ballot to continue renovations, worked to lower student absenteeism and emphasized greener campuses.

The board majority consists of candidates elected with the endorsement of the powerful teachers union — United Teachers Los Angeles. This election will not change that balance because five seats are held by union-friendly incumbents. But the outcome will determine whether UTLA can further strengthen its hand or whether other constituencies will gain a measure of power at the union’s expense.

UTLA is the most reliable funder of school board campaigns — and the union’s spending is not controlled by candidates.

Also exerting influence in recent elections is the district’s other largest union: Local 99 of Service Employees International Union. It represents some 30,000 bus drivers, teacher aides, custodians, gardeners, cafeteria workers and technical support staff. This union has yet to endorse candidates.

A potential but diminished source of election-funding firepower would be charter school advocates — who once routinely outspent the unions.
Retired businessman Bill Bloomfield — a charter school ally who makes his own calls about whom to support — has been a big spender in recent elections, typically as a counter to teachers-union-endorsed candidates. He has not committed to being involved in this school board election cycle.

The material below was assembled through reporting and surveys provided to candidates. Some responses are paraphrased for clarity or condensed for brevity.

A nonprofit advocacy group, Social Equity LA, organized with local cannabis business owners to oppose the measure in letters to Mayor Karen Bass.

Luis Rivera, executive director of the nonprofit, said Measure CB risks legitimizing the illegal cannabis industry while linking city finances to the tax revenue the businesses would generate. The measure also would undermine Proposition 64, the state law that requires cannabis businesses to be licensed, he said. And amid the city’s struggles to track and close illegal cannabis businesses, Rivera said it will be difficult to force them to pay up.

“There’s no guarantee or mechanism to assure that illegal operators will pay the taxes or fulfill their obligations,” Rivera said.

Even if they pay taxes, illegal operators could undercut legal businesses by selling unregulated products and avoiding requirements, such as code inspections and safety tests for merchandise, that legal businesses must fulfill to keep their licenses, he said. For an already struggling industry, the answer isn’t taxing more businesses, he said — it’s lowering taxes.

Lindsey Horvath was a West Hollywood city councilmember in 2022 when she ran for L.A. County supervisor in a six-person primary that featured a pair of state senators, Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) and Henry Stern (D-Malibu).

Hertzberg and Horvath advanced to the general election, where she won by 29,000 votes.

As a supervisor, Horvath helped lead a historic push to remake county government. Measure G, passed by voters in 2024, will nearly double the size of the Board of Supervisors and create an elected chief executive position as well as an independent ethics commission. But the passage of Measure G had the unintended effect of wiping out Measure J, which funds anti-incarceration programs, leaving county officials scrambling for solutions.

Tonia Arey is a real estate agent who said she decided to “enter public service out of concern for the direction of Los Angeles County and a desire to bring stronger accountability to local government.”

She calls herself a “Jewish woman challenging the incumbent” and is centering her campaign on public safety, including law enforcement, fire and probation, emergency preparedness and confronting antisemitism.

Tomás Sidenfaden is a software developer and startup founder who has lived in Los Angeles for nearly three decades.

“Three generations of my family have called this region our home, and I’m tired of waiting around for other people to fix it,” he said.

Carmenlina Minasova is a San Fernando Valley reform advocate who did not respond to requests for comment.

Katy Young Yaroslavsky is running for L.A. City Council District 5.

(Campaign of Katy Young Yaroslavsky for City Council)

Yaroslavsky, 45, was named the council’s budget committee chair at the beginning of last year, a job that carries immense influence over city spending and that requires her to balance lofty political expectations with fiscal reality.

Yaroslavsky began her career as a land use attorney and lobbyist and later worked as a top aide to former Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl for more than six years. She is the daughter-in-law of former Fifth District City Councilmember Zev Yaroslavsky, who later served on the county board of supervisors.

“We need people in office who are interested in problem solving, not focused on gotcha politics. Who are not super ideological but are just really there to solve problems. And that’s what I’m there for,” Yaroslavsky said.

Henry Mantel is running for L.A. City Council District 5.

(Handout from Matt Mantel)

Mantel, 33, has worked on a handful of political campaigns, according to his campaign website, including Carolyn Ramsay’s unsuccessful campaign for the 4th District council seat in 2015. Mantel graduated from the McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento in 2020. As a lawyer, he says he has represented tenants in disputes with landlords, including contesting evictions.

“The extent of the crisis really weighed on me, and watching the City Council continue to refuse to do nothing was just unbearable,” Mantel said.

Morgan Oyler is running for L.A. City Council District 5.

( Cory Aycock)

Oyler, 42, is a longtime accountant for Haus of Portraiture, a fine art portrait studio in Santa Monica. He was born and raised in L.A., attending high school in Santa Monica, and returned to live in Westwood about a decade ago. He sought election to the Washington statehouse in 2010 and 2012, running as a Republican and losing both times. He says he became a Democrat a decade ago, after becoming uneasy with President Trump’s influence on the GOP.

Oyler felt compelled to run because he sees Yaroslavsky’s policies as a barrier to sustainable housing growth.

• Jason Gibbs: Republican, Santa Clarita City Council member, mechanical engineer

Gibbs has been a member of the Santa Clarita City Council since 2020 and was chosen by his peers to serve as the city’s mayor in 2023. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering at Cal Poly and went on to work in the aerospace industry, according to his campaign website. He has lived in Santa Clarita for nearly a decade while raising two young children, his bio says, and has served on the local boards of the Boys and Girls Club, the Valley Industry Assn. and the Salvation Army.

• George Whitesides: Democrat, incumbent

Whitesides defeated Republican incumbent Mike Garcia to represent the 27th Congressional District in 2024. Whitesides worked on President Obama’s transition team in 2008 and served as NASA chief of staff during the Obama administration, according to his campaign bio. He was the first chief executive of Virgin Galactic, co-founded Megafire Action, a nonprofit that advocates for legislation to address the growing problem of massive wildfires, and was a board member for the Antelope Valley Economic Development and Growth Enterprise, his bio says.

