Le-Mans Virgin package deal
Discussion
Hi All.
I need the knowledge on where to go for a complete package for a Le-Mans virgin.
We don't want camping and ferry but tunnel, good Hotel (with secure parking), transfers to track, grandstand seating.
I know this doesn't give us the "real Le Mans experience" but my car is hard core enough and I like my comforts.
Which companies deliver what they say they will? Are there one's that exceed expectations? Companies to avoid (you may need to PM me on those)?
The forum advice is most welcome.
Paul
I need the knowledge on where to go for a complete package for a Le-Mans virgin.
We don't want camping and ferry but tunnel, good Hotel (with secure parking), transfers to track, grandstand seating.
I know this doesn't give us the "real Le Mans experience" but my car is hard core enough and I like my comforts.
Which companies deliver what they say they will? Are there one's that exceed expectations? Companies to avoid (you may need to PM me on those)?
The forum advice is most welcome.
Paul
I think you'll always have problems with getting a hotel near the circuit unless yo go through one of the several ticket agencies/firms that offer the kind of package you're looking for. For several years my son and I used Motor Racing International which I would summarise as being very good at getting the kind of package you may want BUT you do have to pay for it.
My son and I have been doing our own thing for the past several years. We usually use Eurotunnel out Friday morning back Monday afternoon, stay in a hotel some distance from the circuit on Friday and Sunday nights, sleep in the car at the circuit on Saturday night. This works well for us. As far as the circuit is concerned, we get 2 general entry tickets, 2 grandstand tickets (usually La Sarthe, but this year we're in the ACO grandstand for a change) and a reserved car space at an official parking area very close to the circuit entrance.
To give you some idea on pricing, in 2011(could not go in this year)our hard costs for the Channel crossing, 2 nights in a hotel, and the circuit tickets costs for both of us was a total of £714. I did a comparison with the same costs as per MRI's brochure and their cost worked out to be £1319. Note that MRI included 3 nights (as oppposed to our 2 on a DIY basis)at an adequate hotel in central Le Mans with secure parking.
To all the above costs you need to add fuel, food, booze and toll fees, and other incidentals.
Personally, as an "elder geezer" I've never wanted to camp at the circuit, hence our need for a hotel somewhere. The main problem is getting a hotel within a reasonable range of the circuit because all the agencies book rooms years ahead and even, say, a year in advance they are difficult to find. So, a hotel at some diatance is all I can do!
Hope all this helps.
R.
My son and I have been doing our own thing for the past several years. We usually use Eurotunnel out Friday morning back Monday afternoon, stay in a hotel some distance from the circuit on Friday and Sunday nights, sleep in the car at the circuit on Saturday night. This works well for us. As far as the circuit is concerned, we get 2 general entry tickets, 2 grandstand tickets (usually La Sarthe, but this year we're in the ACO grandstand for a change) and a reserved car space at an official parking area very close to the circuit entrance.
To give you some idea on pricing, in 2011(could not go in this year)our hard costs for the Channel crossing, 2 nights in a hotel, and the circuit tickets costs for both of us was a total of £714. I did a comparison with the same costs as per MRI's brochure and their cost worked out to be £1319. Note that MRI included 3 nights (as oppposed to our 2 on a DIY basis)at an adequate hotel in central Le Mans with secure parking.
To all the above costs you need to add fuel, food, booze and toll fees, and other incidentals.
Personally, as an "elder geezer" I've never wanted to camp at the circuit, hence our need for a hotel somewhere. The main problem is getting a hotel within a reasonable range of the circuit because all the agencies book rooms years ahead and even, say, a year in advance they are difficult to find. So, a hotel at some diatance is all I can do!
Hope all this helps.
R.
The Leaper said:
I think you'll always have problems with getting a hotel near the circuit unless yo go through one of the several ticket agencies/firms that offer the kind of package you're looking for. For several years my son and I used Motor Racing International which I would summarise as being very good at getting the kind of package you may want BUT you do have to pay for it.
