US/Ghana - Natal - 6/16/14

Discussion in 'USA Men: World Cup Fans & Travel' started by wixson7, Dec 11, 2013.

  1. donovan2dempsey

    Apr 15, 2010
    Club:
    FC Bayern München
    I'm definitely down for a buggy ride on either June 15, 17, or 18.
     
  2. Sluroots

    Sluroots Member

    Liverpool FC
    United States
    Sep 2, 2013
    Des Moines, Iowa
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Thanks ACGreen! I heard that most say it's a must. And, "with emotion" I hear is also a must! You know of any company that's better than the rest or are they all pretty much the same as far as quality/price? Thanks!
     
  3. Sluroots

    Sluroots Member

    Liverpool FC
    United States
    Sep 2, 2013
    Des Moines, Iowa
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Hey PM me if you can. I was looking at the 15th as the day to try and do the ride, before the night before party. I figured we'll be celebrating too much on the night of the 16th, that doing it on the 17th might not be a good idea.
     
  4. ACGreen

    ACGreen Member

    May 12, 2004
    São Paulo, Brasil
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I spent my honeymoon (12 yrs ago) with a 60 strong gringo wedding party at the Ocean Palace. We all rented buggies at a place called sobuggy. I remember because they said it on the side and we would pull up to each other and say - You are SO buggy. Cute. I know.

    Anyhoo - we rented 7 of them and used them as transportation all around town for the week. They are street tolerated if not legal. At least they were then and probaly still are.

    We then hired a guide that lead us all to the amazing sights - we went on one epic trip that culminated in a grilled seafood dinner in a shack on a beach past Pipa with tuna and langostines fisherman delivered in front of us.

    We went to Genipabau and other places as well. It was an amazing week. And still possible if you get out in front of things. The guide was pretty cheap (we gave him a huge tip at the end of the week) and we arranged it through Sobuggy. In fact the guy had essentially his whole fleet of buggies with us so he wanted the kid to go along and keep an eye on the crazy gringos.

    Sobuggy was near the hotel. We walked there. All the buggies are pretty much shit. Old VWs that are kitted out with fiberglass bodies. They are not made to do crazy stuff on, just to drive on the beach. They will break if you get jiggy with it. They will also roll over and wreck your biz. Sde note: My Brazilian wife was always nervous that one of our gringo guests was going to break themselves (valid point). Her reasoning was - they think that if something happens, a helicopter will materialize and take them to a class 1 trauma center. It aint gonna happen.

    If Sobuggy isnt around, look for some equivalent and inquire about a reservation for 1 or 2 days with a guide. To do the crazy dune jumping, you will either drive there in your POS wagon and pay for a ride in a suped up death machine. Or you can just do the whole thing with a driver in his hot rod. That is what my 80 yr old grandma did. She is awesome.

    To top it all off, the only other people staying in out hotel was SPFC with their starlet Kaka fresh off winning the world cup the week before. We hung out with the team all week by the pool and they gave us primo tickets to their Copa Das Campeões games they were in town for.

    I really enjoyed writing that....good times.
     
    Justin O repped this.
  5. ACGreen

    ACGreen Member

    May 12, 2004
    São Paulo, Brasil
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Looks like this is the place. Dont let the site fool you. It is a garage on the beach. Note the hotmail acct!

    http://www.locflex.com.br/reservas.php
    [​IMG]
    Rua Elias Barros, 9180 - Ponta Negra, Natal RN
     
  6. Sluroots

    Sluroots Member

    Liverpool FC
    United States
    Sep 2, 2013
    Des Moines, Iowa
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

    Sounds awesome! Thanks for all the info. Can't wait to try it out myself!
     
  7. UrNumbrOneCrush

    Manchester United and FC Barcelona
    United States
    Apr 18, 2006
    Austin, TX USA!
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Man that price sounds pricey. Sounds like 1000 rais. How long is the excursion for?
     
  8. valerian253

    valerian253 New Member

    Jan 29, 2013
    Venice, California
    Club:
    Chelsea FC
    I'm in Los Angeles and will be traveling solo to the World Cup for all three USA games, plus the 2nd place round-of-16 match in Salvador. Right now I have 2 extra CAT 1 USA v Ghana, and 1 extra CAT 1 USA v Portugal. I am looking for 1 (any level) USA v Germany and lodging in Natal, Fortaleza, Manaus, Recife, and Salvador.

    If there is any will to trade anything, let me know! valerian253 [at] gmail [dot] com
     
  9. Piffy187

    Piffy187 Member

    Jul 26, 2009
    FL
    Club:
    CA Peñarol
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    add.jpg Just curious for the people who have a CAT 3 ticket where the f*** are the seats on the top level?!
     