Others:

• Roberto Ramos: Democrat, Marine veteran, UCLA master’s student
• Caleb Norwood: Democrat, college student

A representative for David Neidhart, a Republican candidate, said he has withdrawn from the race. His name still will appear on the ballot.

Across the country, debates over voter identification laws have become a flash point in broader fights about election security and voting access.

Supporters of voter ID laws say they are needed to prevent election fraud and ensure only eligible voters cast ballots. Critics argue there is little evidence of noncitizens voting and say the requirements instead would reduce voter participation in elections.

Under California law, voters in the state are not required to show or provide identification when casting a ballot in person or by mail. The state does require ID when registering to vote, and residents must swear under penalty of perjury that they are eligible to vote and they are a U.S. citizen.

Weber has opposed proposals that would require voters to show identification in order to cast a ballot. She and many Democratic leaders argue that voter ID laws can create barriers for eligible voters, particularly those who may not have easy access to government-issued identification.

Weber believes Voter ID efforts are meant to sow doubt in the integrity of the elections system.

“When you really get to it, Voter ID is a smoke screen for trying to create the idea that this is a corrupt system,” she said.

Weber instead supports policies aimed at expanding participation among eligible voters, including vote-by-mail ballots and automatic registration.

Conversely, Wagner wants the state to require voters to show ID at the polls. He argues that requiring identification would strengthen public trust in election results and align California with practices used in many other states. He said it’s patronizing to minorities when critics argue it’s hard for them to get identification.

“You need an ID to drive,” he said. “You need an ID to fly in a plane. You need one to buy alcohol. You need it to buy tobacco.”

Wagner has been working with proponents of the Voter ID ballot measure to raise money and helped gather signatures. That statewide ballot measure would require state or local elections officials to verify that Californians registering to vote are U.S. citizens by “using government data,” which according to supporters could include information in the federal Social Security Administration database, jury summons information and other government records.

“What I’m pledging the people of California is that if they pass voter ID, I will protect it. I will sue if I have to,” Wagner said. “If I am secretary of state, I will implement it and hold the registrars accountable and hold my office and myself accountable for doing the will of the people.”

Robert Luna seeks a second term as L.A. County Sheriff but faces nine challengers, including predecessor Alex Villanueva, whom he defeated in 2022.

(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)

Robert Luna is hoping to be the first L.A. County Sheriff to win a second term in more than 10 years. He points to a reduction in crime for the county during his term and says he brought stability after a series of one-term sheriffs since 2014.

Last year, deputy-patrolled areas of the county experienced a 12.5% drop in serious crimes from the previous year, including a drop of 12% in murders and 20% in auto thefts.

Perhaps the most vocal and well-known of Luna’s opponents is his predecessor, Alex Villanueva, who paints a picture of a department in disarray, with low morale and trouble in recruiting. Villanueva claims his return would keep deputies from leaving and appeal to new hires.

Former sheriff’s Lt. Eric Strong, who also served as chief of campus safety and security operations at the county probation office, has entered the fray once again after finishing third in 2022. Strong has called for increased transparency by the department, advocating for the agency to work with oversight bodies like the Office of Inspector General and the Civilian Oversight Committee.

“Nothing has really changed, and that’s why I’m running,” Strong said.

Mike Bornman, a retired former captain, also is vying for the job. He’s looking to lift morale inside the department, which he said has faced a series of challenges with social movements that have been “anti-cop,” such as the George Floyd protests of 2020 and calls to defund the police.

“There’s been no real pushback from law enforcement; there’s been nothing coming from this office relative to that,” Bornman said.

He said the department is struggling with difficulty in recruitment, significant overtime hours and deputies at risk of burnout.

Sgt. Karla Carranza is running again after an unsuccessful campaign in 2022. At one point assigned to the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown L.A., Carranza has made jail reform one of her top campaign focuses, promising to reduce violence and lower the risk of lawsuits and what she says are preventable inmate deaths.

Brendan Corbett, also running for the job, served as assistant sheriff during Villanueva’s tenure. He’s looking to restructure the department, focus resources on patrol and line functions and increase the reserve program.

Lt. Oscar Martinez, assigned to the department’s Palmdale station, is running to unseat his boss and criticizes Luna for fostering relationships with the county board of supervisors and oversight bodies, saying his focus should be on law enforcement, not politics .

“The sheriff is more interested in protecting the political establishment,” Martinez said. “Under my leadership, the mission of the sheriff’s department is to fight crime. Our job is not to fix politics.”

Andre White, a detective with about 11 years at the department, also vowed to take a “community-oriented approach” if elected.

Some voters may recognize Sonia Montejano, a former senior deputy in the department’s court services division, as the court bailiff in the television court program “Judge Joe Brown.”

Montejano filed paperwork for the position and listed her personal website on campaign forms. Her website, however, makes no mention of her campaign or position on issues involving the department. She did not respond to requests for comment.

Three seats — two contested — are on the June 2 primary ballot for the seven-member Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education.

The nation’s second-largest school system, with about 390,000 students, faces evolving challenges and uncertainties that could alter the direction of the district for years.

In mid-April L.A. Unified officials barely averted a strike by agreeing to significant employee raises, rescinding about 200 layoffs and agreeing to hundreds of new hires of counselors, school psychologists and other student support staff. The contracts with three district unions, including teachers, will cost nearly $1.2 billion a year, and board members now must find a way to pay for them amid budget pressures.

Standardized test scores have trended upward since the nadir of the COVID-19 pandemic, recovering faster than the state average, but the pace remains too incremental for critics.

The future of L.A. schools Supt. Alberto Carvalho is uncertain. He’s on paid administrative leave following FBI raids of his San Pedro home and downtown office. At least part of the investigation centers on a failed chatbot project that was supposed to revolutionize and individualize education.

Carvalho said he’s done nothing wrong and would like to return to work. If he does not return — and cannot serve out his new four-year contract — board members would select a superintendent.

L.A. Unified also faces declining enrollment — which reduces state funding and increases pressure to save money by closing many campuses.