My son and I have been doing our own thing for the past several years. We usually use Eurotunnel out Friday morning back Monday afternoon, stay in a hotel some distance from the circuit on Friday and Sunday nights, sleep in the car at the circuit on Saturday night. This works well for us. As far as the circuit is concerned, we get 2 general entry tickets, 2 grandstand tickets (usually La Sarthe, but this year we're in the ACO grandstand for a change) and a reserved car space at an official parking area very close to the circuit entrance.
To give you some idea on pricing, in 2011(could not go in this year)our hard costs for the Channel crossing, 2 nights in a hotel, and the circuit tickets costs for both of us was a total of £714. I did a comparison with the same costs as per MRI's brochure and their cost worked out to be £1319. Note that MRI included 3 nights (as oppposed to our 2 on a DIY basis)at an adequate hotel in central Le Mans with secure parking.
To all the above costs you need to add fuel, food, booze and toll fees, and other incidentals.
Personally, as an "elder geezer" I've never wanted to camp at the circuit, hence our need for a hotel somewhere. The main problem is getting a hotel within a reasonable range of the circuit because all the agencies book rooms years ahead and even, say, a year in advance they are difficult to find. So, a hotel at some diatance is all I can do!
Hope all this helps.
R.
As with yourself I like to go with a package operator to start with until I know exactly what I want/need. I do the same with family holidays.My son and I have been doing our own thing for the past several years. We usually use Eurotunnel out Friday morning back Monday afternoon, stay in a hotel some distance from the circuit on Friday and Sunday nights, sleep in the car at the circuit on Saturday night. This works well for us. As far as the circuit is concerned, we get 2 general entry tickets, 2 grandstand tickets (usually La Sarthe, but this year we're in the ACO grandstand for a change) and a reserved car space at an official parking area very close to the circuit entrance.
To give you some idea on pricing, in 2011(could not go in this year)our hard costs for the Channel crossing, 2 nights in a hotel, and the circuit tickets costs for both of us was a total of £714. I did a comparison with the same costs as per MRI's brochure and their cost worked out to be £1319. Note that MRI included 3 nights (as oppposed to our 2 on a DIY basis)at an adequate hotel in central Le Mans with secure parking.
To all the above costs you need to add fuel, food, booze and toll fees, and other incidentals.
Personally, as an "elder geezer" I've never wanted to camp at the circuit, hence our need for a hotel somewhere. The main problem is getting a hotel within a reasonable range of the circuit because all the agencies book rooms years ahead and even, say, a year in advance they are difficult to find. So, a hotel at some diatance is all I can do!
Hope all this helps.
R.
The plan is for both my son and I to take our own cars. His offers slightly more luggage room than mine! I would definitely not be able to sleep in my car and probably not in his either!!
I am expecting this to be a costly experience but I want it to be worth it.
Paul
I've been going to the 24 hours virtually non stop since about 2001. We camp but the last few years have been pretty noisy on some of the sites and I must admit that trying to get to sleep at 3am with the noise of a disco right next to us has had me thinking that a hotel room would be very nice.
I'm not going in 2013 but my race partner (oh, we're both in our 60s) has looked into a solo trip involving hotels in LM itself. The result of his search was all full up.
I think that using an agent will be your best choice unless you go further out. Some friends stay in Aloncon an easy autoroute trip to the north but sleep in the car on the Saturday night
I'm not going in 2013 but my race partner (oh, we're both in our 60s) has looked into a solo trip involving hotels in LM itself. The result of his search was all full up.
I think that using an agent will be your best choice unless you go further out. Some friends stay in Aloncon an easy autoroute trip to the north but sleep in the car on the Saturday night
timbo48,
Yes, Alencon is a possible alternative. It's located quite handily and the trip to the circuit is not too far. However, in all my years of LM D-I-Y I've never been able to get rooms at a hotel at Alencon (other than for Le Classic LM), nor at other hotels at a similar radius of the circuit, even starting maybe 9 months ahead. So, my son and I go further afield and get rooms with no problems and at reasonable expense, and sleep in the car on the Saturday as I indicated in my earlier post.
