TIME TO GET set for the Oxegen Festival – those of you lucky enough to be among the 85,000 attending, that is.

Gardaí have issued their advice for anyone travelling to or from the Punchestown Racecourse over the next four days. Given the numbers expected to attend, gardaí are urging people to take public transport where possible.

Getting there

Two travel routes, red and blue, have been mapped out for motorists heading to Oxegen. Bear in mind that if you have a red parking ticket, you should take the red route, while blue ticket holders should take the blue route.

You must park as per your ticket colour, though you can camp in either area.

According to AA Roadwatch, here’s how to drive to the festival:

The red route:

From the north, take the M50 to J11 Tallaght and then the N81/Tallaght Bypass south of Blessington to the Hollywood/Naas Rd (R411) to Punchestown. From the south, take the M7 Limerick/Dublin Rd and exit at J12 Newbridge (Curragh exit) and onto Eyrefield Rd (R413).

The blue route:

From the north take the M50 onto the N7/M7 and exit at J9 Naas North (Big Ball), continue onto the Dublin Rd (R448) and the Blessington Rd (R445 & R410) to Punchestown. From the south take the M7 and exit at J9 Naas North and follow directions above.

A range of private bus companies will be providing transport to and from Oxegen. Bus Éireann is running services from Dublin city, Cork city and Galway city to the festival. Dublin Bus will be running an express service from Dublin city centre to Punchestown.

Festival parking

On-site parking is available for people with camping and pre-purchased parking tickets, but the advance parking tickets seem to be gone by now. Organisers say the two car parks, one red and one blue, open from 10am Thursday until 2pm Monday.

A free park and ride facility with over 7,000 car spaces is open and shuttle buses to the arena and campsite are free. The site will be open from 1.30pm on Thursday until 3pm on Monday.

Garda directions to the site are as follows:

Goffs (North) Park and Ride site is located approximately 5km north of Naas on the main Dublin to Naas Rd (N7) and accessed by travelling from North and Southbound Lanes via the Johnstown, Kill / Sallins Interchange,  Exit 8 off the N7.

Anyone dropping people off to Oxegen is advised that space won’t be provided for this at the Punchestown venue; rather, people should be dropped at the Goffs park and ride site and use the shuttle bus.

Gardaí say to expect delays of at least 60 minutes when exiting the car parks at the end of the event because coaches and shuttles will be given traffic priority.

Minors

Festival organisers say all IDs will be checked upon entry.

Anyone aged under 17 will not be allowed in unless accompanied by an adult aged 25 or older (ID required) who will sign a slip pledging responsibility for them.

That slip is available online. Print in advance and bring it along to save time in the queue, though the forms will also be available at festival.

What you can/can’t bring

• Medication (in the original containers) and personal camera are allowed in both the campsite and the arena area.
• Banned items include: weapons, aerosol cans, gazebos or marquees, gas canisters, energy generators, animals, laser pens, large sounds systems, and professional cameras and recording equipment.
• Alcohol can be brought to the campsite, but won’t be allowed into the arena.

For the most up-to-date and comprehensive list of what’s allowed and what’s not, check here on the official Oxegen site before travelling.

Read Oxegen’s checklist before leaving for the venue >

Follow travel developments with regular updates on the AA Roadwatch site >