Heightened federal immigration enforcement also has affected enrollment and attendance while creating anxiety that spills over into the classroom. Officials responded by declaring L.A. Unified a sanctuary district — both for immigrants and for the LGBTQ+ community, which also has been a target of some conservative groups.

Carvalho’s central focus on improving test scores has led to increased tutoring, repeated diagnostic measures and phonics training. In addition, the district put a successful school bond on the ballot to continue renovations, worked to lower student absenteeism and emphasized greener campuses.

The board majority consists of candidates elected with the endorsement of the powerful teachers union — United Teachers Los Angeles. This election will not change that balance because five seats are held by union-friendly incumbents. But the outcome will determine whether UTLA can further strengthen its hand or whether other constituencies will gain a measure of power at the union’s expense.

UTLA is the most reliable funder of school board campaigns — and the union’s spending is not controlled by candidates.

Also exerting influence in recent elections has been the district’s other largest union: Local 99 of Service Employees International Union. It represents some 30,000 bus drivers, teacher aides, custodians, gardeners, cafeteria workers and technical support staff. This union has yet to endorse candidates.

A potential but diminished source of election-funding firepower would be charter school advocates — who once routinely outspent the unions.
Retired businessman Bill Bloomfield — a charter school ally who makes his own calls about whom to support — has been a big spender inrecent elections, typically as a counter to teachers-union-endorsed candidates. He has not committed to being involved in this school board election cycle.

The material below was assembled through reporting and surveys provided to candidates. Some responses are paraphrased for clarity or condensed for brevity.

Three seats are on the June 2 primary ballot for the seven-member Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education, but the District 6 race is essentially a foregone conclusion: The only name on the ballot is two-term incumbent Kelly Gonez.

The nation’s second-largest school system, with close to 400,000 students, faces evolving challenges and uncertainties that could alter the direction of the district for years.

In mid-April L.A. Unified officials barely averted a strike by agreeing to significant employee raises, rescinding about 200 layoffs and agreeing to hundreds of new hires of counselors, school psychologists and other student support staff. The contracts with three district unions, including teachers, will cost nearly $1.2 billion a year, and board members now must find a way to pay for them amid budget pressures.

Standardized test scores have trended upward since the nadir of the COVID-19 pandemic, recovering faster than the state average, but the pace remains too incremental for critics.

The future of L.A. schools Supt. Alberto Carvalho is uncertain. He’s on paid administrative leave following FBI raids of his San Pedro home and downtown office. At least part of the investigation centers on a failed chatbot project that was supposed to revolutionize and individualize education.

Carvalho said he’s done nothing wrong and would like to return to work. If he does not return — and cannot serve out his new four-year contract — board members would select a superintendent.

L.A. Unified also faces declining enrollment — which reduces state funding and increases pressure to save money by closing many campuses.

Heightened federal immigration enforcement also has affected enrollment and attendance while creating anxiety that spills over into the classroom. Officials responded by declaring L.A. Unified a sanctuary district — both for immigrants and for the LGBTQ+ community, which also has been a target of some conservative groups.

Carvalho’s central focus on improving test scores has led to increased tutoring, repeated diagnostic measures and phonics training. In addition, the district put a successful school bond on the ballot to continue renovations, worked to lower student absenteeism and emphasized greener campuses.

The board majority consists of candidates elected with the endorsement of the powerful teachers union — United Teachers Los Angeles. This election will not change that balance because five seats are held by union-friendly incumbents. But the outcome will determine whether UTLA can further strengthen its hand or whether other constituencies will gain a measure of power at that union’s expense.

The material below was assembled through reporting and a survey provided to Gonez. Some responses are paraphrased for clarity or condensed for brevity.

IF you’re tired of battling the crowds – and the soaring prices – of Europe’s busiest tourist spots, it’s time to rewrite your travel bucket list.

That’s where our travel experts come in. We’ve spoken to a range of holiday experts, from seasoned Travel Editors to Travel Supermarket pros, who have revealed their favourite lesser-known holiday destinations.

Follow The Sun’s award-winning travel team on Instagram and Tiktok for top holiday tips and inspiration @TheSunTravel

These are underrated spots where you can visit beautiful remote beaches, wander historic cobbled streets, or dine at authentic restaurants without the dreaded “tourist tax”.

From Amalfi Coast breaks that are actually affordable, to Spanish destinations where you can fly and flop for under £200 – here’s our travel experts’ underrated favourites.

*Price were correct at time of publication

Casablanca, Morocco

Kara Godfrey, Deputy Travel Editor

While I love the hustle and bustle of Marrakech, Casablanca is just as beautiful… and much cheaper.

The cost savings are huge, according to Kayak. The average hotel room price in Marrakech is £298 per night, while Casablanca is just £140.

Even if you want to splurge, you could pay £421 to stay at the five-star Four Seasons Casablanca.

Visit the five-star La Mamounia in Marrakech on the same day, and you’re splashing out more than £1,000.

When there, you can still haggle for a bargain at the medinas, just with far fewer crowds than in Marrakech.

The Hassan II Mosque shouldn’t be missed either – it’s one of the biggest in the world.

Cheap street food is easy to find, with ‘Sfenj’ doughnuts costing less than 50p.

Make sure to visit Rick’s Cafe too, based on the 1942 classic movie. Here’s looking at you, kid.

Tignabruaich, Scotland

Heather Lowrie, Travel Editor at The Scottish Sun

Tighnabruaich on the The Cowal Peninsula offers stunning coastal views, including the Kyles of Bute – that and the utter quietness are just some of the reasons to go.

The Waverley, the last sea-going paddle steamer in the world, offers sailings through the Kyles from Tighnabruaich in spring, summer and autumn.

Kilbride Bay is a beautiful sandy beach with wide open views and clear waters. You could go beachcombing, swim or just let the kids go wild. And best of all, it’s free.

You can also go wildlife watching, which includes spotting seals and dolphins, and head to Caladh Lighthouse, and the ruins of Asgog Castle and explore – all for free.

