Hi All, I'm new to travelling to watch the team play. I would like to go to Brazil for 2014 and have some basic questions for anyone who is nice enough to answer them: Does joining Sam's Army or American Outlaws help with getting tickets and group rates for airlines/hotels? How do you time everything? Ideally, I'd like to see our US players, but as their WC Qualifying games determine when and where they play, how do you plan accordingly? For anyone who has gone to WC to see the Nats, any other suggestions? Any things not to do? Thanks in advance to anyone who has a chance to answer this. Johnny
Well, the questions are broad, but I can tell you what was helpful to me and what I learned. Yes, join AO and SA and even the USSF's soccer supporters groups. They're inexpensive and are an invaluable source of information and networking. I'm most familiar with AO, which has ticket, flight, and hotel discounts. SA seems to come up with good stuff as WCs near, and the USSF group can get you discounts on US soccer merchandise (jackets, jerseys, etc.). Next, there are some very experienced travelers who post frequently on these forums. ASK THEM QUESTIONS AND LISTEN TO THEIR ANSWERS. The ones off the top of my head are rksehga and thethinwhiteduke, but I'm sure there are others. You may have different travel preferences/budgets, but these guys will not steer you wrong on the major aspects (safety, equipment, parts of town, game atmosphere, etc.). As far as diving in, just start going. The groups and fans are friendly and open, there's cute girls, and it's lots of fun to drink beer with these groups. Fly into the city the day before the match, and fly out the day after. Wear your gear, paint your face, start drinking at 9:00 AM on game day, and sing/yell/chant until you lose your voice. As far as what not to do ... the only thing I can think of is, while money may be tight, don't be afraid to cover a round or two at the parties. Be wise, but don't be cheap. Also, you won't get it completely right the first time, or maybe even the first few times. Don't be afraid to make mistakes, you'll learn fast enough and it will become easy. Hope that's helpful.
Book stuff early, especially airfare. I was starting to plan on going to the 2010 World Cup as far back as October 2009, so I scouted out the prices of airfare and whatnot around that time - but I waited until after the draw and didn't book anything until January 2010. By that time, flights were several hundred dollars more expensive. This time around I think I will book a round trip flight to either Rio or Sao Paulo as soon as possible (they won't be available until 2013 though) and then I'll do the accommodations after the draw. I think we had it easy in 2010 though, USA only played in a very small area (Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Bloomfontein - so it was easy to get to all of their games). I am hoping that is the case again in 2014, and that we won't be playing all over the country, like Potro Alegre and then Recifce! That would be a nightmare.
As someone who is married to a Brasilian and has traveled extensively through out the country, the airport situation there is a nightmare on a good day. I hope they really place just as much emphasis on this as they do building the stadiums (which they are severely behind on). The best airport to stay close to is Sao Paulo GRU. Most everyone will be in Rio for obvious reasons, but if you want to see a bunch of games in person then you need to be close to an airport that can handle the masses and has a ton of flights all over the country like GRU. Rio's big airport is hellacious and is a disaster waiting to happen because it is so damn small for a city that big. Hopefully, they will organize the games properly when the WC draw is released to ensure fans in groups play are not criss crossing all over this massive country.
Unfortunately, according to what is up at the 2014 World Cup Wikipedia site, everyone should expect to be cris-crossing Brazil when they follow their sides. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_FIFA_World_Cup
Holy smokes, is that a situation where every group match is in a different city? Hope everybody has Brazilian air miles.
To previous travelers how did you plan it out if your team went through to the knock-out rounds, such as your flight, extended time away from work, etc.
Not sure why people are surprised at how spread out the venues are, that exactly what it would be like if it here. And knowing our luck the USA will play game 2 of the group stage in Manaus! To answer the OP, I'm pretty sure the American Outlaw trip package is sold out (again) but has a waiting list. I don't know about you, but I'm lazy and just watch soccer all day, so I sign up for the AO trip package and let them take care of all the logistics for me!
i get the sarcasm...but for instance if you bought one of the packages as an AO member - the plane ride down might be a little somber. and you would look a little silly in the bandanas and all...