You Can Do the Goodwood Festival of Speed on a Budget. But Should You?

Dale Earnhardt’s Number 3 Monte Carlo thunders up the 11th Duke of Richmond’s driveway. Not long after, Travis Pastrana pitches his Subaru GL10 “Family Huckster” sideways and narrowly misses the hay-bale track barriers.

The eclectic assemblage of racers, supercars, and historical oddities being driven in anger could only be found at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Held every July, the four-day event is an unapologetic celebration of all things automotive. It’s also an unapologetic display of wealth—held on a noble estate, for crying out loud—and thus may seem out of reach to the average American enthusiast.

I’ve wanted to go back to the FoS ever since I attended in 2019 when I was a broke furniture designer living in London. My current career path isn’t as lucrative as say, investment banking, and everything is more expensive now. But I was convinced I could make a return trip to Goodwood on a beer budget. This year I tested my hypothesis and traveled across the pond for a weekend at the Festival of Speed. Here are my findings.

The Flight

There’s no sugar-coating it; your flight across the pond is going to be expensive. There are plenty of travel blogs covering how to score cheap airfare, but summer is the best time to visit the U.K., and tickets are priced accordingly. London Heathrow and Gatwick are the nearest major airports to the Goodwood Estate.

I paid about $800 for my flight, but I made some compromises to save some cash. For example, I drove four hours to fly out of Cincinnati and my flight was an overnighter. This ended up being about $300 cheaper than flying out of the much closer Detroit Metropolitan Airport, but my plan complicated logistics and I was exhausted when I reached London Heathrow at 7:00 AM the next day.

The Accommodations

Ideally, you want to stay a close as possible to the Goodwood Estate. The festivities start at 9:00 AM each morning, and traffic will be heavy. It’s advantageous to arrive early (gates open at 7) to tour the paddock of priceless race cars and get a good spot on the hill before it gets too crowded.

For the easiest commute, there is onsite camping, but a spot alone can run over $300 a night. The next best option would be to stay in nearby Chichester, which will be considerably cheaper, but hotels fill up quickly.

You might be tempted to find a cheap hostel in London and take the two-hour, $40 train ride to Chichester Station, where a shuttle will take you to the event. I gave into the temptation and stayed in a postage stamp of a room in East London that was only $100. The early-morning commute into Chichester made for a long day.

The Festival

General admission tickets cost around $80 a day, and access to the grandstands costs an extra $55. My press credentials didn’t give me access to the covered grandstands, but, boy, that would have been nice with the intermittent rain going on. The hay bales were higher than I remembered, so it was hard to get a good view of the action unless you were at the very top of the hill, in the photographer-only areas, or in the stands.

The cheap food and drink offerings are away from where the manufacturers set up booths. Luckily, the price gouging isn’t bad compared to a U.S. sporting event, like the Super Bowl. A typical meal runs about $14 and a pint sets you back about $8. If that still sounds exorbitant, outside food is allowed if you cared to swing by a Tesco supermarket or similar beforehand.

Another consideration is the sheer size of the Festival. I wasn’t able to see everything during my two-day stint. I completely missed out on the forest rally stage, supercar paddock, and the manufacturer booths. If you’re already spending the money to fly to England, you might as well make the most of it and go all four days.

The Experience

At Festival of Speed you get to see, hear, and smell cars that most only have ever read about. Public access to the paddock lets you get up close, too. Plus, the variety of cars means there’s something for everyone.

Regardless of your budget, the Goodwood Festival of Speed is absolutely worth it. But maybe spend a bit more than I did for optimal results.