Going to North America '26: tickets, accommodations, etc. (non-politics)

Got an email from our FA yesterday. It said they hadn't received any key info from FIFA yet but would hopefully have something in the next 48 hours and that special access codes would be sent shortly. Don't think they'll be offering usa v aus tickets for $250.
Reading about transportation and hotel prices in recent pages, for us in Australia these prices are quite normal. It costs an absolute bomb to go on holidays here during peak season. The cheap $150 flight becomes $600+ during the peak. Me and my wife are going to Bali for a week in Jan, spending half on what it would cost to stay somewhere equivalent on the Gold Coast.
Also some good info on where to stay in NY in recent pages. Meeting up with rest of the family there after group stage and have been looking at accommodation. Hoboken/NJ areas caught my eye so might go that way as downtown Manhattan prices for 5 are astronomical for what you get. Is it OK to stay in Harlem/Bronx areas? Previously had a reputation for being a bit rough but not sure nowdays. Prices there seem a bit more reasonable.

 

Same here. Some cities are worse than others. It's especially bad for those who need to travel in between two host countries on the same day as other sets of fans especially USA to Guadalajara or Monterrey, or take a long flight from Vancouver away from West Coast.

Planning/booking for the Round of 32 is problematic when your two main options (ie. 1st or 2nd in group) aren't near to eachother (let alone if they are in the same country) and near to where you play your 3rd group game. Yes this was flagged in that popular reddit post a year ago and discussed here many times back then, but now we know the teams that it is extra difficult for. Some airlines you can book refundable as credit valid for one year, but then you need to know you will be able to use it later on. Let's not get started on 3rd place . Then for the Round of 16 if you leave it till you know where you are definitely playing then the pricing will be further jacked up due to Fourth of July holiday travellers. I agree it will get pretty expensive for people booking last minute, or fans of those who qualify through the March playoffs.

 

Time to invest in US airlines stock! They've been battered earlier this year so the World Cup period will be the mother of all summers for them. They'll figure out that if someone can pay $3,000 for a 90mn game, they'll pay $1,000 to get there on a 4- or 5-hr flight. The US transportation system is designed for driving or flying, nothing in-between. I could drive from the SFO Bay Area to LA, but driving to Seattle is a stretch. Now once in Seattle, you're not too far from Vancouver. But then these areas are notorious for expensive hotels exacerbated by the slew of cruises from these cities... If you're looking at hitting the Seattle and Vancouver games, I'd recommend staying somewhere in between, like Bellingham and Mount Vernon. Not sure though what crossing the Canadian border will look like...

 

So the next ticketing phase starts on December 11th, and runs thru mid-January.
It still will be lottery-based, so cross fingers we get picked to purchase tix. Make sure you're registered on Fifa.com/tickets .

I'm avoiding the resell market for now, it's too crazy over there.

 

No logistics details are available yet for any of the fan fests

 

Not 'unsafe/dangerous' per se, but it will feel grimey/rough to some visitors. Definitely DO NOT stay at those 2-3 places in Harlem/Bronx that the guy a few posts before sent. No clue where those came from. Harlem isn't too bad because it's closer to Central Park and it's got some cool spots and good history, Bronx isn't a great option because there's not much to do/see there honestly.

Brooklyn has some fantastic areas (but pricey) but it's close to Manhattan. Queens is ok but it's so big and massive that the farther west you go (towards JFK airport) you are so far away from the city.

The reason I say Hoboken/Jersey City (New Jersey) is how close it is to the city.

Either way, all of NYC and surrounding areas is a fun adventure.

 

Metlife is in nj. Hoboken is nicer. Harlem depends on what street. Bronx... Haven't been there in over 10 years. You can always take the Path train from Jersey into NYC

 

I took the train from Oakland to seattle once... F#$@ that was long... But probably ok if you can sleep on trains. Bus to Vancouver was $20 a couple years back on the red bus (forgot the name of it... They have it on the east coast too). Beware of border crossing times... A lot of people missed the women's world cup final in 2015 cause they were stuck at the border.

 

agree with this post. I don't think Bronx is a good idea for international visitors to stay in. Specially if you using public transport - Coming back to your place late night - you wont feel safe.

 

The red bus which was already bought by greyhound is now not showing up so they must of just integrated it into the parent company. Flixbus is supposedly also owned by greyhound but shows as separate. The price as of now between Seattle and Vancouver is showing as $30-40...

 

Ai showing: Amtrak Oakland to Vancouver is showing as $100+ I didn't search world cup dates though as my data plan is slow AF atm.

Just letting people know there are ground options.. very slow ground options lol

 

Parking at Levi's Santa Clara (San Francisco host city) is $60-80... Might increase for world cup lol

 

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c04vq6ldv6lo
Oooh, this is going to be good... Who could have seen this coming?
And let's remember that "FIFA is projected to earn a record-breaking
$11 billion in total revenue for the 2026 World Cup cycle"
As a reminder, FIFA is a NON-PROFIT organization... curious to know
how they are going to balance the books with $11 billion in the bank!

 

Everyone looking at their credit card statement when Trump was congratulating Infantino on the huge sales #'s ...

 

For visitors from abroad, I thought it might be useful to list some of the alternate/smaller airports in the host city areas, which may give you some options beyond the big international hubs for domestic flights. Some of these have cross-border North American flights as well, but few if any will be useful for flying across an ocean. I'll mention both the big airports and the alternatives that I know of.

Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) major hub
Dallas Love Field (DAL)

Houston Bush (IAH) major hub
Houston Hobby (HOU)

Los Angeles (LAX) major hub
Long Beach (LGB)
Burbank (BUR)
Santa Ana (SNA)
Ontario (ONT)

San Francisco (SFO) major hub
Oakland (OAK)
San Jose (SJC) -- This is by far the closest to the stadium

Boston Logan (BOS) major hub
Providence (PVD) -- This might be closer to the stadium?

