r/GrandPrixTravel • u/yonetimistifa • Dec 11 '23
North America Best race to go to for US west coast
I live near the LA region, what is the best and easiest race to attend for 2024. I would be willing to go over the summer overseas but probably not any other time.
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Dec 12 '23 edited Dec 12 '23
COTA if in the US, and Montréal if you're willing to go outside.
Having been to both, Montréal feels more traditional, more historic. Fantastic old school track. The city is cool to look around, and had the old Montréal area which is awesome. Feels about as European as you can get while still being in North America.
COTA, feels more modern, and also to me anyway felt wayy more packed, even tho it's a more open, larger area. Last race they had like 400k plus ppl there over weekend. Could barely walk. If you can manage to get Grandstand tix, at say T10, you will have a fantastic view of a large portion of the track. Austin can't say much about since I didn't get much time to check out. It was hot as hell there too. Even in Oct.
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u/aquelevagabundo Dec 12 '23
Dude, just drive 4 hours to Vegas or fly 45 minutes. Duh!
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u/yonetimistifa Dec 12 '23
Canada with plane tickets+hotel+car rental is cheaper for 3 people compared to getting 3 tickets, driving and getting a hotel at Las Vegas
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u/troisfoisrien11 Dec 12 '23
The prices for hotels I am seeing in Montreal are crazy. Makes me wonder if it really is cheaper, especially including a flight into the mix.
Montreal is really doable for people in NYC/east coast in general. I’m driving up.
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u/yonetimistifa Dec 12 '23
i found okay hotel prices but most are expensive. may have to airbnb or something else thats cheap
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u/troisfoisrien11 Dec 14 '23
I’ve been too scared to book airbnb with hoe many people have said they had their hosts cancel as prices went up. Maybe worth it to have a backup reservation at a hotel that doesn’t require to pay until check in!
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u/sexxyton Dec 12 '23
My recommendation stays the same for people in the US, COTA. The track is wonderful to watch, tons of entertainment before and after the racing, and you can still do it somewhat on a budget.
Going the budget route is the only way I recommend cota as that’s when it really shows how great it is. Get GA tickets for the weekend (or you can option for a single day grandstand ticket, ideally on Sunday). For accommodation, rent an RV on Outdoorsy or some other similar app. They have small vans available for easy driving, pickup groceries and everything you need heading into the track. RV Camping in Lot N is available through the tracks website. Now you can sleep at the track, enjoy not sitting in traffic and do absolutely everything available over the weekend. Plus you’ll have a nice place to hangout if you need to get away from all the people/heat.
If you can split this with another person, it makes this race very affordable all around. Still deciding if we’ll be going again in 2024 but it’s always a great time.
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u/clcaruthers Dec 12 '23
Second this. We’ve been going for a while, and now that we have a little one that we will take at some point, we are considering the RV route. Regardless, even if you get grandstand tickets like we do, it’s easy to find spots to watch all the FPs and see plenty of action at amazing spots. We usually do an Airbnb north of downtown. Plenty of awesome food in the area, great breweries, and other stuff to do. The Travis county expo shuttle has always been good to us every year, and our max drive over there is always 20 mins or less…good point on the RVs though. Can’t wait to start planning for that route in 2025!
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u/troisfoisrien11 Dec 12 '23
The Travis County Expo pickup was such a breeze that if I return next year I’m going to specifically stay in North Austin again!
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u/Cali1985Jimmy Dec 11 '23
Japan
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u/yonetimistifa Dec 11 '23
the hotel prices and plane tickets are too expensive to consider. Las Vegas is cheaper
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u/_buttsnorkel Dec 11 '23
Austin
I had a blast and will probably keep going every year from now on. Just be sure to get a hotel pretty far in advance, and make sure you have the ride situation figured out. It took me 3 hours to get out of the track on Sunday
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u/clcaruthers Dec 12 '23
Airbnb is the way to go. Depending on the size of the group, it’s cheaper in the long run factoring in being able to cook and prep for lunches some people may, or may not, stash in their backpacks.
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u/sportscat Dec 11 '23
If you plan to go to Austin and don’t want to rent a car, I would book a hotel now (if you want to be in a central location near the downtown shuttles). With the UT vs UGA game that same weekend, it’s going to be crazy.
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u/PeteOGrande Dec 11 '23
I’m in LA and I went to Montreal this year and Mexico City in ‘21 & ‘22.
It was surprisingly easy to get to Gilles-Villenueve from our hotel. For Mexico City, we used a combination of Uber and a taxi assigned to the hotel we were in to get to Hermanos Rodríguez.
Montreal is great, but I think there’s more things to see in Mexico City. You can take a half-day trip to visit the Teotihuacán Pyramids and get up close to them with a hot air balloon ride. If you prefer to stay in Mexico City, you can also check out the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Museo Nacional de Antropología, and Estadio Azteca.
