Nürburgring Tourist Drives

Tourist drives are the Nürburgring's own public sessions on the Nordschleife, the 20.8 km Green Hell. You bring your own road registered car, pay per lap and go out with whoever else turned up that day. There is no instructor and no hire car: the circuit sells access to the track, and the car and the driving are yours.

The Nordschleife is cars only. Motorbikes moved to the Grand Prix Track, where cars and bikes run separate 15 minute stints on set dates. Coached courses and passenger rides belong to the Nürburgring Driving Academy, listed separately.

A tourist drive lap works like a public road with a toll on it. It suits licence holders who want the Nordschleife in their own car, riders who want the Grand Prix Track, and passengers along for the lap.

• The Nordschleife in your own car, one way and clockwise: keep right, overtake on the left only, no drifting and no stopping anywhere except marked areas.
• The barrier at the track entrance reads your card or profile QR code and takes the lap from your credit each time through.
• Lap timing devices of any kind, including bridge to gantry (BTG) timing, have to be switched off, and photo, film and video recording during tourist drives is banned. Staff can stop a driver starting a lap if a timer is running.
• Accident sites and danger spots are no overtaking zones with a 50 km/h maximum, signalled by track safety staff, light panels and safety vehicles. A red light at the entrance means the track is closed.
• The track shuts without warning after accidents, fluid on the surface or bad weather, and the queue waits at the barrier until it reopens.
• The pit stop area at T13, the Hohenrain chicane, is a spot to rest, refuel and use the toilet during a session. It is reached from the Nordschleife only and spectators cannot get in.
• The Grand Prix Track runs in 15 minute stints, with motorbikes and cars in separate stints.
• Friends who are not in the car can watch from outside the safety fences around the Nordschleife.

• Season: 2026 tourist drives run from 7 March to 15 November on days without racing or testing. Weekday sessions are mostly evenings and weekends run through the day, with each day's hours set on the circuit's open hours calendar. The Grand Prix Track opens on selected dates only. There is no pre registration or booked slot. 2027 dates are not published yet.
• Prices: Nordschleife €30 per lap Monday to Thursday, €35 per lap Friday to Sunday and on public holidays. Grand Prix Track €35 per 15 minute stint on any day. The 2026 Season Card is €3,000 for unlimited laps on both tracks during opening hours.
• Add ons: bonus credit for registered users who top up online, 10% from €100 (€100 gives 110 Green Hell Credits), 15% from €200 (€200 gives 230) and 20% from €500 (€500 gives 600), with 1 Green Hell Credit worth €1. A Basic Card for anonymous credit costs €3; a registered user's first card is free and each extra card is €3. Gift vouchers are sold on the tourist drives page and are not tied to one person. No instruction, photo, video or extra lap packages are sold with tourist drives.
• Buying credit: online in a free Nürburgring profile, paid by credit card only, or on site at the info°center or the Ticket Office at the Nordschleife. Credit does not expire at the end of the year. Credit cannot be put toward a Season Card. The Season Card is personal, ends on 31 December, needs ID at the track and is not refundable. Resale of any card is banned.
• Drivers: from 18 years of age with a valid driving licence, carrying the licence and the vehicle registration papers. Cars registered outside Germany carry proof of insurance. No track insurance is sold on site. Helmets are not required in cars; motorcyclists wear a helmet and full protective clothing.
• Passengers: as many as the car is registered to carry on the road, all in seat belts, children in suitable child seats. Passengers under 18 years of age can ride along.
• Cars: road registered and roadworthy under German rules with front and rear number plates, a factory top speed of at least 130 km/h and a permitted total weight of 3.5 t or less. Excluded: vans, pick ups, motorhomes, quads, trikes, karts, formula style cars, full bucket seats, non standard removable steering wheels, HANS devices, unpadded roll cages, protruding or sharp aero parts, and transit, temporary or classic transfer plates. Seasonal plates are allowed. A certified expert inspects cars at the access road.
• Noise: cars must meet the figures in their registration papers, 95 dB(A) on the near field test and 130 dB(A) on the pass by measurement, checked at the access road and around the lap. Defective or illegally modified exhausts are excluded, with no refund for a car sent home.
• Liability: driving is at the driver's own risk under the circuit's exclusion of liability. Damage to barriers, fences or the track is reported to staff and signed for, and the driver who caused it pays the repairs plus the track safety staff and vehicle call out; the hourly rates are available from track management and the circuit can ask for a cash advance on the spot. A broken down or leaking car is towed only by the circuit's authorised service, at the driver's cost. Each culpable breach of the driving regulations carries a €250 contractual penalty and can bring a driving ban.
• Incidents during tourist drives are reported to track management on +49 800 0302 112.
• Closures: no refund or compensation when the track closes. During unforeseen closures, drivers get 10% off digital driving packages at the Nürburgring eSports Bar and food and drink at LUCIA Pollo Italiano and Bitburger Gasthaus, except during selected events.
• Photos: drivers who object to being photographed by trackside photographers can put a marker on their front and rear side windows, available at the ticket container.
• Banned during tourist drives: taxi rides for any commercial purpose, paid or free, and instructor led, guided, paired or convoy driving.
• Info and tickets: +49 2691 302 630.
• Last verified: 18 October 2026
• Official link: https://nuerburgring.de/driving/touristdrives