help on visiting German Autofest

[semjon]

Hello all,

I'm planning on visiting the German Autofest on September 11 and 12 with my dad.
Espesially the early 9 fest looks very appealing.
Only thing is... I'm traveling from The Netherlands (Europe) and I hope that some of you can give me some information on travelling and accomodation in that area.
E.g. which airport to travel to? Every info is welcome.

Thanx in advance!

Semjon

[Joe Bob]

LAX then rent a car and drive 45-60 minutes north. Visit www.orbitz.com for hotels in the area. Get close to the beach.

[tiorio]

If you stay at the Holiday Inn you are ON the beach and can WALK to the fairgrounds.

[Vipergrün]

I live in Ventura....lucky me. The Holiday Inn on the beach is pretty decent and as Todd mentioned, you can walk to the Fairgrounds. If you are in towm, you are cordially invited to join us four the 3th annual Autofest poker game at my house... Last year we had like a dozen pelican heads there...

[semjon]

Cool! Thank all of you for the advise!
I'll will look for a flight and book a hotel.
Ventura, I'm on my way!
And bb80sc, thank you for your invitation, I have to learn how to play poker first

Another question (and maybe a stupid one ) But what can I expect? How large is it?

[semjon]

OK! Just made reservations for flight and hotel.
We're going to be there! The entiry weekend!
Really looking forward to it.
See you there

[Zeke]

I think that is a worthwhile trip, glad you're coming. See the "Coming to America" thread if you haven't already.

[scottb]

If you want a hotel that's a little nicer than the Holiday Inn, there's a Marriott up there, too.

[tiorio]

Originally posted by scottb
If you want a hotel that's a little nicer than the Holiday Inn, there's a Marriott up there, too.

You mean the Clarion cum Marriott? Not really all that much nicer I'm afraid, and farther from the beach and fairgrounds. Closer to In-N-Out though. The other nice thing about the Holiday Inn is that it's 4 blocks from 'downtown'. Somehow I ended up staying in a lot of hotels when I lived in Ventura...

Either way you'll have a blast!

[TomTurtle]

Semjon:

I attended the GAF last year and had a blast! Lots of Porsches, good swap meet and interesting mix of vendors. The R Gruppe guys will surely put on a great showing! Not sure if there will be a Porsche literature room this year though. I think last year a literature/memorabilia meet near the L.A. airport that Friday stole a lot of their business. My son and I stayed at the Marriott; it was totally remodeled from the old Clarion and is fully up to the usual Marriott standards.

PS. The drive from LAX to Ventura may take more like 90 minutes to 2 hours if you arrive during peak traffic hours.

[smestas]

Heres a link to the German Autofest web site. They have a list of hotels and maps there.

http://www.german-autofest.com/

[semjon]

Well, thank you all for your advise! It really helps.
I've choosen for the Holiday Inn, it's close to the fest and I'll be using it only for sleeping (I hope... It's going to be hard with all the great things to see )
I'm now only figuring out a way to travel from airport to Ventura at the most convient way, train, taxi, car rental...
2 hours in peak traffic? Pff

[Vipergrün]

Heck, if I were you , I'd leave LAX and head straight for the coast and take Pacific Coast Highway all the way up.

[scottb]

Originally posted by semjon
I'm now only figuring out a way to travel from airport to Ventura at the most convient way, train, taxi, car rental...
2 hours in peak traffic? Pff

There's no train, unless you want to go downtown to Union Station first. That's in the opposite direction. The train ride from downtown LA to Ventura is almost two hours. Then, you'll still probably have to take a taxi from the train station in Ventura to the Holiday inn.

Taxi will cost you a fortune.

The best way will be to rent a car and drive up Pacific Coast Highway to Ventura. Even if there's traffic, you'll still be along the beach.