I wanted to see if any F Chatters had either been or know of a reputable knowlegable travel agent that could assist with the trip. Also any advice on Hotels, etc would be great.
hey Nick, Jennie and I are looking at going for the first time next year too. I haven't followed up since, but here is the thread I started in Racing & Tracking... http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=202179
Rob, Thanks for the info. I talked with these guys that seem very knowledgeable. http://www.monaco2009.com/ I really like the idea of driving and F1 car too! Let me know as your plans progress.
Not sure if we can pull it together this quick and benefit of 2010 is they'll have the Historics week before. I do know that the plan is not to use a group or tour guide. Also stay in Nice and take train daily into Monte Carlo. I guess only thing to figure out is which hotel in Nice, pick seats, flights, and what else to do when there.
Rob Stay at least 10 days. Rent a car. Lunch: http://www.la-colombe-dor.com/ Dinner: LE RELAIS A MOUGINS Place de la Mairie Tel : 04 93 90 03 47 Fax : 04 93 75 72 83 06250 Mougins Chef de cuisine : André Surmain Loin du bruit de la ville, mais à seulement 8km de Cannes, Le Relais vous reçoit à sa terrasse fleurie où au clapotis rafraichissant des fontaines, vous dégusterez une cuisine évolutive mais respectueuse des traditions. Menus : 125/375 F - Carte 200/375 F Dinner: The grill room on the top of the Hotel d'Paris in MC. Ask for a table under the roof opening. Lunch and Beach: http://jetsetreport.com/restaurants.php?articleId=40 Make reservations way in advance. Mentioning my name won't hurt. These are not for free BUT you and J will remember them for a long time. Best
Nick! Where the heck have you been? Welcome back. I've been looking at booking travel for next years Canadian GP, and none of the airlines/travel sites will let you book more than ~330 days out. I'd guess you won't be able to book for 2010 at this point. 2009 should be wide open though. Monaco is the one race I'd like to attend beyond all others.
Hey Jim! Just busy with work and family. I like Napolis' suggestions. I was already planning dinner at Hotel d'Paris and some other places with some Michelin stars. Since there may be 5 couples going, we might rent a villa in southern of France one week and another in Italy the next. Napolis, any suggestions on villas that we could rent?
I just got back from le meridien in nice in early may, its a gorgeous hotel and the beach is across the street and all the little shops and cafes are directly behind it so its a lot of fun. It was an oucher with the USD crashing as my hole in the wall 10x10 cell was 700 Euro/night but it was still cheaper than my original plan of hotel de paris room w/ beach view then I noticed it was 1500 euro/night
Villa's are a bit hit and miss. There are agency's but you have to be careful as some of the villa's are a bit decrepit and the towels are tatty. If you have enough people and want a once in a life time experience rent a yacht. Go from St. Tropez to Cannes to MC to Portofino. Make sure you rent one that has references you can check out as you want to make sure it's as described. In Cannes anchor off the cove that Hemingway describes in his last book "The Garden of Eden" Swim in the cove and grab a slice of pizza in the plaza just off to the Hotel he stayed in.
Nick, we miss seeing you at all the events ! Here is a link to a great group of villas on a 1000 acre property in Tuscany. We have stayed at Villa Cerretello, the old family home twice with large groups up to 20, and it has been fantastic. 45 minutes to Florence, 25 minutes north of San Gimiano, and just 3 1/2 hours to the Ferrari Factory. http://www.fattoriasantostefano.com/propieta_cerr_eng.htm 2 in college will keep up from Monaco in 2009, but you have inspired me to try for 2010. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
We never use a travel agent - always do things on our own. We went to the Historics this year - took the KLM flight from Dallas to Amsterdam (we've used this flight four times, it started in April of this year - VERY convenient times) connecting to Nice - BY FAR better than the American flights into CDG. Stayed in Nice and took the train to Monaco for the event. We already have tickets booked for the 2010 race thru the ticket agency we use in the UK for LeMans. Having walked the track, we had the best of the grandstands available. That grandstand was open to any place we wanted to sit. Best view, tv screen, more to action to watch than just a corner. Walked the circuit after the event was over both days (street is open back up after the racing). We're not into what most people go to Monaco for . . we found some awesome places in Monaco near the circuit with fantastic food. . with dinner/drinks, etc. about 250USD for the four of us. We're planning on meeting our friends from Glasgow for the Historics but won't stay for the F1 race. Historics is 8 & 9 May 2010. The hotel we will stay at is Nice is now booking thru August 2009. I'd save my money and not go in 2009 but go in 2010 when the Historics is run again. Carol
I have stayed there with my family. Excellent villa. A little far from Maranello for a day trip. (So take delivery of your car and drive it to Tuscany!) I agree with staying more than a week. Try to stay at least two weeks. I just came back from 3 weeks in Spain, Monaco and Italy. Nice is the place to stay for the Monaco race. Thanks to everyone for the great posts on this subject.
You can always do it on your own (we've done 4 or 5 in Europe that way), however, the safest way for good hotels, tickets and transportation is Grand Prix Tours out of Orange County, Calif. We've gone with them to 7 or 8 different races, including Monza, Silverstone, Montreal, Mexico City, Austria and Hockenheim and always been very satisfied. They include cocktail parties with two of the current drivers, etc. Barry Simpson is the owner and very glad to help. They have an itinerary for Monaco that includes a hotel in Nice and transport to the race that is very competitively priced. Most importantly, they're very experienced and know what they're doing. Happy to give you more info. David
