A Burning Man experience costs about $1,500—here's what it's like to go to the 9-day event in the Nevada desert

Every August, tens of thousands of people convene in Nevada's Black Rock Desert for Burning Man, a nine-day gathering that attracts billionaires, celebs and Silicon Valley moguls like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. Most "burners" will tell you that you have to go to truly understand the event, which features outdoor artistic installations, music and wild costumes. But to give you a look inside Burning Man, CNBC Make It spoke to people who have experienced it, including husband and wife duo Gui Agustini, 29, and Christina Jolie Breza, 31, who attended for the first time in 2017. Burning Man takes place in a temporary metropolis called Black Rock City. Like any city, it has essential infrastructure, hospitals, bars, clubs and a post office. There's even a temporary airport known as 88NV. But unlike your typical city, it's commerce-free: The only two things sold in Black Rock City are coffee and ice. Just because you're not buying anything at Burning Man doesn't mean it's cheap: Breza and Agustini spent about $1,500 each and that's about as inexpensive as it gets. The main cost is the ticket, which ranges from $425 to more than $1,000. You can also apply for a $190 low-income tickets, which is what Breza did. "There's a whole application process. You have to write what your job is, why you don't have any money, what you can contribute and why you want to go," she says. Another major expense is getting to the Nevada desert, which for some means buying a cross-country plane ticket to Reno or San Francisco. Others rent RVs and hit the road; some take the Burner Express bus, which runs from San Francisco and Reno to Black Rock City; and a select few rent private planes and fly directly into 88NV. Other expenses to budget for include costumes, food and water, a vehicle pass if you're driving to the event and camp dues if you're staying in one of the camps, which form the backbone of Burning Man. That's what Breza and Agustini did and each paid $250 in camp dues, which got them a family meal every night and one shower each over the course of the event...MORE