Noida Formula 1

Hi all, this is my 1st post, I am a newbie.

I and my wife are travelling to Delhi for the F1 and then a relaxing holiday in Goa.

We are stopping in Connaught Place and travelling daily to Noida, we envisage getting the Metro to Noida town centre then we have the BIC prepaid bus service to the track.

The question is how long do you think this trip will take, both Metro and BIC bus. obviously I expect it to be hectic on race day but what about other days like Fri / Sat.

I thank you all in advance

I was there last year on Sunday (not for Friday and Saturday and you are right, its much less hectic on those days but you will have to contend with the normal working day traffic when the bus starts crawling into Noida in the evening) The return from the track was a nightmare (with regards to time) If you have a flight ticket on the same day within a couple of hours of end of race, I think its best you reschedule it.

To answer your question...

The metro journey will not take much time (maybe 30-40 minutes max) From the moment you alight the Metro till the bus actually starts moving is likely to take about 30 minutes more (depends on how soon it fills up!) (They have separate buses for the various stands)

The good thing is of course that the bus stand is pretty much bang opposite the Noida City Centre Metro station - get down the steps and on your left.

The bus takes approximately an hour to reach the actual parking area (again depends om the traffic but in the mornings, its fairly relaxed)

WORD OF CAUTION - Last year, the race organisers did not allow ANYTHING into the racetrack, except for your camera/video camera and mobile phone. (no food/water or cigarettes...purchase inside) Caps/hats are of course allowed and in fact mandatory if you have got a ticket for a stand that is uncovered (The only covered stands are the Grandstand and the North and South Premium stands)

The problems (and delays) occur at the end, where the huge crowd starts snaking towards the bus stand/exits - last year it was pretty chaotic, this year could be better as it seems the tickets are far from sold out! So the delays you have to take into account are the queue to board the bus and the traffic snarls when all the vehicles and buses start moving out at the same time and of course leading onto the usual Noida traffic as it nears the city.

The airport being pretty far from Noida means you are likely to miss your flight if its for the same night and I would recommend to relax, not worry about delays and spend the night in Delhi and catch the first flight home, next morning.

Hope that helped... sorry I kind of assumed you would asking for flight reasons... but anyway even otherwise hope I gave an accurate picture!

oh and damn I forgot to welcome you! Greetings!!!!

Thank you, that was helpful.

We are in Delhi early, we arrive on the Sunday 21st, so a few days touring and getting the feel for Delhi then plenty of time for the 1st practice on the Friday, we are also no flying until the day after the race to Goa so we are OK for time again there.

If the track is anything to go by UK standards and Silverstone, it was a nightmare, it took 2hrs to travel less than a mile and the prices are horrific for food at the circuit.

You are looking at £7.50 for a burger, that equates to around 650 rupee, i hope the prices are more relaxed in Noida.

A bottle of water was £2.50, thats around 220 rupees lol

Glad to have helped!!!

However, there is some good news.. the travel won't be half as bad as long as you follow the simple mantra of trying to get IN as early as possible (9-10 am is a decent time to be at the Noida City Centre!) Also during exit, its best to take your time and just roam around the circuit till most of the crowd melts away. As it is, you will end up getting stuck in a jam!

Those Silverstone prices were truly exorbitant (in INR that is!) The prices are wayyyy cheaper here (if you are thinking in GBP terms - lucky Brits!) but have pretty much the same (if not more) markup margin in INR terms.(as in the burger would probably cost about 3 quid outside and 7.5 inside, while a sandwich for instance here gets multiplied 3 to 5 times!)

More examples below...

(If they havent hiked the rates this year)...

a 1 litre bottle of water cost Rs. 50 (as compared to Rs. 12 in shops outside)
a sandwich was costing Rs. 100 (or 125) (as compared to Rs. 20 -50 outside, based on which restaurant you eat in!)
the more expensive items were about Rs. 300 (but I think that was the costliest)

For merchandise at the shop... simple stuff such as a Lanyard was costing INR 1500!! and above, not sure how that would equate win GBP terms, but well, i would reckon thats a direct conversion of the prices (and of course that was the cheapest item in the shop!)

Also a quick tip... the recent economic "reforms" seems to have pushed the stock market up and the Rupee to start climbing in value. The GBP was at its strongest just a short while back but its starting to slip, so if you are talking volumes of GBP to INR conversion, might as well do it anytime now rather than later...might save you 200 -500 quid in total ... then again...Im not stocks guru, so best you verified with any of your mates into banking before you do it!

I did the same last year and believe me its the best option. Took about 30-35 mins to noida and then about 1 hr on the bus. Might sound excessive but its much less compared to others who took the road from central delhi and got caught in huge jams.

Thanks for the info guys.

Just another question, is there a concert this year or entertainment on or near Delhi, i have looked but cant find anything.

I know Lady Gaga performed last year.

Cheers

Nothing as yet, although Megadeth are supposed to perform in mid October ... at the circuit itself! but it isnt around the race dates I believe its on the 14th of October (I think!)

Santana is going to perform in Noida on final race day. Follow the link for more details and tickets - http://in.ticketgenie.in/

cheers!!!!