Monterey Car Week has a reputation as a rich person’s playground, and the auction totals and ticket prices earn it. But you can have a full, memorable Car Week for the cost of parking and lunch, if you know where the money is optional. Here is what it actually costs, and how locals do it for almost nothing.
The events themselves can be free. A determined visitor can fill the whole week without a ticket, the downtown kickoff, Concours on the Avenue, the Little Car Show, the Tour d’Elegance on the coast, Concours d’LeMons, and Exotics on Broadway. Our free-events guide and free itinerary map the whole thing.
Where the money creeps in is parking, food, and lodging, and each has a budget version. Park once in a downtown garage and ride the free trolley instead of feeding meters, or use the free park-and-ride lots in Carmel. Skip the event-lawn concessions and eat inland in Seaside or Salinas, where a taco costs a fraction of a Carmel lunch. And if you are staying over, base north in Seaside, Marina, or Moss Landing, where rooms run cheaper and parking is free, as our where-to-stay guide lays out.
The splurges are real if you want them: the Quail, the concours lawns, and the auction floors all cost, some of them a lot. But they are choices, not the price of admission. The best of Car Week, the cars driving the coast, the free downtown shows, the paddock energy, was never behind a ticket booth.
Plan a cheap week on the Car Week hub, and read the parking and shuttle guide to keep the transport costs down. For a wider regional guide, See Monterey is a good start.