  10. MacPhistoTerp

    MacPhistoTerp Member

    United States
    Mar 25, 2009
    Treasure Island, FL
    Club:
    Cork City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Probably the highest rows in the upper corner, and the lowest rows directly behind the net
     
  11. Bigrose30

    Bigrose30 Member+

    Sep 11, 2004
    Jersey City, NJ
    For anyone who's in the AO contingent that will be based around Ponta Negra: what's the thought on stadium transport on game day? It's about a 1.5 hour walk to the stadium, I believe, which seems fine in theory...
     
    USSoccer5 repped this.
  12. USSoccer5

    USSoccer5 New Member

    Apr 17, 2014
    Chicago
    My dad, brother, and I are AO members but booked our trip separately, not through the package. Were staying in ponta negra though, so I'm glad you guys will be close by! Hour and a half doesn't sound bad at all getting to the stadium, provided tjay whatever bars/activities that AO has planned are along the way, (and there are no open container laws in brazil?) It'll probably suck walking back home that far afterwards but I'm not sure that we'll have other options. I'm expecting chaos after
     
    Bigrose30 repped this.
  13. Scottcn6423

    Scottcn6423 Member

    Jul 16, 2008
    Philadelphia
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Planning on taking a taxi or walking to wherever AO sets up the pre-match party. Pre-match party will be very early so match traffic won't be a big issue. Postmatch TBD - find a bar or just start walking.
     
    Bigrose30 repped this.
  14. sethuel1

    sethuel1 Member

    Mar 23, 2006
    New Orleans, LA
    Club:
    AS Roma
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    In the process of being built. They're temp seats. Check out the background of this pic from a few days ago
    [​IMG]
     
    Palermo10 repped this.
  15. Piffy187

    Piffy187 Member

    Jul 26, 2009
    FL
    Club:
    CA Peñarol
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Nice! Thanks man.
     
  16. wixson7

    wixson7 Member+

    May 12, 2009
    boulder
    Flight change gets me into Natal 2 and a half hour before kickoff. Taxi to ponte Negra hotel to drop off luggage and then speed to stadium..........Though stressful it shouldn't be a problem, right?
     
  17. paulalanr

    paulalanr Member

    Nov 5, 2013
    New Orleans, LA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Best luck! I hope that works out. I think if it were me though, I'd be trying to find a different strategy for storing my luggage . . . .
     
  18. TRUEAGGIE

    TRUEAGGIE Member

    Jan 26, 2005
    Las Vegas
    The airport is already a decent distance from Ponta Negra and getting to the stadium on game days is going to be a zoo. If you are able to change flight plans easily I would recommend it. This would also prevent any disaster if your flight were to be delayed etc...
     
  19. Real Corona

    Real Corona Member+

    Jan 19, 2008
    Colorado
    Club:
    FC Metalist Kharkiv
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    My Brazilian friend told me to add a minimum of an hour delay to all Brazilian flights. Said something like 40% of flights leave and arrive on time.
     
  20. wixson7

    wixson7 Member+

    May 12, 2009
    boulder
    and as i wrote that last post, GOL changed my flight again. This is crazy stuff... back to drawing board.
     
    Real Corona repped this.
  21. ACGreen

    ACGreen Member

    May 12, 2004
    São Paulo, Brasil
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Shit. Gonna have to check Tam flt. But I do have some wiggle room seeing that I arrive at 330 AM before game time.
     
  22. bkn0528

    bkn0528 Member

    Aug 2, 2003
    nyc
    it is crazy how they keep changing flight times... getting a litttle antsy.
     
  23. valerian253

    valerian253 New Member

    Jan 29, 2013
    Venice, California
    Club:
    Chelsea FC
    I'm pretty sure every flight arrival I have (Natal, Fortaleza, Manaus, Recife, Salvador) is between midnight and 4am. Weird, right?!
     
  24. paulalanr

    paulalanr Member

    Nov 5, 2013
    New Orleans, LA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yeah, they seem to really like the AM domestic flights there. It's very different from the US, where basically 95% of passenger traffic stops at about 23:00 and doesn't resume again until maybe 5:30.

    I'm not flying as much as some (just taking a trip to Natal from Rio), but when I was searching, I saw a lot of those.
     
  25. donovan2dempsey

    Apr 15, 2010
    Club:
    FC Bayern München
    I found that to be really weird as well. My flight in Natal lands at 3:30am on Sunday the 15th.
     

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