There’s also lots of cheap things to do. Head to the Benmore Botanic Gardens just over 30 minutes drive away, and gaze at its 160-year-old giant redwoods and exotic blooms (£10.80 per adult, kids go free). Or visit Caol Ruadh Sculpture Park, an 18-acre outdoor art gallery (£5 per adult, kids go free).

There’s also plenty of sailing and watersports opportunities, lovely restaurants and quiet places to stay without the price tag of bigger, more well-known Scottish tourist spots like St Andrews and Edinburgh.

Cefalu, Italy

Lisa Minot, Head of Travel

The charming Sicilian beach town of Cefalu is a great value alternative to the glitzy towns of the Italian Riviera or Amalfi Coast.

It has the same Italian aesthetic – think cobbled streets, medieval architecture and dramatic cliffs – without the ‘luxury tax’ found on the mainland.

I had a superb burrata salad at Porta Ossuna restaurant right on the seafront in Cefalu for just £10 – washed down with a £3 glass of rose.

My husband was delighted with his foaming beer – a large one cost just £4.

Accommodation is also cheaper with a 4* hotel in Cefalu priced around £115 per night, compared to similar in Sorrento setting you back around £260 a night.

It’s also a great, compact city to explore with the walk from the Norman cathedral to the beachfront taking just ten minutes.

The hike up to La Rocca costs only a few euros and provides panoramic views that rival those of the expensive clifftop terraces of the Riviera.

Efteling, the Netherlands

Helen Wright, Travel Writer

One of Europe‘s best-kept secrets is Efteling Theme Park in the Netherlands.

With lots of families planning to visit Disneyland Paris in France, Efteling is largely overlooked. 

However, at only £35 to get in, this theme park is fantastic value and has so many fantastic rides for families.

There are white-knuckle rollercoasters and attractions for all ages. Plus, the lines are usually manageable, meaning no need to pay extra for fast passes to jump to the front of the queue. 

Efteling has been open for over 70 years and still has areas preserved as it was when it opened, including a forest trail mapping out classic fairy tales like Red Riding Hood. Princess and the Pea and The Little Mermaid. 

Food and drink tends to come in cheaper than at Disneyland too, don’t miss the classic Stroopwafel for only £3.50, which goes perfectly with a coffee as the kids play. 

There are two hotels at Efteling, with rooms starting from £220 per night, including theme park access for the whole family.

It’s easy to get to by car (parking is £12 a day) or you can travel by Eurostar to Amsterdam and hop on the local train directly to the theme park. Allow for at least 2 days at the parks because there is so much to do.

Albanian Riviera

Rob Brooks, Holiday Expert

If you’ve ever looked at the Greek islands or the Amalfi Coast and thought it looks amazing, but you’re not up for paying the price, this is where you go instead.

The Albanian Riviera – especially around Sarandë and Ksamil – has that same crystal-clear water, white beaches and relaxed beach club feel, just without the crowds or the price tag.

It genuinely feels like Greece and southern Italy combined, but way earlier in its tourism story.

What I love about it is how unspoilt it still feels. You’ve got small beach bars, simple but brilliant restaurants, and loads of coastline that hasn’t been overbuilt yet.

And the value is ridiculous once you’re there. You can sit down for fresh seafood, drinks and a proper meal for under £15, and you’ll still find pints for around 250 Lek, or about £2.30, in most places.

The deal I found is for Hotel Vola in Sarande, flying direct from London Luton in May.

It’s coming in at £175pp for five nights, bed and breakfast, so you’ve got a base with a sea view and pool, then loads of freedom to eat and drink out for next to nothing.

Hua Hin, Thailand

Sophie Swietochowski, Assistant Travel Editor

Most beach-seeking travellers in Thailand will make a beeline for the island of Phuket.

But I’d always opt for the less commercial and far more affordable Hua Hin over this.

Not only is the coastal town relatively crowd-free, you can stay in some pretty high-end hotels with stylish rooms that cost a fraction of the price they would at sister resorts elsewhere in the world.

You’ve got everything you’d want from a typical getaway in Thailand: excellent night markets where you can pick up budget fashion pieces, quality restaurants dishing up traditional grub in fuss-free settings, and sun-drenched sands overlooking an endless ocean.

It’s also under three hours from Bangkok, so makes for a great twin-centre beach and city break.

Fuerteventura, Canary Islands

Jacob Lewis, Guest Travel Expert at TravelSupermarket

Swap Tenerife for this cheaper Canary with better beaches.

When most Brits think Canary Islands, they go straight to Tenerife, Lanzarote or Gran Canaria – and prices reflect it. But there’s a cheaper alternative hiding in plain sight.

Based on TravelSupermarket searches between 1 January and 12 April 2026, holidays to Fuerteventura average around £622pp – compared to £702pp for Tenerife, £667pp for Lanzarote and £776pp for Gran Canaria. That’s a saving of up to £154pp. And you’re not exactly slumming it.

Fuerteventura is the second-largest Canary Island and has arguably the best beaches in the archipelago – huge sweeps of pale sand that feel closer to the Caribbean than Spain.

It’s also quieter and more stripped-back than its neighbours, with fewer mega-resorts and a slower pace overall.

Corralejo in the north is the liveliest base, with plenty of bars and restaurants, while the Jandía peninsula in the south is calmer, with more space and smarter hotels.

The island is also a magnet for windsurfers and kitesurfers, with reliable conditions year-round at spots like Flag Beach.

Weather-wise, it’s one of the safest bets in Europe. Fuerteventura is one of the Canary Islands closest to Africa, and its flat landscape means it’s generally drier and sunnier than the more mountainous islands. Even in midwinter, average high temperatures hover around 20°C.

Food is simple but good – expect plenty of fresh fish and local goat’s cheese – and all-inclusive deals tend to be well-priced across the island.

Flights take around four hours from the UK, just like the bigger-name islands.

The difference is you’ll often pay less – and get a more relaxed version of the Canaries.

