Off to Belgium for the Grand Prix - any hints or tips much appreciated!

ksm1701

ksm1701

Member
T6 Pro
Hey everyone,

I'm off to Belgium in two weeks via the Tunnel to take my son to watch our first Formula 1 Grand Prix as a surprise post-GCSE reward.

The tickets arrived yesterday so it's all go now and wanted to see if anyone had any advice for driving to the circuit or travelling through Belgium in general as it's my first time over there.

I'm particularly interested on where would be best to stock up on beer and food after leaving Calais! ;)

Based on recommendations off here, I've booked at The Drum Inn for a meal and overnight stay for the night before we catch LeShuttle but after that I'll just be winging it!

Any help and advice would be much appreciated. Cheers in advance! :thumbsup:
 
ksm1701 said:
Hey everyone,

I'm off to Belgium in two weeks via the Tunnel to take my son to watch our first Formula 1 Grand Prix as a surprise post-GCSE reward.

The tickets arrived yesterday so it's all go now and wanted to see if anyone had any advice for driving to the circuit or travelling through Belgium in general as it's my first time over there.

I'm particularly interested on where would be best to stock up on beer and food after leaving Calais! ;)

Based on recommendations off here, I've booked at The Drum Inn for a meal and overnight stay for the night before we catch LeShuttle but after that I'll just be winging it!

Any help and advice would be much appreciated. Cheers in advance! :thumbsup:
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Have a great time! Can’t offer much advice unfortunately but I’m driving there via the shuttle with my cousin. We’re staying at gp tents in my van. First time at Spa so need to do some planning before we go.
 
No advice for driving in Belgium specifically but would recommend getting EU breakdown cover just in case if you've not already
 
roooms said:
Have a great time! Can’t offer much advice unfortunately but I’m driving there via the shuttle with my cousin. We’re staying at gp tents in my van. First time at Spa so need to do some planning before we go.
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We're staying with intentsGP but might see you at LeShuttle for a brief forum meet up :D! If not, enjoy!
 
Spa is awesome, have fun!!

Other than the wet weather gear the only tip I have is that if they make you park in a field make sure try and park near the exit gates so as when the field floods you're not one of the 1000s that have to be pulled out by a tractor. This happened to me probably 20yrs ago and it wasn't much fun!
 
Our favourite campsite in Belgium is in Aywaille just south of Liege and about 16 km from Spa. Domaine Chateau De Diuepart right next to the river Ambleve. Big pitches next to the river and a nice bar serving snacks and has La Chouffe beer on draft (and many others). For getting supplies there are Del Haise Aldi and Carefour super markets all with in ten minutes walk from the campsite. Only other tip would be to avoid Brussels when route planning as the traffic can be horrendous.
 
Vanderlust said:
Our favourite campsite in Belgium is in Aywaille just south of Liege and about 16 km from Spa. Domaine Chateau De Diuepart right next to the river Ambleve. Big pitches next to the river and a nice bar serving snacks and has La Chouffe beer on draft (and many others). For getting supplies there are Del Haise Aldi and Carefour super markets all with in ten minutes walk from the campsite. Only other tip would be to avoid Brussels when route planning as the traffic can be horrendous.
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Cheers for the tip about Brussels. Am now thinking of taking the more southerly route shown below to avoid the area.
cropped map.jpg
 
I’ve done spa for the last 10+ years and always done the temporary campsites specifically for the f1 other than first year when on a permanent site.

Your ticket should allow you access to the free pit walk on the Thursday. Usually around 3 but website usually tells you.

Grandstand tickets you won’t need to worry about getting in early.

Booze wise the shop down in stavelot (carrefour) is cheap as chips and even more so if buying the local beer of Jupiler. Stavelot also has bank restaurants and local shops.

Also an Aldi on the opposite side in Malmedy with more modern shops / stores.

Driving wise it’s a doddle. We usually do north east to the site in one go with the eurotunnel being the break.

Dependant on what day you’re going and times booked for tunnel I would just crack in and get there. We usually travel through the night/morning getting there for sure opening for 6am on the Thursday morning.
Eliminates all the road closures that come into play from thursday ish afternoon and you avoid the traffic for all the sites.

Dependant on what site your staying at the walk to the track is very very steep and long and the roads closed by police.

But ………

You will see random quads / atv’s and cars constantly going backwards and forwards.

These are locals who charge people €5 p/p to take them to a stones throw of one of the entrances. The police are aware and let them round the road closures (assuming they get a cut). These lifts are worth their weight in gold especially if have a coolbox or a bag of booze.
Generally you will see a pickup spot (queue of people but they can also be flagged down).
They don’t speak a word of English but €5 cash all you need.
They also only are on key days Saturday / Sunday 100% but friday hit and miss. Thursday no chance usually so use that to see if you want to ask.

I’ve got loads more info if need it so just let me know.

And enjoy.
 
Ohhh forgot to add. Weather is hit me miss but majority of the time I’ve come back with a tan.

What you need to be aware of is even if it’s 30 degrees during her day on a nighttime and overnight the Forrest dew will come in and everything will be soaking and freezing in the morning until the sun comes out again.
 
Food wise once you’re there.

If your cooking food my advice would be to have a seperate coolbox/bag and go to Costco before you leave the UK. It will 100% be cheaper if it’s meat your after to cook.

The supermarkets aren’t the best for meat to cook and it’s generally a lot more expensive.

Crisps / snacks / bread / sandwich meat (jambon) all normal prices.
The ice sells out quickly so go once your pitched if need more.

Eating on the track. If you’re not taking your own food in then it’s a token based system you pay €40 for example and that gives you 10 tokens and chips is like 3.5 and more substantial meal 5.5. It’s all cards only aswell of late. Cash is no longer king
 
Drive on the right and you'll be fine.

Perfect spot at Eau Rouge, you'll see them from La Source all the way down.

Kemmel Straight on Friday/ Saturday is a good spot, near the beer hut for the Jupiler and you'll be sorted.
 
Stay away from any small town roads, the cobbles will shake your fillings loose and break your suspension.
 
Have a check that you are not going to be driving into any of their ulez zones. You just register your reg number online if you are Euro 6. I did mine for a trip into Ghent a couple of years ago, then never ended up going. But better safe than sorry.
 
Bigsidavies said:
Have a check that you are not going to be driving into any of their ulez zones. You just register your reg number online if you are Euro 6. I did mine for a trip into Ghent a couple of years ago, then never ended up going. But better safe than sorry.
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Cheers. I'm avoiding travelling via Brussels by taking a more southern route past Lille so doesn't look like I'll be affected by any ULEZ zones. :cautious:
 
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