A lot of people are unaware of how cheap football trips can be. Generally, when one thinks about making a trip like this, the only thing preventing it from happening is the idea that one would need to spend wads of cash.
Flights, hotels, and match tickets – it all makes it seem like costs will add up quickly. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Exciting and worthwhile football-inspired holidays are within your reach.
You just need the right guidance to plan a football trip within your budget. Over the years, we have planned thousands of trips to matches across Europe and have learnt a trick or two to make it more affordable. As such, we have listed some of our best tips for planning a football trip on a budget.
Some tips may seem obvious, but we are sure you will find something useful here. So, read on and find out how to plan a football trip that will make both you and your wallet happy.
5 Tips for Planning a Cheap Football Trip
- Create a budget
- Set goals
- Understand that Football Ticket Prices Fluctuate
- Understand that Destination Affects Travel Costs
- Optimise Your Travel Means
1. Create a Budget
When planning a trip, it is always a good idea to set out how much money you want to spend on your voyage. This way, you have an idea of what to save and will know what is and isn’t possible. For example, if you have a budget of €200 per person for a proposed trip to Barcelona, the El Clásico may not be within your reach.
However, you could look at other viable options, such as games against smaller teams (many trips to Barcelona can be made for under €200 per person).
Quite simply, once you have an idea of how much money you have to work with, you can decide on what match to watch, where to stay, and the range of your activities while you are in your destination city.
2. Set Goals
For the cheapest trip, you need to limit the number of days you travel. Remember that the longer you spend at your destination, the more expensive a trip becomes.
The ideal football trip is about two days. While this may seem short to some, if you approach your voyage with a plan, you can see and do a lot in a brief period. We’ve seen people visiting six football matches over 48 hours; so, believe us, a lot is possible!
Essentially, before you start your trip, you need to set goals. There are several options available:
- You could see this as a fun short trip where the aim is to immersive yourself in the match day atmosphere in bars, streets, and the stadium itself.
- You could see this as your chance to stadium hop. For example, if you are already in Italy to watch AC Milan, why not take the train to Rome or Turin to see AS Roma or Juventus play?
- Depending on your destination, you could do some sightseeing before the game. You could visit some monuments and museums you have always wanted to see. For example, the Colosseum in Rome, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, or Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.
Once you have made your goals, you can start setting up your plan by stating what is possible and not possible with the time available to you.
3. Understand that Football Ticket Prices Fluctuate
Most people don’t seem to be aware that football ticket prices are often subject to dynamic pricing. There are two big factors that often affect ticket prices (although sometimes there are more):
The Popularity of a Fixture
The greater the demand for tickets for a particular match, the higher the price is going to be. For example, watching the Derby della Madonnina (AC Milan vs Inter Milan) is going to be more expensive than watching AC Milan play a team that is about to be relegated.
So, you need to think about your aim when picking a fixture. For example, continuing with the AC Milan example, is your hope to watch the Milan derby? Or, do you simply want to watch AC Milan? Maybe your real interest is seeing the San Siro?
We aren’t going to lie to you – the derby match rings better in name. However, attending a “less” exciting fixture will not necessarily provide you with a lesser experience. Fans still sing the same songs, scream for their team to win, and cry when they lose.
Bigger games draw out some of a team’s more passionate fans, but overall, you won’t have a bad time at smaller fixtures. The recent performance of a team is actually a better tell-tale sign of what the stadium atmosphere will be on a match day.
To keep the trip as economical as possible, we suggest going for mid-table or low-table games. This means you have the team you want to watch against a slightly less interesting team.
When the Match is Played
More people have time to attend weekend fixtures. Thus, the demand for these tickets is often greater than that for matches played on a weekday. There are exceptions to this rule. For example, UEFA Champions League games are weekdays matches that can be more expensive than weekend matches. However, usually, most weekday matches are cheaper.
If price is an issue for you, we suggest going for matches played on a weekday. You still get a good experience and at a budget friendly price. Unfortunately, you will likely have to book a few days off of work or school (or whatever it is you do to pay for football trips). So, this is a factor you need to consider when selecting your match date.
4. Understand that Destination Affects Travel Costs
This should go without saying, but some football trips are cheaper than others based on the destination. There are several ways destination can impact the price of your trip.
Firstly, the popularity of the city you travel to affects costs. For example, Munich is more popular with tourists than Dortmund for reasons outside of football. As such, hotels are likely to charge more than hotels in Dortmund due to demand.
It may seem like there is nothing you can do about this but this is not entirely true. If your aim is to watch Bayern Munich and not necessarily see the Allianz Arena, you can consider attending an away match that is cheaper to visit.
Secondly, some clubs set lower prices for their tickets than others. For example, attending a Manchester City match can be far less expensive than attending a Liverpool match.
It may seem like we are comparing apples to oranges, but our point will become more visible when you compare the prices of watching Liverpool vs Manchester City at Anfield and Manchester City vs Liverpool at Etihad Stadium. You will notice that it is cheaper to watch the two teams go head-to-head at the Etihad than it is to watch it at Anfield.
As mentioned previously, ticket prices fluctuate based on many factors. One of the more common factors is team performance. Better performing teams tend to sell pricier tickets because fans want to see their team. Worse performing teams sometimes need to sell cheaper tickets to entice more people to come as fans are less interested in seeing a losing side.
In the case of Liverpool and Manchester City, it could be that there are more Liverpool fans willing to buy tickets at higher prices, pointing back to our supply and demand point in the previous section.
5. Optimise Your Travel Means
When you get to your destination, you are going to have to find a way to get around. This can sound daunting – especially if you do not speak the local language. But with the help of Google Translate and map apps, it really doesn’t have to be.
Essentially, most European cities people visit for a football trip offer good public transport services, which often includes trains, metros, and buses.
Some even offer passes that allow you to use the services as much as you like for a limited time. For example, in Rome, you can buy such a pass for €6 per day. The price will vary from city to city, though. Expect to pay more when visiting destinations like Amsterdam or Munich versus Barcelona or Rome.
Even if it sounds intimidating, we suggest sticking to programs like this instead of relying on taxi services like Uber or Bolt. The main reason is that using those services for multiple trips often costs more than a daily pass.
Planning Budget Football Trips – Conclusion
Crafting an affordable football trip is not impossible. As long as you keep our tips in mind, you can make your dream trip possible. If you are looking for some potential opportunities for your next trip, we recommend having a look at our offers. We have a lot of options for people with all types of budgets.
And if you are looking to keep up to date with good deals on football trips, we suggest you sign up for our newsletter. We often hold special on matches throughout the year you should consider taking advantage of. And, with this we say, good luck and safe travels!