Going to the 2018 Monaco Grand Prix at Monte-Carlo
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Are you going to the 2018 Monaco Grand Prix at Monte-Carlo? Join or start a discussion below and swap notes with other people who are going to this race.
You can also find more discussion threads about going to the Monaco Grand Prix. The 2017 Monaco Grand Prix discussion thread is here.
I’m off to Monaco next year for the first time and already I am way too excited!
Debating whether to go for tickets in K1/K2 or tribune L.
Hi Chris – K1 as high as possible or K2 as high up. They both sell out for the upper levels very quickly
Hi
Going to Monaco 2018 for first time. Grateful for any advice that would enhance the experience. Staying in Nice from Fri night to Mon. Thinking of K grandstand or rocher general admission ticket. What are the pros and cons of general admission? Is this anywhere up the hill towards the palace? What is the best time / way to get access to pit lane on Sat? What is best place to hang out after Sat and Sun (on a budget) in Monaco. Best site to buy tickets? Thanks in advance for anything else.
@stevexxx
Hi Steve,Please check out my comments for this race for last year- that haven’t changed I am sure!
Don’t go general admission at the Rocher – its too far from the action and tickets are too cheap elsewhere to miss it!
If you do a stand anywhere from Tabec past Swimming pool you will be happy.You don’t need to stay in Nice despite what all tell you- If you stay at the Columbus it will cost you 3000 PD for 4 nights- we got an ‘Home from home’ for 11 nights for 4 guys and it was 3300 Euro. It can be done cheap.
Let me know if you need any more info
Homer
Evil
Thanks for reply. Read all your previous stuff, useful info. Thre may be a few of us going so was curious about the pad for 11 nights at 3300. Was it in Monaco? Private appartment airbnb or hotel? Do you have a link?
Cheers
Steve
Hi Steve- sorry for slow reply been off for a while.
Here is a link below, Its on HomeAway but I as sure she has in on other sites as well.https://www.homeaway.com.au/holiday-rental/p760526
It is right on the Monaco/France border just up from the train station- It was less than a 10min walk from the room to St Devote corner so easy access. The prices on the site may be different for F1 time so send Natalie a message (she was very good to deal with). We paid 3300 Euro for 11 nights.
Its 2 bedroom with fold out lounge (one room bunk beds, other normal queen bed). We had 4 guys so it wasnt ideal for sleeping but one of us just put a matress on a floor. 2 couples would work well or more ok if happy with sleeping arrangements.
We enquired about quite a few on the HomeAway site – some like Nat got back fast, others were slow (we got offered a room about 6 months after the initial enquiry) and others we didnt hear back from. But you can find accommodation in Monaco or very close for a fraction of the price of the hotels – a bit further up the hill in France you can get full houses with great pools for good prices but they are too far to walk and getting a taxi in Monaco is near impossible so we limited our search to walking distance to the track- best of luck!!
Hi Chris, we went this year for first time…..fabulous, sat in K1 back row for race day and casino square on Saturday second row. Got tickets through automobile club of Monaco. My wife did it all on the telephone. Have a great time
Nige.
Nige- just for interest did you stay in Monaco or elsewhere?
If elsewhere was access in & out easy?I have flights and accommodation booked for 23rd – 29th May. Special occasion so am looking at Hospitality options. Anyone have a yacht with some spare capacity for 2?
Seriously though, Caravelles seems like the best option for race day but is fairly expensive. Has anyone viewed from here and what was the general feeling? How is this organised, do different companies take over specific floors and sell spaces? There seems to be a fair bit of variation in pricing in regards to this but does this reflect what is on offer or is it a bit of a lottery?
I think being on a yacht on the Thursday may be an option but again, prices vary so any recommendations would be appreciated.
Hi Paul
Have done Caravelles and a yacht. We were on the roof at Caravelles which was great viewing but the press tended to use it as well so had to work round some big lenses! Also scary trip up – lift so far then you had to walk the rest of the way up.
The hospitality is usually done between several companies but you need to be sure they are genuine outfits. If he is on the forum Ed may be able to give you more info on that but also there are several floors in the building so it depends what floor etc it is for.
Re the yacht it depends what you want. We did not enjoy it but that is because we were there for the racing and visibility on the yacht is very limited – more so if you aren’t tall as everyone hogs the front – I couldn’t see a thing. If you just want to say you have done it then go for it. Personally whilst we have done hospitality on all 3 days I still prefer being in the grandstands for race day when doing hospitality a lot of people aren’t even interested in the race and for Monaco I am sure it is all about the location. We had 1 guy who slept through the whole thing!
To be honest, I would be thinking of a yacht for Thursday as opposed to race day. I had a look at roof prices for Caravelles but it pushes my budget a little too much. I remember reading somewhere that there are often people selling spaces on terraces at the train station but I’m guessing that at that point the places left wouldn’t be very good or would it be an opportunity for a bargain?
