anyone planning on attending Euro 2004?

[SLO-Gunner]

If yes, does anyone have insight regarding the accommodations situation in Portugal? There are more than 9 months left before the tourney kicks off and yet all hotels are booked up in Porto already or require a rediculous number of nights minimum.

[phishy]

Im going and your right, the accomodations do seem to be difficult to come by... im going to try and wing something with a hostel or somesuch but looks like me girlfriend wont go fer that.. guess she can stay home then.. hehe... nearly ALL hotels are totally booked, but if i was you, id look at the not-so-obvious places... i contacted the portugal hospitality and tourism bureau and they gave me loads of help... good luck~

phishy

[ArsenalTexan3]

hhhhhmmmm....I never thought of this. Maybe I'll see who qualifies and what the draws are before I make up my mind.

[SLO-Gunner]

Originally posted by phishy
Im going and your right, the accomodations do seem to be difficult to come by... im going to try and wing something with a hostel or somesuch but looks like me girlfriend wont go fer that.. guess she can stay home then.. hehe... nearly ALL hotels are totally booked, but if i was you, id look at the not-so-obvious places... i contacted the portugal hospitality and tourism bureau and they gave me loads of help... good luck~

phishy

do you happen to know the URL for the portugal hospitality and tourism bureau?

thanks

[Jeff L]

Providing England qualify I am considering going. Driving down through France and Spain, and camping on the way. It ensure accommodation at a good price! The weather will be nice and hot. I did that for Euro '92 in Sweden and had a great time. Got to meet loads of interesting people from all around Scandinavia plus England. Sweden is designed for camping anyway.
I've been to Portugal before, but not camping, but on route via France and Spain should be fun. (I hope).
As a side issue, on the trip to the USA Cup in Blaine, MN. for 2005, a lot of us there will be discussing meeting up in Germany for World Cup 2006. Something else to consider, and who knows, might even involve the USA too!!

[Senor Askew]

I for one will definately be there in Portugal next summer. Just my luck that it fits perfectly into my plans.

I'll be heading to Spain for an archaeology field excavation just outside of Toledo. And since I'll be there anyway plans for Madrid, Barcelona and other stops have already been planned. Add to this the fact that Euro2004 is right next door and you've got one hell of a summer!

I, like Jeff, will just be camping perhaps for close to a month after the excavation, depends on how long I stay on after the tournament. Sounds like a long haul but this past July and August I lived out of a tent for five and a half weeks in the Alaskan wilderness so I'm used to it. And civilized Spain and Portugal are a far cry from the wilds of the Fortymile river I can assure you all.

This past April my mother and aunt vacationed in Lisbon and found it to be pretty reasonable though I'm sure all prices may be jacked up next summer to maximize the money earned. They know people will pay anything once they're there so they can essentially charge anything they want. And since they know that next summer's football fans will just be drunk and out of their minds over football they'll be able to charge three times normal rates without drawing a complaint.

I personally despise hostels and have always avoided them, sure even small, modest hotels cost more but you can have some personal space and you don't have to run the risk of having valuables stolen by shady characters (I speak from personal experience here) or what have you.

Like phisy said, look a little under the surface for accomodations. Perhaps in the outskirts of Oporto or Lisbon, tram, train or bus rides aren't that much of a hassle, they're cheap, and they allow you to see more of the city. Most internet sites will only show you stuff in the center (i.e. most expensive) areas of a given city. Contact a travel agent perhaps? Or a tourism bureau and let them know exactly what you want. Something may turn up.

[SLO-Gunner]

thanks for the camping ideal. Hadn't thought of it.