Handing over your life savings just to get a seat in Brazil’s World Cup stadiums is what many die hard Aussie fans are contemplating if they hope to get to the World Cup in June next year.
Many will argue that the experience is priceless, but with thousands of dollars need up front just to get to Brazil, is the debt ultimately worth it?
John Makris didn’t blink an eye at booking his trip, saying such an event shouldn’t be missed.
He’ll be travelling in early June to see the first group stages and the quarter finals, and is packing his Greek and Australian flag too.
“I’ll be putting $100 on Greece I reckon,” he tells Neos Kosmos.
“They won the Euro Cup in 2004, so this 2014 I think Greece might win it.”
Superstition aside, fans from 32 qualifying countries as well as football fanatics will be hurriedly looking to book flights and accommodation just as the World Cup draw was announced last week.
For Aussie fans following the Socceroos, they have bought into an expensive exercise – and that’s just talking about booking flights!
If you want to travel the whole month the World Cup is on, from group stages starting on June 12 till July 13 when the final is played, you’d be looking at long haul flights and double the standard rate.
Last week, flights from Melbourne to São Paolo or Rio de Janeiro were nearing the $4,000 mark and that included a stopover in Dubai or Abu Dhabi, making the overall flight time more than 30 hours.
No airlines fly direct to Brazil from Australia, meaning customers always have to add air travel time and added tickets for stopovers.
Those thinking outside the box, hoping to snag a bargain, will be in for a cruel surprise too.
Getting a connecting flight to Brazil from the US isn’t a cheap idea.
Return flights from Melbourne to Los Angeles to Rio de Janeiro were going for upwards of $6,000 during the June dates.
Christos Niaros of Parthenon Travel says finding an economy seat on any flight will be a challenge by June, as airlines will have to fight with World Cup traffic and the northern hemisphere summer traffic.
Connecting flights in Doha, Dubai and Abu Dhabi will cause a lot of problems.
“A July return is very busy because airlines have to pick up passengers at their popular stopover locations,” he tells Neos Kosmos.
Fans hoping to book a bargain might have to accept the fact that they will be looking at multiple stopovers. Mr Niaros says it might be worth booking an around the world flight for the same money, where at least you can make the most out of the stopovers on the way to Brazil.
For Mr Makris, he’s decided to make the trip a whole South American tour, capitalising on his time and his location.
“We’re throwing a fair bit in there,” he says.
“South and Central America, and we’re looking at about six games.”
South America will be bursting at the seams in June and July, with FIFA expecting over 600,000 international travellers to make the trip to Brazil.
Neighbouring countries will also be feeling the flow-on effects from the extended travel plans of fans.
Thirty-two teams, including Greece and Australia, will be battling it out for the world title, and bringing with them a legion of fans draped in their national flags.
“I expect craziness, I expect die-hard fans, I expect a lot of noise,” Mr Makris says about the inevitable atmosphere.
“Even if you’re not at the game I think there will be the same kind of atmosphere inside or outside the stadium regardless.”
Yet, for most people, the party won’t be anywhere near Brazil. International fans will be filling the streets, watching glued to the screen and celebrating all through the night for their national teams. Despite the distance, the atmosphere will be exactly the same around the world.
That is what the World Cup can achieve, on global proportions.
Greece only managed to qualify a couple of weeks ago, while Australia is going in as the underdog with the title of the lowest ranked team in the competition.
Fans hoping to catch every game their country plays will be in for another cruel surprise, when they realise games will be played in 12 different cities and stadiums that are thousands of kilometres apart. In some cases, it will take days to get to one stadium to another by car, as Brazil is the biggest country in South America and the fifth biggest country in the world.
Domestic flights will be the best option for people needing to get in and out of cities quickly but need to be bought well in advance to avoid disappointment. For those with a bit more time, the bus networks will be a cheaper option.
Accommodation will be another headache. With 12 cities hosting matches, hotels will be booking up fast all over the country, with many having to resort to far away hotels just to find availability.
AirBnB, the house sharing and rental website, might be a good option for last minute travellers needing a place to stay and provides a local, more authentic experience.
Tickets to the matches are another inevitable expense, and for the thrifty bunch, the earlier matches are the best bet.
Base prices for group matches start from $98 (AUD), while the price will rise exponentially till the final ($485).
Brazil is expecting about $12 billion to be spent in the country thanks to World Cup tourists, proving the investment was well worth it after building stadiums and infrastructure.
Mr Makris says his investment isn’t weighing too heavily on him.
“For me the money wasn’t an issue, as long as you’re working and making money you can always save,” he says.
“I can say to anybody to save for any holiday, to go every two years all you need to do is save $100 a week and you’ve pretty much got a ticket return and spending money for four weeks.”
Brazil will be putting on quite a show to lure tourists and their money.
Notorious for being one of the most dangerous countries for tourists, Brazil and FIFA is making sure security is upped so that no traveller will be harmed.
Beaches and bars will be the points of call for any fan, and many Aussie tourists will be swapping the jersey for the speedos and taking a walk on Copacabana’s 4km beach.
Beach bums and city slickers will inevitably cross paths, and the green and gold army will be parked in every pub around town to watch the Socceroos hopefully punch above their weight.
But the throngs of thongs in Brazil will be feeling the effects of the World Cup hangover for years to come.
Conservative estimates on the overall cost, including flights (international and domestic), accommodation for the whole World Cup period and tickets, see Aussie fans looking at about $10,000.
Add spending money to that bucket, and the coffers are looking pretty dry.
Maybe watching the game on the couch doesn’t seem that bad after all.