Going to the Monaco Grand Prix at Monte-Carlo

Want to do Monaco 2016 for husband's 40th. Total newbie – help & advice please!

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  • #290074
    Natasha
    Participant

    My husband is a HUGE F1 fan and has been for about 20+ years but has never actually been to a race. He’s 40 this year and I’d really like to take him to one as a surprise. On my shortlist were Monaco (glam and a fun birthday getaway), Silverstone (easy, as we live in the uk) and Spa (husband has always appreciated eau rouge). I thought monaco would be the way to go in terms of an ‘experience’. The thing is I don’t really know what I’m doing and don’t want to mess it up by booking the wrong thing or paying more than necessary.

    Basically I need some seasoned race-goers to give me advice on how to go about things like a pro would, and any other ‘insider’ useful info to help me pull this off!

    I’ve done a search on here and based on the info I read this is the kind of thing i need to do, but I would appreciate further advice to help refine it:
    *Get in early to get the best tickets (when do they go on sale?) and use the official website;
    *Try and get tickets for tribune K1 (high) on race day for the best views. Casino square would be fine for sat qualy;
    *Tickets are proabably going to be about £600pp for sat/sun race weekend;
    *Stay outwith monaco e.g. Nice

    My budget is pretty generous but I have to say that I’m a bit ‘eek’ about the prospect of £1200 for tickets + flights + accomodation! Any specific advice on how to do it for a more reasonable amount, but still have a good experience worthy of a 40th would be much appreciated!

    Many thanks!

    #290085
    Caroline Miles
    Participant

    Hi Natasha

    Tickets the last couple of years have gone on sale around July on the ACM site. K1 or K2 as high as possible are the best seats. We have also sat in both Casino Square and opposite the pits but tend to go back to K1 or K2. Bear in mind buying direct from ACM’s website will give you the cheapest ticket prices but it is likely they will increase for next year in price.

    We always stay in Nice but be warned the hotel prices increase significantly over the GP weekend with some room rates trebling from Thursday evening. You could look at a self catering apartment which may bring prices down (we did this on our first trip but 6 flights up and no air on when it is hot is not recommended.) You will also find if flying from the UK that as this is invariably May bank holiday weekend that unless you book your flights very early or go for a longer period airfares are quite expensive. To give you an idea if we were going this year a lot of hotels are already booked and for something decent you are looking at around £1100 for 4 nights excluding breakfast, flights £500 each, race tickets £600 each so up to £3300 already excluding travel to/from circuit etc and food. You may find cheaper hotels if you pay in advance or if you are up for it Camping F1 do Monaco.

    Monaco on a budget is a tough call (although other people on the forum may disagree) – but it is a unique experience and for a special birthday for an F1 fan is amazing. If you can do it go for it.

    #290095
    Dan
    Participant

    Hi I don’t know if any of this is relevant or useful as the last race I went to was Silverstone in 2005 and prices will have changed significantly especially in places like Monaco but my advice for someone attending a Grand prix (particularly if they haven’t been before) would be:

    Try to get a ticket were you can move in/ out of any grandstand you want to as this way you can get different views i.e. corners show braking different racing lines compared to straights which give an idea of the speed

    A race day ticket depends of what you want as corners are generally more expensive compared to grandstands on straights in my experience. Whatever ticket you choose try to sit were you can see a TV screen (this way you can keep an eye on what’s happing in the race at different parts of the circuit)

    Have you considered taking a portable radio? As if the circuit commentary can’t be heard/ or in a different language you can tune into something like BBC radio 5 (it also helps pass the time if your sat in the grandstands and there is no on track action).

    Ear defenders are a very good idea (maybe not so much with the reduced engine noise) but if someone near you has an air horn… (It also has the advantage of allowing you to put ear phones underneath allowing you to hear cometary better)
    If you stay at a local hotel/ B & B have a massive breakfast or see if you can take food away with you as when I was at Silverstone in 2005 food at the circuit was very expensive I bought 2 cups of coffee and 2 bacon sandwiches and I didn’t get much change from £15!! So Monaco it is bound to be ALOT more.

    It might sound a bit of an odd thing to take but why not take along a pair of binoculars? As I was sat in a grandstand one time looking at the teams transporters and I spotted Michael Schumacher entering one talking to his engineer’s.
    If you like one particular driver, then I would advise you contacted the relevant teams press office and asked for a copy of that drivers schedule (as they will have it all worked out in advance), I was lucky in 2005 and overheard a TV crew chatting as they walked passed about Montoya’s busy day ahead and he was doing a PR event for the fans soon so as a result I was able to ensure I was at the front to get his autograph (always have pen/ paper ready in case of other surprise opportunity’s)

    The prices of some things like simulators go up over the weekend i.e. in 2005 on a Friday it was £4per person by race day it was £8 per person

    Shops selling team wear/ souvenirs etc can be very busy particular on race day for example I once had to queue for 15mins just to be served.

    But above all remember to enjoy yourself

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