diabolus
Executive Member
I almost went to Spa (Belgium) earlier this year, which is an easy train/bus trip from Brussels (or Amsterdam in my case) . I bought the tickets and all. It was about 150eur for a weekend pass (practice/qualifying/race) which i think is the better option to take as the pre-race tickets generally are pretty cheap if you buy them all in one package (whether you use them or not) . So i didn't think that was too bad cost wise.
What totally prevented me from going was accommodation. Turns out Spa is a very popular little tourist town (emphasis on "little") , it is famous for its water/ hot water springs (the term "spa" is coming from there and a lot of the bottled "Spa" branded water i see here in europe is from there too). So there were literally nothing available, and even on a non-gp weekend , it is expensive because, well, it is Spa. Turns out most people stay in the nearby city, Liege, and drive in or take busses in (about 30-45mins from Spa), which require yet another travel-package , either parking* or bus packages. So by then i kinda lost my appetite and could request a refund. So i will try it this year, but plan earlier and sort out accommodation better.
*apparently traffic is total nightmare on the GP weekend, so if you are driving add some time and patience to get in and out of Spa too .
You can theoretically stay in Brussels and travel through on the day also, it is about 2hours by train, 150km by car etc. I know alot of people do that too, which i think is most likely cheaper (i wouldn't stay in brussels per se though, there are prettier towns in belgium if you got a car, but brussels is a good airport hub).
Anyway, so my italian colleague also said, the thing with Monza, in contrast to Spa. There are alot of open space around the actual track that are camping sites. So everytime he went, they camped (and could walk to the track) which is massively cheaper, but probably not as convenient if you're flying in from SA, but worth a consideration. I also believe Monza/Italy is cheaper in general than Spa/Belgium, precisely because Spa is a place people visit regardless of the GP.
If it helps, i bought my tickets here, and it still pretty much in the 100-150 eur region for a weekend pass and "general" seating aka "on the grass embankments - bring-your-own-chair"
http://www.gptours.nl/formule-1/grand-prix-belgie-spa-francorchamps-formule-1-2017
You'll see most of their packages that includes accommodation, is actually outside of Spa and taking you in with busses every day (i.e. 200 eur for tickets + 2 nights in Maastricht is not bad actually, but still +-1hr from Spa )
EDIT: coming to think of it, i should probably book that now
What totally prevented me from going was accommodation. Turns out Spa is a very popular little tourist town (emphasis on "little") , it is famous for its water/ hot water springs (the term "spa" is coming from there and a lot of the bottled "Spa" branded water i see here in europe is from there too). So there were literally nothing available, and even on a non-gp weekend , it is expensive because, well, it is Spa. Turns out most people stay in the nearby city, Liege, and drive in or take busses in (about 30-45mins from Spa), which require yet another travel-package , either parking* or bus packages. So by then i kinda lost my appetite and could request a refund. So i will try it this year, but plan earlier and sort out accommodation better.
*apparently traffic is total nightmare on the GP weekend, so if you are driving add some time and patience to get in and out of Spa too .
You can theoretically stay in Brussels and travel through on the day also, it is about 2hours by train, 150km by car etc. I know alot of people do that too, which i think is most likely cheaper (i wouldn't stay in brussels per se though, there are prettier towns in belgium if you got a car, but brussels is a good airport hub).
Anyway, so my italian colleague also said, the thing with Monza, in contrast to Spa. There are alot of open space around the actual track that are camping sites. So everytime he went, they camped (and could walk to the track) which is massively cheaper, but probably not as convenient if you're flying in from SA, but worth a consideration. I also believe Monza/Italy is cheaper in general than Spa/Belgium, precisely because Spa is a place people visit regardless of the GP.
If it helps, i bought my tickets here, and it still pretty much in the 100-150 eur region for a weekend pass and "general" seating aka "on the grass embankments - bring-your-own-chair"
http://www.gptours.nl/formule-1/grand-prix-belgie-spa-francorchamps-formule-1-2017
You'll see most of their packages that includes accommodation, is actually outside of Spa and taking you in with busses every day (i.e. 200 eur for tickets + 2 nights in Maastricht is not bad actually, but still +-1hr from Spa )
EDIT: coming to think of it, i should probably book that now
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