sarasota 2014 race. info from locals or previous yr attendees?
 

this will be my first time in sarasota and from what i've heard it's a very crowded and action filled event. a few questions for a newbie:

1) what are good (reasonable) hotels to stay?
2) what's the parking situation like for the dry pits in centennial pk, and the race itself on lido beach?
3) what time of day do you recommend arriving on lido for the race on sunday?
4) if parking is a challenge, is there bus or public transport to lido from certain pick up areas?
5) any other tips or suggestions?

thanks

If you can get in at the Holiday inn on Lido and get a beach view room it's great. We did it last year and watched the race from our balcony (as did many race teams crew).

Parking on lido day of is hell and terrible.

Pits near the park are easy to get parked and get around.

If you stay off lido and drive in I suggest you get there early. It backs up fast and gets very crowded .

.



when is the race?

July 4th weekend

thanks nate. you're a tampa local like me. around what time would you consider early to drive over to lido, assuming i don't stay at holiday inn? is there street parking at lido, or some small pay lots?

The years we go and don't stay we leave the house at 10am or so and get there by 11ish. Usually it's just starting to get a crowd but I can usually find a road side spot not far from Lido. I need never saw a pay lot as I always get a road spot but I am sure there is a few I unaware of.

well holiday inn is sold out!! lol. might have to stay off the beach somewhere and leave hotel early to scratch around for a parking spot on lido key. i'm surprised you still found a spot as late as 11. races start at 12, so i would have figured in sota it would've been tough luck by that time. i know here in clearwater by 10.30 you are sol. is the lido beach packed with the same density as clearwater, or more/less?

check at the Sand Castle on Lido or the Lido beach resort. There are people at the beach at Sunrise staking out there spots!

Lido Beach Resort: Deluxe Kitchenette with 2 Double Beds $379.00 per night.

I suspect that the room comes with a free nanny for my son, a male escort for my wife, a pole dancer for me, and an all you can drink bar. WTF? That is utterly ridiculous!

Holiday in last year was $329 a night for the ocean view and it was a standard 2 queen bed set up and nothing more. Looked it up for the following week and it was $119.