Sorry the yacht was on Thursday – never done it race day. Hospitality is good value on Thursday but limited as not everywhere offers it. Yes you can pick up tickets round the station etc but you need to be careful as you may not get what you are expecting!! You should get them to take you to where it is so you can see before you buy – you may get a bargain but I would be wary.
I would recommend you look at the reputable companies if you are going to do it. Ed is usually on the forum at some point so he may touch base with you if he picks up on your queries.
Sorry folks, I can’t figure out how to get notifications when someone adds something here so I can log in and help…and I forget to log in regularly. Ages ago I offered Keith to be a moderator for this forum and he accepted so I’ll follow up on that and then perhaps I’ll get notifications and will be on more regularly.
Steve I’d avoid sector rocher and agree with Evil re the accommodation, it might take some searching about but if you’re looking for self catering you’ll find something on the usual sites like Airbnb, Tripadvisor, HomeAway, etc.
There are also local rental agencies and a couple of aparthotels you may want to look at.
Paul, the ACM (Automobile Club de Monaco) issue all of the tickets for the Monaco GP. You can buy grandstand tickets direct from them online or by phone. If online use a Windows PC not a Mac, there’s more functionality with Windows such as specific seat selection etc.
You can buy grandstand tickets via agents, like our company Fugare1, but don’t unless they are adding value for you and you’re happy you’re getting good value. For example, we don’t sell just grandstand tickets on their own as we can’t add value but would have to charge more to cover admin etc. so you would end up paying more for just the ticket.
For comparison only (and this is not a pitch, I’m here to help not to sell – but you can use this to compare against other agents or to make your decision on the ACM)…our Monaco Grand Prix grandstand packages include:
– return rail tickets Nice/Monaco (saves you having to suss out how to get them in advance or having to queue on the day)
– a seat cushion (those grandstand benches are hard to spend the day on)
-rain poncho (yes it rains and hails in Monaco in May)
– Fugare1 baseball cap (it’s definitely sunny in May)
– ear plugs (although are they really necessary given how the engines have changed!!)
– lanyard and pouch for your ticket
– official ACM Monaco Grand Prix 2018 ticket
– official F1 race programme
– helpdesks on site in Monaco where you collect the above or it can be delivered to your accommodation in Monaco or Nice.That all saves you sourcing, queuing, etc and means you can pay for it as a package in instalments, that’s all value add that justifies for me the additional cost on top. Extras and convenience like that are of value to some folks, not to others.
Your weekend grandstand ticket gets you into the free pit lane walk on Friday. But it’s a free for all and is very busy from start to finish.
With regards the yachts and balconies there are good and bad like everything else.
Caravelles is a great building to watch the race from, it sits in between the grid and first corner. We used to rent rooftop terraces all the time and one of my favourites was Shangri La, right over the grid (there are pics of the view on our website if you want to get an idea of the view from different locations or PM me and I’ll email specific ones). But when they changed the engines the atmosphere was lost, there was more noise from the GP2 than F1.
As a result we ditched the rooftops and stick with mid height terraces such as Caravelles 6th floor, which we’ve been using for years. This is a great compromise of height so you can see over the trees and proximity to the track for noise and view.
Anything under 4th floor and you won’t see over the trees to the harbour section. But you’ll be right on top of the cars for noise.
Yachts are my personal favourite because of the atmosphere but Caroline didn’t enjoy it when she was with us as the race view is more restricted due to the proximity to the track and the vessels either side. So for someone wanting to see as much of the track as possible a terrace/balcony is the way to go or a good grandstand such as K1/K2. Having said that since Caroline was with us we’ve secured a berth for the 33m yacht that gives a straight line view off the starboard side all the way up past the large yachts to the chicane and tunnel and we’ve also changed the yacht itself to provide more viewing space.
If someone can tell me how to (if it’s possible) to post a video or pics here I’ll post some so you can get an idea of what type of view to expect and you can then compare that with what’s on offer in the market. I’m not terribly tech savvy – Anyone know how to??
Our 44m yacht is much bigger, great fun and atmosphere also but again it’s a more restricted race view than the 33m or terraces. That’s a party location rather than best race viewing spot.
Thursday and Friday are great days to experience yacht hospitality at a fraction of the cost of race day (although Friday is a half day and there’s no F1 on track).
You could get lucky by turning up on the day and taking one of the last minute offers but the advice to look at what your about to buy first is sound. On more than one occasion I’ve been standing in the streets in Monaco waiting to take guests on a pit tour or something and have listened to touts tell prospective guests that they’ll see this and that and be given this and that knowing fine well it’s nonsense. I always wait to see if the folks ask to see it first but as yet no one has so I always step in at the point where they’re about to hand over cash and point out what exactly they can and can’t see from that particular location, what to expect in terms of calibre of hospitality and how much it’s really worth…the touts that talk rubbish don’t like me much, but there are also good ones who’ll tell you straight and sell at a fair price. It’s just a bit of a gamble.
That’s all a bit of a ramble and in no particular order but I hope it’s of use. If I’ve missed something or not answered a question post or feel free to PM/email me.
Cheers
EdPS: just spotted a notify me by email when someone replies at the bottom here…oops!
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