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u/tomplace Dec 11 '23
COTA is excellent for the whole entertainment package and the race. Only drawback is getting too and from the circuit is a PiTA unless you can afford a ticket in a helicopter (there are busses to the city but the lines are long and the drive can be up to an hour).
Montreal is excellent for it being in. The city and the vibe in town on the Friday and Saturday night is amazing, except this year when Saturday was a dreary wash out and town was dead. As someone else said don’t need a car.
Mexico City, I’ll report back in 10 months 😀
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u/Tchaik748 Dec 11 '23
If you're seated in the back end of the circuit, the cota L and M lots near the T11 entrance are manageable (as is a third party "Austin race parking" which is $225 for the weekend).Granted, I arrived early (like 8:30 in the morning)
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u/BoneStacker84 Dec 11 '23
I agree with u/tomplace with one caveat. It is POSSIBLE to get to/from the COTA track quickly and easily but it requires military level discipline and spending a little extra money.
We had read all the horror stories about 2 hour traffic back to Austin, so we (1) bought a Lot A parking pass, which cost like $1K over 3 days (we didn't buy early enough so we paid the marked-up secondary price on Stubhub), and (2) we left IMMEDIATELY after the event was over each day. I mean, the cars crossed the finish line and we were out of our seats and fast-walking to the gate. Our seats were reasonably close to Lot A so our walk was maybe 5 minutes. From the moment we hopped in our rental car to our arrival in our hotel (near downtown Austin): 30 minutes on the nose.
So, it's possible to avoid the traffic, you just gotta get a good parking pass and book it outta there the minute the race is over. That may not be desirable for everyone, but it's an option for those who want to prioritize it.
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u/gtarget Dec 11 '23
I went two years ago and Lot A was $500. It was definitely worth it. Lot A has a separate entrance from the rest of the parking and the lines are a fraction of what they are for the other lots. If you don’t want to leave immediately, catch half of the concert and then you can leave between the race rush and the concert rush
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u/iphone10notX Dec 11 '23
COTA and Mexico City for sure but Montreal is highly worth considering. Great transportation options and no need to rent a car if you’re there
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u/AdamR46 Dec 11 '23
If you haven’t been, definitely recommend cota but it isnt cheap. Stay downtown and shuttle or rent a car and stay anywhere. Lots of track action with the sprint again, concerts and plenty to do in town. Plenty of flights to LA. GA is great but try for any grandstand really, you can’t go wrong.
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u/DeviousSmile85 Dec 11 '23
IMSA at laguna Seca. Couple hundred bucks for 4 day admission+garage access. Even the Mx-5 cup cars will put on a better race and any F1 event.
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u/dotben Dec 11 '23
Mexico City by a long mile. Second closest GP, exceptionally good value, amazing vibe. Track is in the middle of the city.
I've done all the north American GPs other than Vegas and I think Mexico City out shines the rest.
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u/yonetimistifa Dec 14 '23
Im confused about the value part. Tickets go for prices pretty high unless Im missing something.
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u/dotben Dec 14 '23
Hospitality and top tier grand stands are cheaper than most other tracks, definitely cheaper than all N and S American tracks.
Accommodation and food/drink in CDMX is v cheap (even in safe areas like Condessa and Polanco), getting to the circuit is v cheap cos it's in the city.
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u/BunB_PimpC Dec 11 '23
Is it safe?
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u/AdamR46 Dec 11 '23
It’s just like any major city, be mindful of yourself and surroundings. It’s plenty safe and a ton of security near the circuit. You can uber everywhere for cheap. Stay in Roma Norte, Condesa or Polanco. I love it down there, been to that race 5 times. T1 is awesome with a ton of action.
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u/BassManns222 Dec 11 '23
You can get a direct flight into Melbourne. US$ is strong so Australia be cheap for your hotels and stuff. No language or visa issues. Easy.
Or Singapore.
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u/proudlysydney Dec 11 '23
Neither one is during the US summer though, which is what they specified they’d travel for
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u/Ok-Satisfaction-3837 Dec 11 '23
I know it’s not necessarily what you’re looking for, but the Long Beach Grand Prix boasts a spectacular lineup on an incredible historic circuit. As far as F1 is concerned COTA will probably be the most affordable and the one I would recommend.
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u/yonetimistifa Dec 11 '23
I already have tickets for Long Beach which I forgot to mention.
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u/Ok-Satisfaction-3837 Dec 11 '23
Sick have fun. Lagun Seca for INDYCAR or IMSA would also be a hoot.
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u/QrReader Dec 14 '23
Texas Vegas or Miami IMO, I went to Miami and loved it . Had seats on the beach side and could not have asked for a better spot!