Faro, Portugal

Kara Godfrey, Deputy Travel Editor

The city of Faro is often used as the gateway to the rest of the Algarve, but I’m fighting its case as a holiday destination in its own right.

Sure, it has far fewer hotels than the rest of the Portuguese coastline, but it is just as affordable.

For example, pay a few euros and you’ll find yourself on one of the Parque Natural da Ria Formosa islands, which feel like you paid to have it all to yourself.

Try Ilha Deserta, home to just one restaurant and nothing else, to feel like Robinson Crusoe discovering new lands.

Otherwise stay on the mainland and hop in some of the beachfront bars where pints of beer are easily found under two euros.

Costa de la Luz, Spain

Rob Brooks, Holiday Expert

If you like Marbella or Malaga, but not the prices or how busy it gets, this is the upgrade most people don’t know about.

Down on the Costa de la Luz, around Cádiz and Costa Ballena, you get the same golden beaches, proper Spanish food and hot weather – just with a much calmer, more local feel.

This is where Spanish holidaymakers go, which is usually a very good sign.

The big difference is space. The beaches here are huge, sandy, and never rammed.

You’ve still got beach bars and restaurants dotted along the coast, but without the ‘popular-location tax’ you get further along in the Costa del Sol.

And it’s properly affordable once you’re there. A beer will set you back about €2 (the cheapest I found here was just €1.30) and you can still find really good tapas and fresh seafood dinners for €10-15 a head if you go local.

The deal I found is for the Alegria Costa Ballena AquaFUN Hotel, flying from London Stansted in May for £195pp. It’s a solid, well-rated hotel with big pools and a waterpark on site – so you’ve got loads going on without needing to spend loads once you’re there.

Patmos, Greece

Lisa Minot, Head of Travel

With their labyrinthine white-washed cobbled alleys and blue domes, Mykonos and Santorini are the classic Greek island experiences but their popularity means prices have soared.

Pretty Patmos is a fantastic alternative. The UNESCO World Heritage site offers a quieter, arguably more authentic version with boutique-filled streets and stunning hilltop views of the Aegean.

A sunset cocktail could set you back up to £25 in Santorini – but you can find the same chic venues and prices half of that in Patmos’ Chora.

Mykonos beach clubs sell sunbeds at £130 a day but you can have the same sand between your toes experience facing stunning turquoise waters at Patmos’ Grikos Beach for pennies.

And when it comes to food, the tavernas on Patmos are more than capable of giving those big chef restaurants of Mykonos and Santorini a run for their money.

Fish is still a highlight but a high-end, fancy dinner for two on Patmos with wine will set you back £100 as opposed to nearly £250 on the trendy islands.

Isle of Whithorn, Scotland

Heather Lowrie, Travel Editor at The Scottish Sun

One of the most southerly Scottish villages, this is a fabulous place to escape the crowds but still with plenty to occupy your time – most of it free!

Visit St Nina’s sea-side cave, said to be the hideaway of the early Christian saint.

As one of Scotland’s earliest Christian sites, it brought travellers, traders, pilgrims and royalty to Whithorn for more than 1,000 years.

Ten crosses are cut into the cave wall, and the 18 early Christian carved stones found inside are at Whithorn Priory and Museum.

The Latinus Stone – Scotland’s earliest Christian monument is also housed here. Entry is just £7.50 for adults and children 4-15 are £4.50.

There are three tall standing stones at nearby Drumtroddan, dating to the second or third millennium BC which are part of a unique prehistoric landscape, including the nearby Drumtroddan Cup and Ring Marked Rocks. All free.

Take the Isle of Whithorn Loop, to the Priory, stopping at the iron age roundhouse and finish with coffee and cake at the lovely community cafe and shop and bed down at the Steampacket Inn to explore nearby towns and villages like Garlieston, Sorbie and Monreith.

Salerno, Italy

Sophie Swietochowski, Assistant Travel Editor

Sipping Aperol spritz from a cliffside restaurant on Italy’s rugged Amalfi Coast should be on everyone’s bucket list.

Don’t waste your cash staying there, though. The charming town of Salerno sits just a short (around 30 minutes or so) and cheap ferry ride away – and you can save yourself hundreds by staying here instead.

When you’re not daytripping to Positano, explore Salerno’s cobbled side alleys, teeming with pokey restaurants where nonnas are cooking up huge portions of fried fish and pasta from family recipe books.

Sopot, Poland

Helen Wright, Travel Writer

If you are looking for a wide, golden sand beach, lined with beach bars and cafes, a busy promenade and a seaside destination with a lot of character, consider Sopot in Poland. 

This beach town is less than half hour from the nearest city, Gdansk. Flights direct to Gdansk from the UK start from £12 each way on Ryanair and it’s an easy (and cheap) train ride to get to the coast.

Hotels start from £40 per night for two people, so it’s ideal for those on a budget.

The coastline is so stunning, you could be forgiven for thinking you ‘re on the beach in Italy or the South of France but for the bargain prices everywhere.

Beautiful, historic buildings sit along the coastal road, including the Sofitel Grand Hotel, which looks like the setting of an Agatha Christie thriller.

The beach is huge and, although popular in the summer months, never feels crowded. The sea here is calm and ideal for a paddle or swim – although the water can be on the chilly side.

At beach cafes along the front, you can grab a cold beer for £2 and cocktails for £5.

Prosto, a pizzeria with a beautiful garden and outdoor seating is just steps from the beach. Here, a huge pizza will only set you back £10 and is definitely enough for two adults to share. 

You can lay down a blanket and spend the whole day basking in the sun, or take position in one of the fancy beach clubs, which have Ibiza vibes but start from £10 per day for a comfy sunbed and umbrella. 

Kefalonia, Greece

Jacob Lewis, Guest Travel Expert at TravelSupermarket

Swap Skiathos for this Greek island that’s £370 cheaper.

Skiathos might be one of Greece’s best-loved islands – but you’ll pay for it.

TravelSupermarket data shows average prices at around £955pp. That’s nearly £370 more than Kefalonia, which comes in closer to £588pp. For families, that’s a serious saving.

Kefalonia is the largest of the Ionian Islands – and one of the most dramatic. Think steep limestone mountains, dense forests and electric-blue bays, including Myrtos, regularly ranked among Europe’s best beaches.

It shot to global fame thanks to Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, but it’s long been a favourite with travellers who want something a bit less built-up.

That’s partly down to stricter planning rules, which have limited large-scale development and kept much of the island feeling low-key. You’ll find more small hotels, villas and apartments than huge resort blocks.

Argostoli, the capital, feels more like a proper Greek town than a purpose-built resort – with a lively waterfront, good tavernas and a laid-back atmosphere.

Up north, Fiskardo is one of the prettiest harbour villages in Greece. It survived the 1953 earthquake that flattened much of the island, so its Venetian buildings are still intact – and it’s easily worth a day trip.

You still get the same essentials as Skiathos – clear, warm water, great beaches and reliable sunshine – just spread across a bigger, less crowded island. Flights from the UK take around three hours, so there’s no extra hassle.

It’s one of the best-value destinations in Greece right now.

You know you’re in a city that takes its fashion seriously when even the Virgin Mary is dressed head to toe in couture. A short walk from Antwerp’s old town, with its ornate medieval guild houses and cobblestone streets, is the baroque church of St Andrews. Like many of the city’s Catholic churches, it has beautiful stained glass windows, an exuberantly carved wooden pulpit and more artworks by Flemish masters than you can shake an incense stick at. But we’re here to pay homage to an art form of a different kind.

In a quiet chapel, an elegant 16th-century wooden statue of the Madonna is clothed not in her usual blue cloak, but a dress of pale gauzy fabric, trimmed with a collar of white pigeon feathers, custom made by renowned Belgian fashion designer Ann Demeulemeester. It’s a bold statement but one that’s entirely in-keeping with a city where a love of fashion seems woven into the fabric of everyday life.

It wasn’t always so. In the 19th century this impoverished neighbourhood was known as the “parish of misery”– a reputation that endured well into the 1980s when a young designer named Dries van Noten took the plucky decision to open a shop on Nationalestraat, across the road from his grandfather’s tailor shop. Almost four decades on, the beautifully restored art nouveau building, with its curved windows, marble floor and chandeliers, is at the centre of Antwerp’s vibrant Fashion District (rebranded, presumably, because “Misery District” was a harder sell for the tourist board).

“You have to understand that there was nothing here at all before this shop opened. It changed everything,” says Yentl, a guide who is leading my daughter and I on a walk around some of the area’s key fashion sites and shopping streets.

Van Noten and Demeulemeester are both members of the “Antwerp Six” – a group of bright young graduates of the city’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts who exploded on to the international fashion scene in the late 1980s. Along with their peers, Walter van Beirendonck, Dirk Bikkembergs, Dirk van Saene and Marina Yee, they are credited with injecting new life into a fashion scene which had been dominated for decades by Paris, Milan and London.

Their story is being told in a major new exhibition at MoMu, Antwerp’s world-class fashion museum, just a few doors along from Van Noten’s flagship store. The retrospective, which runs to January 2027, marks the 40th anniversary of the group’s first foray to London in 1986, when they piled into a rented van and caught a ferry from Ostend to show their debut collections at the British Designer Show in Olympia. The young Belgian designers won over the international fashion press and buyers alike with their talent, originality and chutzpah – creating their collections on a shoestring, often from upcycled materials, championing self-expression over marketability, hosting fashion shoots in abandoned car parks, and making their own flyers and posters.

Though it suited the foreign press to label them as the Antwerp Six (far easier than typing out all of those long Flemish names), they were never a collective and it’s gratifying to see that the exhibition has given each designer their own individually curated space. From the avant garde exuberance of Van Beirendonck’s colourful creations to the dark drama of Demeulemeester’s monochrome palette, the displays are as thought-provoking and imaginative as the clothes they showcase, combining film projections, recorded interviews, a moving conveyor belt of mannequins and an evocative soundtrack.

Emerging from the exhibition into the spring sunshine, it’s clear that the legacy of this pioneering group extended far beyond the catwalk and lives on in the city. On Nationalestraat contemporary designers rub shoulders with kilo stores where second-hand clothes are sold by weight. At Labels Inc you can browse pre-loved pieces from established Belgian designers such as Raf Simons and Martin Margiela or check out the featured collections from the city’s latest crop of fashion graduates. Nearby Kammenstraat and Steenhouwersvest are lined with vintage stores, streetwear brands and independent labels such as Arte Antwerp, which specialises in sleek, urban menswear inspired by graphic design, art and architecture. Even if you wouldn’t know a Bikkembergs bag from a Belgian waffle it’s impossible not to be inspired.

“The Antwerp Six taught people how to be entrepreneurs and to follow their inner voice,” says designer Tim van Steenbergen, who did his apprenticeship with Dries van Noten, and then went on to found the social enterprise and sustainable fashion label ReAntwerp. “They showed that if you want to do things differently, you can.”

Launched as a response to the vast amount of textile waste produced by the fashion industry, ReAntwerp sells a range of beautifully tailored, limited-edition classics, from shirts to trench coats, using leftover fabric from designers such as Van Noten and Christian Wijnants. The enterprise also provides training, employment and support to refugees, who make the clothes in the on-site atelier. “I wanted the clothes to have as much meaning and value for the people who make them as the people who buy them,” says Van Steenbergen. “We have worked with refugees from Afghanistan, Syria, Pakistan, Palestine, Brazil and Costa Rica. Our common language is textiles.”

It’s a fitting motto for a city whose wealth was built, in part, on the textile trade. In the 16th-century Antwerp was Europe’s largest river port, with cargos of English wool and Italian silks, as well as diamonds from India, spices from Portugal and sugar from the West Indies, being shipped up and down the River Scheldt. Riches from this trade were poured into the elaborate guild houses and civic buildings which surround the Grote Markt, the city’s showpiece square. The story of Antwerp’s port is told at the MAS museum, housed in a strikingly modern 10-storey building in the dockside Eilandje district. Don’t miss the panoramic views across the river and sprawling dockyards from the roof terrace, or the chance to snack on street foods from around the world at the Wolf Sharing Food Market, in an old warehouse with a waterside terrace.