New York (JFK) and Newark (EWR) major hubs
LaGuardia (LGA) -- also considered a major airport, but mostly domestic
Long Island/Islip (ISP) -- not very convenient to a New Jersey stadium, but it's there

Miami (MIA) major hub
Fort Lauderdale (FLL)
Palm Beach (PBI)

Toronto Pearson (YYZ) major hub
Toronto Bishop (YTZ)

For Toronto and Vancouver, some people, when traveling to/from the US, use the strategy to cross the land border and use the closest US airport. This avoids the expense where both countries impose taxes on the international flights. For Toronto, that means going to Buffalo (BUF), and for Vancouver, there is Bellingham (BLI).

It's farther from a host city, but people use the Tijuana airport (TIJ) for similar reasons to use Mexican domestic flights for Mexico/US travel. The terminal is right next to the border, so you can get off a domestic flight and walk straight from baggage claim to a US border station, then catch an Uber to downtown San Diego and a 3-hour train to Los Angeles.

There might be other smaller airports I don't know about; people can add other ideas.

 

Fort Lauderdale is closer to the Stadium for those going to South Florida.

 

Can you get me in that group? Thanks

 

What is the ticket whatsapp group?

 

Edit: added LA.

FIFA Fan Fest (Official): there will be tons of small pop up events but these are the only "official" ones I could find.

NYC: https://nynjfwc26.com/fan-festival/
- Fan Fest: Liberty Park, Jersey City, NJ - great location for view of the city, ferry/Path train accessible. 15 miles to stadium.
- Fan Village: Rockefeller Center, Midtown Manhattan - July 4 - 19, 2026. Classic location, heart of Manhattan

Kansas City, MO: https://kansascityfwc26.com/fan-fest/
- National WWI Museum and Memorial: great location downtown, next to Union Station and 2 miles from Power & Light, 2 miles from Westport, and 3 miles from The Plaza. 10 miles to stadium.

Atlanta: https://atlantafwc26.com/fan-fest/
- Centennial Park: perfect location downtown, next to the stadium. Really couldn't be better, no brainer for the city.

Dallas: https://www.dallasfwc26.com/our-venues/fan-festival/
- State Fair Park: pretty much in downtown Dallas, it's made for this type of event, 1 mile walk to Deep Ellum. 20 miles to stadium.

Philadelphia: https://phillyfwc26.com/fifa-fan-fest
- Lemmon Hill: Solid downtown location, steps to Philadelphia Art Museum ("Rocky steps") and the world class museum campus area. 2 miles from City Hall (center of the city), 5 miles to stadium

Houston: https://www.fwc26houston.com/fifafanfestivalhou
- East Downtown: right in downtown. 10 miles to stadium

Seattle: https://seattlefc26.com/
- Seattle Center: solid location near downtown, under the Space Needle. 1 mile from Pike Place, 2 miles from stadium

Miami: https://miamifwc26.com/fifa-fan-festival/
- Bayfront Park: good downtown location. 5 miles to South Beach, 2 to Little Havana, 15 miles to stadium.

Boston: https://bostonfwc26.com/
- not announced yet. Assuming downtown in Boston Commons

San Francisco: https://www.sf.gov/fifa-world-cup-26-sf-bay-area
- not announced yet. Could be in SF or San Jose

Los Angeles: https://losangelesfwc26.com/
- not announced yet. Could be Exposition Park near USC/Coliseum.

Vancouver: https://vancouverfwc26.ca/fifa-fan-festival
- Hastings Park: good central location. 6km to the stadium and to Gastown.

Toronto: https://torontofwc26.ca/news/fifa-toronto-fan-festival-venue-location
- The Bentway: next to Fort York, great location. 1km to stadium, 2km to downtown

Monterrey: https://www.fwc26monterrey.com/who-we-are
- Fundidora Park: big central city park. 5km to stadium

Mexico City: can't find official site... https://matadornetwork.com/read/mexico-city-world-cup-2026/
- Zocalo: as good of a backdrop as you could ask for. City center, super historic. 6 km to Condesa/Polanco neighborhoods, 17km to stadium.

Guadalajara:
- Plaza de la Liberación: another perfect Latin American historical central plaza. 16km to stadium.

 

Great info. I once flew to Hartford (CT) to go to Boston. Much cheaper. One and 1/2 hour drive to the stadium.

If you're traveling from abroad and need to find US-based flights, please note that there are a few airlines that may not show up in the reservation system you use.
Notably they might be:
- JetBlue Airways
- Southwest Airlines
- Frontier Airlines
- Allegiant Airlines
- Sun Country
- Spirit Airlines, though that one has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection a year ago and has been curtailing business to many cities, so proceed at your own risks.

Similarly when leaving from abroad, do not forget the "secondary" or "low-cost" airlines in your country, they may have flights to one or multiple destinations in the US.
For example, in Brazil, AZUL has a non-stop flight from Viracopos-Campinas (Sao Paulo) VCP to Fort Lauderdale FLL, a mere 20mn Uber ride to the stadium.
Also from Belo Horizonte CNF to Orlando MCO, a 3-hr drive (rental car) to the stadium. Incidentally, Azul was founded by the same genius who launched JetBlue and WestJet, David Neeleman, a Brazilian-American entrepreneur.
A quick check of prices and they've been updated to "World Cup" prices at $2,250 and $2,600 return flight. Ouch! We paid $910 in July!

 

I’d love to be part of this as well!

 

Likewise!

 

German FA just circulated access codes! Still no update on pricing though… I doubt we will hear anything prior to the application process starting.