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.
Sneak alcohol on a cruise
You’re normally only allowed one bottle of alcohol on a cruise. Get round this by putting the alcohol in cruise drink bags, or tightened tetra packs.
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.
TOP TIP: Try to smuggle more alcohol into the festival / concert / club / cruise than you need. Get your friends involved. That way you don’t put all your eggs in one basket and at least one of you will get it in, if not all. The price of alcohol on the outside is way cheaper than the inside, so invest! Even if it gets taken off you, it won’t break the bank. But if you get it through – woo!
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!
TOP TIP: If you get told off trying to conceal the alcohol, and get it in, just go with it. Let them be annoyed and give it up. There is no way you want to risk your ticket for the sake of a few drinks!
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…
Once you’ve passed security don’t whip out your contraband out straight away. Just keep walking and wait until you are in a bit of a crowd to get your alcohol stash out.
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!
The Tampon one no longer works at a lot of festivals as people use them as a way of taking drugs at festivals. Even Glasto who allow alcohol were checking everyone’s tampons as they went in for drugs.
A lot of festivals let you take alcohol to the campsites but not the arenas if they’re separate. Got a whole box of wine into the V Festival arena back in the day. Stick the bag in the pocket across the front of a hoody, wrap hoody round waist with pocket facing in, walk up to security with your bag already open so they think you’re nice, helpful and not a potential trouble maker and stroll right in. Got smacked in the arse every time I took a step, but worth it for the money saved
I used my friends little kid to go through the entrance with me and had 2 big plastic bottles of vodka and orange juice which I told the staff was just juice for the kid. Got through easily
Stick cans in your socks, or put them in your chair them pack chair in its bag, worked twice but was caught the third time.
Rewind Festival were taking everyone’s chairs out of the cases last year. LOADS of conviscated alcohol by the end of the day. Bet security had a party, shame they didn’t pass it on to us ticket scanning volunteers
Camo caps!!! or other re-sealable water caps! check Amazon!
hubby and i have been using camo caps for YEARS for concerts, football games, etc etc – NEVER once have they failed us.
…. you’re welcome.
Hi, what a brilliant post!
I would love some more ideas for cruises please!
I’m going on a 5 day trip on the Queen Mary 2 with all of the female members of my family and Cunard allow only 1 bottle of wine per person and that they will X-ray our bags and us It is only a short trip so I don’t need masses, but my favourite cousin and I would like a g&t or 2 on our balcony before dinner (to numb us to the experience of eating with the rest of the family), without paying 20€ a time! I was thinking that a small hydration pouch down my knickers would probably be easiest as it would pass the X-ray and I am unlikely to be frisked, but if you have any other genius ideas I would love to hear them. I’ve got huge boobs so bra bags are out unfortunately (unless I wear a kaftan).
Some questions on the ideas above…
How much alcohol can you inject into an orange? How do you get alcohol into a Capri Sun without it leaking back out? How can you get it into a sealed tetra pack? That would be awesome for bloody Mary’s in a V8 pack!
You should try some festivals in France and Portugal…awesome line-ups, good weather, and the drinks are super cheap. This weekend I was paying 1€50 for a large rosé (sometimes very large when nice bar staff filled to the top of the goblet!), but that was a smallish festival, bigger ones are usually 2€50 for a beer or wine. If you do come then keep an eye out for someone wearing even more glitter than you…that will be me!
Off to read the rest of your posts now…thanks!
Loving your questions Emma. Hmmmm difficult. I feel your pain. I think you’re bang on with the hydration pouch. If you’re gonna smuggle one you might as well smuggle three, right? One on each bum cheek? One down the front?
It would depend on the size of the orange, and how juicy it already is. You need to just keep injecting until it’s full. Drip feed the drink into the Capri Sun, slowly, and then carefully replace the lid. I feel like this is quite an obvious one so not sure if it’ll work on a cruise.
I’ve not been to a festival in France or Portugal yet – got that to look forward to. You sound like a lot of fun – I really hope you enjoy your cruise. And let me know if you manage to smuggle it on! You could also put hydration packs in your suitcase. They won’t go through them. Just don’t take glass or anything bottle shaped!
Brilliant article I’ve tried a good few the Pringles we got away with for ages and bottom of handbags, but no food allowed now, I heard of guys burying alcohol on the site on previous weeks … this time I hid 3 food bags tripled up and filled with my spirit under my boobs worked a treat but bags weren’t really waterproof they leaked into each other so not ideal .. but I’ll perfect this for one in a few weeks ??
Oh wow, sounds like you’ve really got into it! So many ways to sneak it in. I’m off to Glastonbury in a few weeks and one of the best things about Glasto is that you don’t have to sneak alcohol in at all. As long as it’s not in a glass bottle you can bring it in :).
I’ve always taken a big bottle of a spirit and rolled it up in my sleeping bag. Once your sleeping bag is in its bag and at the bottom of the rucksack, nobody will know. I’ve never had my sleeping bag taken out of its case or my rucksack as a whole to check it so it’s always worked.
Ooo great plan. I’ve never had anyone unravel my sleeping bag to check, so yeah, great place to hide it!
Swedish people are one step ahead of everybody. This brand package their vodka in sachets ^^ so we don’t have to be creative. @DervanaVodka.