Not only was golden age Antwerp a great commercial hub, it was also an artistic and intellectual powerhouse, home to painters such as Anthony van Dyck, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Clara Peeters and Peter Paul Rubens. You can see a collection of their works at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts but nothing compares to the impact of seeing four of Rubens’ huge altarpieces, in situ, at the imposing Cathedral of Our Lady.

The artist’s house and studio are now closed for major renovation work but, after a long day’s sightseeing and shopping, it was a relief to sit quietly among the displays of tulips and spring flowers in the Italian-style formal gardens which are still open to the public. We also stumbled upon some extraordinary family portraits by Rubens at the Plantin-Moretus Museum, the former home and workplace for nine generations of a family who completely revolutionised printing. The first atlas, countless scientific books and beautifully illustrated Bibles passed through the wooden printing presses here, some of which date back to the 1600s. With its dark panelled walls, leaded windows and creaking floorboards, it’s an atmospheric and fascinating place, where time seems to have stood still.

There’s just time for one last bolleke beer and a shrimp croquette in the sun-trap square next to our hotel, the charming Hotel t’Sandt, before we have to check out and hop on the tram to Antwerp’s central station for the 45 minute train ride to Brussels, where we’ll catch our Eurostar train home. The hotel, which is in a beautifully restored 17th-century mansion with polished wooden floors, a spiral staircase and beamed ceilings, has lived through many previous incarnations: banana warehouse, custom house, soap factory and sculptor’s studio. Today it makes a perfect base for exploring the city; friendly, stylish and wears its history well … much like Antwerp itself.

The Antwerp Six exhibition runs at MoMu until 17 January 2027. Admission is €13 per adult and free for under-18s. The trip was provided by Visit Antwerp. Double rooms at the Hotel ’t Sandt start from €217 a night

Trade the flower crowns and sneakers for a cowboy hat and some boots, because Coachella has moved out of the Empire Polo Club in Indio and the Stagecoach Festival is moving in, April 24 to 26.

Post Malone, who headlined Coachella in 2025 and played a set of country covers at Stagecoach in 2024, is back to headline the country music fest along with Lainey Wilson and Cody Johnson.

From what to know about the festival to how you can watch from home, here’s your guide to Stagecoach.

When is Stagecoach? Where is the venue?

Stagecoach 2026 runs April 24 to 26 at the Empire Polo Club at 81-800 Ave. 51 in Indio.

Who is performing at Stagecoach 2026?

This year’s main stage headliners are Cody Johnson, Lainey Wilson and Post Malone.

You can also expect big sets from Brooks & Dunn, Bailey Zimmerman and more rock-centric acts like Journey, Counting Crows, Third Eye Blind and Bush. Then there’s Ludacris, Pitbull and Diplo, who is bringing back his HonkyTonk dance area as well as performing.

See the full lineup.

Fun fact: Mane Stage performer Teddy Swims played the main stage at Coachella the last two weekends, but we haven’t heard if he’s bringing out David Lee Roth again. And Diplo was also at Coachella with Major Lazer.

What’s new at Stagecoach this year?

The big thing is the new Mustang Stage. Back in the early years of Stagecoach, there was a tent with the same name that featured a lot of cowboy poets and bluegrass. It was much smaller than what we’re expecting of this new one, which is set up where the massive Sahara Tent is during Coachella.

Anyone who has tried to see one of the big artists over at the Palomino Stage during Stagecoach in recent years knows how it can easily overflow, so this should ease some of that congestion for artists like Journey, Hootie & the Blowfish and the Red Clay Strays.

It’s also taking over the late-night sets with Diplo, Pitbull and Ludacris that had previously been done at the Palomino.

Can I still get tickets to Stagecoach? How much are passes?

Yes, there are still passes available for Stagecoach 2026. A general admission three-day pass is $619. (There’s also a deal if you buy a six-pack of GA passes that comes out to $569 per pass.) You can get a GA combo pass that includes shuttle transportation starting at $699. There’s also a GA pass that gets you access to the Rhinestone Saloon adjacent to the Mane Stage and the Rose Garden Saloon next to the Palomino Stage for $974.

If you want to get close to the Mane Stage, a Corral Standing Pit pass is $1,899. Corral reserved seating runs from $1,199 to $2,299. The chairs are folding camping chairs, and the highest tier option has drink holders. If you purchase any of the seating options, you can take the chair home as a souvenir Sunday night. Corral passes (standing or seated) come with access to the more exclusive Corral Saloon as well as the Rhinestone and Rose Garden Saloons.

You can buy tickets at stagecoach.com/passes.

What’s the difference between general admission and Corral passes?

Stagecoach is different from Coachella in that if you want to be close to the largest stage, you will need to pay for a Corral pass. Those in the Corral Standing Pit will be the closest.

If you have a GA pass, be prepared to just see the biggest acts on a screen. For Stagecoach, there are multiple screens set up in the field for the general admission areas — and usually a feed with a screen over by the Beer Barn, too.

GA passholders who are willing to stand typically have access to an area closer to the Mane Stage than those with blankets or low-backed lawn chairs.

That being said, GA passholders have traditionally been able to get up close at all of the other stages.

When does Stagecoach release set times?

Stagecoach set times are already posted. Similar to Coachella’s surprises, the festival recently announced that Dan + Shay are on the bill for Friday on the Palomino Stage.

When do gates open at Stagecoach? How late does the music go?

The parking lots open at noon daily and the gates open at 1. Everything ends at midnight or earlier.

As the venue opened, country music fans made a run across the field to secure good concert-viewing positions on the first day of Stagecoach in 2022.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

What’s the deal with parking? What about the shuttles? Can I take a rideshare? How’s traffic?

Who says you can’t get anything for free anymore? Day parking is free at Stagecoach.