If it's affordable and a hotel important the best way is via an agency's package. I suspect cost is the overriding factor in this decsion.
R.
Yes, Alencon is a possible alternative. It's located quite handily and the trip to the circuit is not too far. However, in all my years of LM D-I-Y I've never been able to get rooms at a hotel at Alencon (other than for Le Classic LM), nor at other hotels at a similar radius of the circuit, even starting maybe 9 months ahead. So, my son and I go further afield and get rooms with no problems and at reasonable expense, and sleep in the car on the Saturday as I indicated in my earlier post.
If it's affordable and a hotel important the best way is via an agency's package. I suspect cost is the overriding factor in this decsion.
R.
I would DIY the bookings. The packages are a rip off. Just get tickets from ACO.
Aim for max 20-30 min drive to track or else it is a pain.
Get googling all the little villages close by, there are small hotels to be found with room. Considered a gite?
Part of the fun is discovering things at the event. 10yrs on and I still find different ways of doing the trip to improve it.
Aim for max 20-30 min drive to track or else it is a pain.
Get googling all the little villages close by, there are small hotels to be found with room. Considered a gite?
Part of the fun is discovering things at the event. 10yrs on and I still find different ways of doing the trip to improve it.
I don't want to dampen Storer's enthusiasm but since 1996 I've tried to find an available hotel 30 minutes or so's drive from the circuit without any success. The big boys always book 100% of anything in this range years ahead it seems. My son and I content with the hotel we've used although it's a distance in to the circuit.
DIY is undoubtedly loads cheaper, as I mentioned in one of my earlier posts.
R.
DIY is undoubtedly loads cheaper, as I mentioned in one of my earlier posts.
R.
Got into a hotel in 2008 and rebooked each year since (except last year stayed in gite), but back in the same hotel this year.
It really is 20mins max from circuit, no traffic and access spits you off directly at the circuit. Come in from south west direction.
The main places in Le mans and big chateaus all get booked by teams or travel companies, but a bit of work will get you somewhere close by.
Once you have an in somewhere it should make it easy to book again year after year.
It really is 20mins max from circuit, no traffic and access spits you off directly at the circuit. Come in from south west direction.
The main places in Le mans and big chateaus all get booked by teams or travel companies, but a bit of work will get you somewhere close by.
Once you have an in somewhere it should make it easy to book again year after year.
DS240,
I congratulate you on what you have achieved regarding a local hotel. I agree that once "in" you need to rebook each year. I've been going since 1996 and from about 1999 tried comprehensively to get a hotel reasonably close to the circuit, but I've never been successful. I would have continued using an agency for a package but their costs have become seriously overpriced as the years have gone by. I'm a member of the ACO and getting tickets for the circuit is not really any problem. So for some years now I've been using a hotel some distance from the circuit at a reasonable price but sleeping in the car on the Saturday night in Parking Blanc. This suits us OK as the hotel is not far off part of the return route to Calais so we get a good start on the Monday.
R.
I congratulate you on what you have achieved regarding a local hotel. I agree that once "in" you need to rebook each year. I've been going since 1996 and from about 1999 tried comprehensively to get a hotel reasonably close to the circuit, but I've never been successful. I would have continued using an agency for a package but their costs have become seriously overpriced as the years have gone by. I'm a member of the ACO and getting tickets for the circuit is not really any problem. So for some years now I've been using a hotel some distance from the circuit at a reasonable price but sleeping in the car on the Saturday night in Parking Blanc. This suits us OK as the hotel is not far off part of the return route to Calais so we get a good start on the Monday.
R.
I really can't see us sleeping in the cars. My son has a new Boxster and I have an Ultima. I think the only way I could sleep in the Ultima is if I was dead. The Boxster is marginally better but I am too old to slum it.
I think we need to bite the bullet for the first year and learn what we want for following trips which we can sort for ourselves.
Thanks for the advice - maybe see you there.
Paul
I think we need to bite the bullet for the first year and learn what we want for following trips which we can sort for ourselves.
Thanks for the advice - maybe see you there.
Paul
Gassing Station | Le Mans | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff