Le Mans trip participants

[TomCastellani]

Ok, I'll have to check up on all the vehicle stuff.

Our new plan is to get Houx camping tickets from here hopefully (See my thread in the trade section) and with enough Tesco clubcard vouchers the Eurotunnel will actually be free! Then of course GA and the rest of it...

Considering how much food I plan to take £20 spending money is easy as pie for me, I'm used to it plus I'm not really limiting to that.

Edit:
My mate says the company car is absolutely fine, he's been taking it abroad for years and totally knows the drill.

Also, we're torn between Houx and Mulsanne now... Slightly mismatched but we have various reasons. What's the consensus on Bleu Nord?

[Barry]

What's the consensus on Bleu Nord?

As about 80% of CA are camping on BN, I doubt you will hear many negative comments about it.

[DelBoy]

What's the consensus on Bleu Nord?

Depends on the year!!

Last year no-one wanted it (apart from one CA Goddess  ) - suddenly this year it's the best thing since sliced bread.

If you want to be near the action, go to BN.  You'll have to drive everywhere from Mulsanne (except the corner of course).

Del

[Barry]

apart from one CA Goddess 

Who has deserted it this year.

[Chris24]

Last year no-one wanted it (apart from one CA Goddess  ) - suddenly this year it's the best thing since sliced bread.

Del

[/quote]

Thats not the case. We have favoured BN for several years now, we may not have raved about it, but thats because you never advertise a good thing too much do you.

[clkgtrlm1]

Hi Tom,

Welcome to CA.
We used MRI the very first time we went to LM - 1996 - have done it ourselves every year since.
Much better to do-it-yourself.

£250 is a very tight budget however - suggest that you make sure there's some reserve cash on the credit card if you only have 20quid remaining.

My Budget this year -

Camping - Pincenardiere €49 = £45
Ferry crossing - Newhaven / Dieppe Return = £124
Fuel - Approx 2 1/2 tanks of Diesel (Oxford to Lemans) = £113
This is between 2 people therefore £129.50 p/p
GA Ticket €62 = £56

TOTAL = £185 per person

Food - £20 per day = £140
Beer - £50 per day = £350
Fags - £5 per day = £35
Nic-naks and other tat around curcuit - £10 per day = £70
Prostitutes - Errr,, Ahh,, No! = ??

TOTAL - £595
Grand Total = £780

[TomCastellani]

Right, I think I'm starting to get my head around this:

Fuel: Free, yay!
Tolls: £30
Eurotunnel: £83
1st-Tickets Houx camping/GA: £128 x 2 (2 people)
Food: Already paid for
Beer: I don't drink
Fags: I don't smoke either!
Extras: Le Mans museum... £5 isn't it?

Overall total: £379
Total per person: £188

From there I've got spending money for any few things I might want... How many prostitutes can you get for £62 again?   

[geoffd]

So, who have you got to cough up for your food?
You'll need some sort of fluids,  soft drinks aren't much cheaper than beer!  Hence everyone drinks beer

Great if you can do it for those costs,  and lucky that you are getting company fuel,  glad its not my company!  Do you think they'd pay for my fuel?

You still haven't said how long you are going for!

It doesn't matter how much you spend, you'll have a great time!!!

BTW, it depends on the quality and quantity of prostitutes.....
Mine costs me a lot more than that,  but then all wives do

[TomCastellani]

Oh yes, we're leaving thursday evening and returning sunday evening.

I will easily be able to take three and a half days worth of food. I weigh 45kg and therefore really don't take much much to feed. Plus we can always go to the supermarket. Water is about the only thing I drink although I will have to sort out a way of making tea and coffee, a camping stove perhaps.

[DelBoy]

Best of luck to you Tom - you'll enjoy it.  But beware - it's addictive.  I first went when I was your age and did the trip on a shoestring  (although I have never NOT drank, and havn't been that weight since I was about 9!!).  I've been back a time or two since then of course 

Many of the members on here go for much longer to participate in
a) the other race-oriented activities (scrutineering, practice sessions etc) and
b)the many social activities which occur throughout the week.

All of which gobbles up a few more euros.

As you will see, a lot of money is spent on booze, flags, booze, food, booze, fireworks, and errr.....booze.  And if you are there for a week or more (as some of us are), there's no way you can transport that amount of sustenance from the UK, either liquid or solid.

Put it in your diary for next year - you'll be back.

Del

[Barry]

Tom, do you have a cousin called Paula?

[SL]

Just a suggestion.

Why take all that food with you when there is a great supermarket a few hundred yards from the track, as they say Carrefour will provide.

All that space in the car freed up, less (free) fuel burnt. Food in Carrefour is as good, if not better than Tesco and fresher.  Anything brought in ther UK will have to be tinned whereas local can be fresh and BBQ'd. Please, please don't say you were going to take raw meat with you from the UK....It will be rancid by Saturday AM. As you will find the Le Mans loo's are the the place you want to spend the LEAST amount of time in thinking about that 50p you wished you had not saved.

Anyway have a good time and come back after the race and tell us how you got on.

Simon

PS take your own loo rolls (helpful hint no1)

[geoffd]

PS take your own loo rolls (helpful hint no1)

Do you mean they don't sell loo rolls in Carrefour, or Auchan or Super U?

I've never understood why people take a load of stuff that they could have bought locally, and as you say at least it'll be fresh (unlike Tescos...), it's part of the trip, surely, to wander around a supermarket buying stuff at random and on impulse!  Super/Hyper U in Arnage here we come ...

[Mr. Invincible Mou]

PS take your own loo rolls (helpful hint no1)

Do you mean they don't sell loo rolls in Carrefour, or Auchan or Super U?

I think that the general meaning of this, is that you should always have some loo roll in your pocket  It was something my group learnt very early on, as often the toilets are rather short on luxury items like this 

[Lawnmower Man]

Right, I think I'm starting to get my head around this:


Beer: I don't drink

I tried not drinking one day many years ago.  I didn't like it so I drunk ever since. 

I don't tend to run a budget as such for my trip.

Time was I wouldn't get a grandstand seat as I thought there are a bit over priced.  Particularly when you compare them to the cost of Entrance and Camping.   But these days I just view the whole cost as one and say it's ~€200 for camping and Entrance and Grandstand.

If I'm at home I'd have to buy food anyway so don't worry about the cost of that.
I have to admit I find it bizarre that some people take the food with them.  I personally prefer fresh food. 

I do take the Loo roll though but only so I have it available on the trip down.

To my mind the most important item is the Credit Card.  Then if you have a need for anything a quick trip to the Super market fixes that. 

t.