Monterey Car Week 2026 & The 75th Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance Limo & Black Car Service Guide

Every August, the Monterey Peninsula becomes the center of the collector car world for ten days. Concours lawns, auction tents, vintage racing at Laguna Seca, manufacturer debuts, and private gatherings across Pebble Beach, Carmel, and Monterey converge into the most concentrated automotive event calendar anywhere. In 2026 the week carries an additional weight: the 75th Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance takes place on August 16, a milestone that has drawn exceptional attention from collectors, marques, and first-time attendees alike.

Getting around the Peninsula during Car Week is one of the week's most underestimated challenges. Hotels are booked a year out. Parking near major events is severely limited. Traffic on Highway 1 and 17 Mile Drive backs up significantly on high-attendance days. A chauffeured car service with 5 STARS Limousine Connection handles the logistics so the week is about the cars, not the commute.

Monterey Car Week 2026: the full schedule

Monterey Car Week 2026 runs from August 7 to August 16. The week is not a single event. It is a series of parallel events spread across the Peninsula that require deliberate planning to navigate well. Here is the confirmed schedule:

The 75th Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance

The 75th Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance takes place on Sunday, August 16, 2026, on the famed 18th fairway of Pebble Beach Golf Links. For this milestone year, the Concours will feature special tributes to Ferrari and the legendary coachbuilder Vignale, alongside a spotlight on Pebble Beach Road Racing legends, connecting the 2026 edition to the event's road-racing origins in 1950.

The event features over 200 of the world's finest classic automobiles across 21 classes, with general admission starting at $550 and children 12 and under admitted free. The Concours has raised more than $45 million for charity to date, with proceeds benefiting nearly 100 local nonprofits focused on youth education in Monterey County.

The week leading into Sunday builds steadily. Thursday, August 13, the Pebble Beach Tour d'Elegance puts the Concours field on the road for a 70-mile drive down Highway 1 through Big Sur and back. Watching the field roll through Ocean Avenue in Carmel around lunchtime is free, public, and one of the week's most memorable experiences without requiring a ticket.

Why transportation planning matters more during Car Week

The Monterey Peninsula is not built for the volume of traffic Car Week generates. Hotels are booked a year out. By April everything within an hour is gone. Parking at Pebble Beach, The Quail, and Laguna Seca is either restricted, expensive, or both. On Concours Sunday, 17 Mile Drive access requires a vehicle pass that is difficult to obtain independently. The post-event exit from Pebble Beach on a Sunday afternoon with 10,000 attendees departing simultaneously is not something to improvise.

A chauffeured vehicle with 5 STARS solves each of those variables. Your driver knows the Peninsula, understands the event-day traffic patterns that build at specific times, and can position for pickup before the crowd exits. For corporate groups hosting clients at the Concours or at The Quail, the logistics of moving a group of six from a Carmel hotel to Pebble Beach and back without anyone managing a car is part of the hospitality experience.

Vehicle options for Monterey Car Week

5 STARS Limousine Connection offers the following vehicles for Car Week service across the Monterey Peninsula:

• Executive Sedan (up to 3 passengers): The right choice for a couple or solo attendee who wants a composed, direct transfer between events without the overhead of a larger vehicle.
• Executive SUV (up to 5 to 6 passengers): The most versatile option for small groups covering multiple events across the week. Handles the varied terrain and parking logistics of Laguna Seca, Pebble Beach, and Carmel without difficulty.
• Executive XL Van (up to 13 passengers): For larger corporate groups, collector delegations, and auction teams moving between events on a shared itinerary. Keeps the group together and on schedule without coordinating multiple vehicles.

Recommended transfer routes during Car Week

The Peninsula's geography means most Car Week attendees need to move between three or four distinct zones across the week: downtown Monterey, Carmel and Carmel-by-the-Sea, Pebble Beach and 17 Mile Drive, and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Each zone has different access and parking dynamics that change by day and event.

• Monterey to Laguna Seca (Reunion days, August 12 to 15): The raceway is roughly 10 minutes from downtown Monterey under normal conditions. On reunion days, traffic builds on Monterey-Salinas Highway from mid-morning. A chauffeured drop-off avoids the parking fee and the walk from remote lots.
• Carmel to Pebble Beach (Tour d'Elegance, August 13): Ocean Avenue in Carmel fills quickly for the Tour d'Elegance pass-through. A drop-off at a designated point on the route and a scheduled pickup afterward is far more practical than driving and parking independently.
• Hotel to The Quail (August 14): The Quail at Quail Golf Club in Carmel has limited parking and is best accessed by drop-off. A morning pickup from your hotel, a drop-off at the event entrance, and a pickup when the event ends is the standard configuration for corporate groups attending The Quail.
• Hotel to Pebble Beach Concours (August 16): Concours Sunday is the highest-demand day of the week for transportation. Access to 17 Mile Drive requires coordination. Book your transfer well in advance and confirm the pickup and drop-off logistics with the reservations team when you book.

Airport transfers for Car Week arrivals

Most Car Week attendees fly into Monterey Regional Airport (MRY), San Jose Mineta International Airport (SJC), or San Francisco International Airport (SFO). 5 STARS handles airport-to-Peninsula transfers from all three, with confirmed pricing and flight tracking on every booking.

MRY is the closest airport at roughly 5 to 10 minutes from downtown Monterey, but it is a small regional airport with limited flight options from most major cities. SJC offers broader airline access at approximately 75 minutes from the Peninsula under normal traffic conditions. SFO adds 30 to 45 minutes beyond SJC and is the best option for international arrivals and travelers connecting through the Bay Area before heading to Carmel or Pebble Beach.

On Car Week arrival days, particularly the Thursday and Friday before the weekend, traffic on Highway 1 southbound from Santa Cruz builds in the late afternoon. If you are arriving at SJC or SFO on a Car Week Thursday or Friday, allow additional time in your transfer planning and note it when you book so your chauffeur can account for it in the routing.

Corporate and collector group coordination

For companies hosting clients at the Concours, The Quail, or auction events, and for collector groups attending multiple events across the week, 5 STARS handles multi-vehicle coordination as a connected itinerary. Every vehicle is confirmed in advance with an assigned chauffeur, and the logistics are managed as a single plan rather than separate bookings that may not align on the day.

Corporate accounts with 5 STARS support recurring Car Week programs with consolidated billing, advance scheduling, and a direct reservations contact for changes that arise during the week. For a group managing six executives across four events over three days, that structure removes the coordination burden from the host and lets the week run the way it should.

Book early

Hotels book out a year in advance for Car Week. Chauffeured vehicles follow the same pattern on the Peninsula during August. For Concours Sunday specifically, vehicle availability closes significantly earlier than the surrounding days. If you are attending the 75th Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance on August 16, 2026, your transportation should be confirmed well before the summer.

To reserve a vehicle for Monterey Car Week 2026 or to discuss multi-day and group coordination, visit 5starslimo.com or contact the reservations team directly.