15 Awesome Ways to Sneak Alcohol into Festivals to Save Money in 2026

Here’s how to hide alcohol to help you bring the costs of festivals, cruises and events down. If you can work out how to sneak alcohol into festivals, successfully, you can save A LOT. 

Most of the weekend camping festivals let you take your own booze into the camping area, but you’re still stuck paying a fortune for a pint in the main arena.

This is where getting a little sneaky becomes a necessity. I’ve been going to festivals for over 20 years – always on a budget – so I’ve become an expert at sneaking a drink in. Trust me!

1. Sunscreen lotion bottle

If you want to hide alcohol, simply empty a tube or bottle of lotion and refill with booze. Or if you want to be really crafty, and probably safer, put your booze in a food bag and push to the bottom of the bottle. That way if they open it up and sniff it or look at it, there will still be sunscreen on the top to throw them off the scent.

You could adapt your own sunscreen bottle, or buy these specially-created-for-smuggling bottles from Amazon for the easier option.

2. In the Pringles tube

Same idea, different smuggling vessel. Just add a food bag filled with booze in the bottom – weighs less than bottles – and stack a few Pringles on top.

Sneaky, and you get to eat some tasty Pringles too.

3. Wine bags to sneak alcohol into festivals

Buy the boxed wine – which I like to call ‘cardboardeaux’ – and take the bag out. Then just put it down your trousers as a voluptuous bum, or in your top as a squidgy belly.

Dress discreetly and accordingly.

Or buy these Boobie Bags where you don’t even need to bother binning the box, they come ready bagged and waiting to be filled with a helpful straw for sucking.

This is my favoured way of getting the booze in, as you can divide and conquer and just have bags of booze in all your possessions and pockets, bras and pants. We did this for Victorious a few years ago, and if anything, it was a little too successful.

4. Mini bottles in the wellies

Just turn your wellies into a mini bar. Watch how you walk and you’ll be the most popular kid in the field. In all my years of festivals I’ve never had my wellies frisked so either buy some miniatures, or be cheap and make your own with these 50ml bottles from Amazon.

Then, when you’re out of sight, you can enjoy your stash of alcohol to your heart’s consent. 

5. Secret Umbrella Flask

You can sneak alcohol into any event with the Secret Umbrella Flask. Saves on money and on queueing at busy bars. It’s easy and obvious to use just take the top (handle) off, and you can use the umbrella like a bottle. It holds just under half a litre of your favourite alcohol!

6. Secret tampon flasks

A tampon flask? Errrrm, sounds a bit weird?

Well, it is. But, it also helps you save money on festivals by hiding your favourite spirits away in the form of a tampon no security guard would ever even think to check.

These undetectable hidden tampon flasks hold five shots of your favourite tipple – saving you money, and time in queueing at the bar. They’re perfect for festivals, sports events, and any night out – no one will suspect a thing. And that includes your friends, if you want to keep a private stash to yourself!

Makes for a great present for any event. Prefill for an even better one!

7. Shampoo flasks

These secret shampoo and conditioner flasks let you smuggle in over litre of liquid.

Made from high-quality food-grade materials, these would be perfect for sneaking alcohol onto cruises – helping you to drink that little bit cheaper!

They also come with seals, perfect for discretion.

8. Cans in the hood to sneak alcohol into festivals

I’ve smuggled booze in before by just putting a few G+T cans in my hood. I was all casual as I wandered in – sometimes just being totally casual and blatant is the best way.

You could also try under your hat.

9. The Boozey Bladder

This hidden flask is basically a wearable drinks pouch that sits discreetly under your clothes and holds up to 33oz (around a litre) of your chosen tipple. That’s enough for around 20 drinks. The Boozey Bladder is reusable, lightweight and could genuinely save you a fortune over a weekend festival.

10. Specially adapted bra

Again fill food bags (probably want to double bag them) half way and stuff into your bra like chicken fillets. Bear in mind that the booze will be lovely (bleugh) and warm when you get them out, but at least you’ll have saved money on a drink.

Or, if you can get your hands on one of these ‘Wineracks’ (£35), you’re laughin’.

Buy me one if you do.

11. Camelbak

Something like this Hydrobak 1.5 Litre Camelbak is perfect for smuggling alcohol in under your jumper. Secure it to your back with tape to prevent the security guards from feeling the gap between your back and the bag.

I reckon you’d need to not fill it to the top so it could feel a bit more like a fat belly, rather than an overloaded bag, but could be a goer.

12. More novelty shaped hip flasks

These Iggi hip flask binoculars are really cool and I want them, and this lipstick-shaped hip flask could come in handy too. Not sure if trying to take a pair of binoculars into a festival is more obvious than a welly mini bar, but it’s another option.

You could also try the paddle brush secret hip flask, or even one shaped like a digital camera.

You could also buy sneaky fake sunglasses, or a banana hip flask that fits 5oz / 150ml of liquid. Three shots!

13. Inject vodka into oranges

Or any fruit.

Just get yourself a syringe and you can make most innocent of foods super alcoholic.

If you do resort to this, have a little word with yourself to check everything’s ok and life is heading the way you want it.

14. Double use colostomy bag

If you can get your hands on a colostomy bag and tube you can fill it with whisky and lemonade so it looks like wee on the way in, and then get your doctor mate to fix it up to use it properly when you’re watching the bands and it’ll save you some time there too…

15. Bury it at the festival

There’s a festival where I live, in Portsmouth, called Victorious. And I know of people who will go down there the day before and bury their booze in the bushes, so they can retrieve in when they’re in there.

Although, one of my friends’ husbands did this and then celebrated a bit too hard when he found it again and got it taken off him when the security guard saw his jubilation. Gutted!