Like I recommended for Coachella, drop a pin in your phone as soon as you park so you can find your car at the end of the night.

There is a rideshare lot. You can also purchase a shuttle pass for $130. There’s also preferred parking for $299.

Stagecoach doesn’t have as many people as Coachella, so the traffic usually isn’t as bad, but Monday can get congested as people head home from the desert.

If you want to avoid traffic or you’re looking for some off-site adventures during Stagecoach, check out these 14 fun desert side quests.

Where do I put my stuff? Are there lockers? Is there a place to charge my phone?

Stagecoach still has medium-sized lockers available to rent. They are $84 for the weekend and you can reserve them in advance. Small charging lockers for devices are $74 for the weekend.

Backpacks 18” x 13” x 8.5” or smaller are allowed inside the venue.

Beyond the charging lockers, there are places around the grounds where you can charge your own devices. Bring your own cable/plug.

A man drinks a beer from a woman’s boot while watching Willie Nelson & Family perform on the Mane Stage on the second day of Stagecoach 2024.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

What’s the weather going to be like for Stagecoach and how can I prepare for it?

It’s looking like we’ll hit a high of 90 degrees on Friday, 81 on Saturday and 78 on Sunday, according to Accuweather. The lows will dip into the 50s, though, so you might want to throw in a long-sleeved flannel shirt or hoodie for when the sun goes down and Brooks & Dunn sing about dancing under a neon moon. Since blankets and towels (50” x 70” max) are also allowed, you could also roll yourself up into a Stagecoach burrito, I suppose.

You can also bring in handheld fans (paper or battery-powered).

Plastic personal-sized water misters are allowed in, too, but they have to be empty when you get there.

The wind doesn’t look too bad right now, but it will inevitably kick up. Don’t bring a cough home as a souvenir. Bring a face covering like a bandanna or a PPE mask.

The desert is hot. Are there water stations?

I know lots of people enjoy the beer at Stagecoach, but it’s not the same as water. My mantra in April is dehydration is serious business. And if you’re drinking beer, you definitely want to keep drinking water.

The good news is that there are multiple refill stations around the grounds, and if you need to buy a bottle of water, it’s only $2.

Like Coachella, you can bring in an empty refillable container, but it needs to be plastic (no metal or glass) and 64 ounces or less. Empty hydration backpacks are allowed, too.

For a free boost of electrolytes, the Electrolit booth is back with free samples between the Mane Stage and Diplo’s HonkyTonk. (Pro tip: I stopped there every day on my way in during Coachella. Hydrate early, hydrate often.)

What’s the deal with food at Stagecoach?

If you like barbecue, you’re in the right place. There’s a whole lot of it at Stagecoach. Flavortown also comes to Stagecoach with cooking demos throughout the weekend courtesy of Guy Fieri and friends.

There are a fair number of vendors that were also at Coachella, including Prince St. Pizza, Irv’s Burgers, Love Hour and Oh My Burger, the latter two of which impressed Danielle Dorsey, one of our food editors, at Coachella this year.

If you’re buying food on site, plan on $20 and up for most entrees, with a few deals to be had.

If you’re looking for freebies, the Electrolit and Coca-Cola installations are still there from Coachella and Monster Energy also has a space where it’s giving out samples. (Monster Energy also has a meet and greet with Redferrin after his performance on Saturday and a surprise DJ set on Sunday.) As for free food, sometimes they pass out samples to the crowd after the Guy Fieri demonstrations.

What else can I do while I’m in the desert? Is there time to do anything outside of the festival?

I’m glad you asked. Earlier this month, we put together a collection of side quests around the desert. Some, like snapping a photo of the Forever Marilyn statue in Palm Springs or seeing the former Coachella festival art installation “Sarbalé Ke,” are easy to do before entering Stagecoach for the day. Others are more involved and can be a great way to miss that traffic coming back on Monday.

If you’re looking for more options, we’ve got a Gen Z guide to eating, drinking and shopping in Palm Springs and restaurant critic Bill Addison recently updated his dining guide to Palm Springs.

How can I watch Stagecoach from home?

In recent years, Stagecoach has been streamed on Prime Video, Amazon Music and Twitch.

The streams start each day at 3 p.m. Pacific. There are two channels set up.

A specific schedule hasn’t yet been announced, but a press release from Amazon says the stream will include sets from Cody Johnson, Lainey Wilson, Post Malone, Third Eye Blind, Avery Anna, Ludacris, Michael Marcagi, Pitbull, the Red Clay Strays, Wynonna Judd and Diplo.

The 55-minute treatment promises to improve circulation and relax muscles, helping to plump the skin while lifting and firming, “giving it a more contoured appearance,” Kosha owner Anastasia Talan told me.

It starts with a short grounding meditation before a cleansing of the skin and a light scalp massage. It then transitions into a wonderfully relaxing neck, shoulder and face massage, with an emphasis on the face. (The actual “buccal massage” part comes later.) Talan said the overall treatment blends multiple types of massage, including European “contouring and lifting massage,” lymphatic drainage, acupressure and myofascial release as well as light stretching.

As she worked on my face, Talan applied pressure while stroking under my cheek bones, along my sinuses and up, down and around my cheeks and jaw area.

The “buccal massage” portion was about 15 minutes. It’s also called “intraoral massage” because it takes place inside of the mouth. Talan donned blue plastic gloves and then pulled my lips apart, massaging the inside of my cheeks, lips and around my jawbone and temporomandibular joint. Relieving tension there is helpful in aiding TMJ and other temporomandibular joint disorders. Another benefit, says Talan: clenching the jaw, a stress reaction, can enlarge the masseter muscles on the jaw, leading to the lower part of the face looking heavy. Relaxing those muscles could preserve slimness of the face.

But go for the sheer relaxation of it. Once the (admittedly awkward) intraoral massage part was over, Talan spent a few more minutes massaging the outside of my face and neck. The treatment was so dreamy, I nearly drooled while fighting off sleep.

Treatment name: The Buccal Facial

Price: 55 minutes, $195