Euro 2012 - general info

[pineapple stu]

Foot.ie was only a year old when we were last in a finals, and the away game threads were still in the future, so this is the first time we get to open a thread for suggestions and info on going to a finals.

I'll open new threads on individual games (tickets, accommodation, etc) when the draw is made. For now though, any tips on going to a major tournament?

[mypost]

Currencies:
Poland: Zloty
Ukraine: Hryvnia

Tournament Timezones:
Poland: GMT+2
Ukraine: GMT+3

Accessibility:
No visas required

[bennocelt]

Wroctaw is an awesome place, a university city, chilled, good beer, good people - would be an ideal base for Irish fans

[SwanVsDalton]

In typical bandwagon fashion a bunch of my mates are talking about hiring a bus and driving it. Does anyone have any advice on how logistically difficult this would be or could maybe share some useful links about this? This is likely initial excited rubbish talk, and we'll all end up on a plane, but thought I'd ask the oracles of wisdom here to test the water.

[jbyrne]

In typical bandwagon fashion a bunch of my mates are talking about hiring a bus and driving it. Does anyone have any advice on how logistically difficult this would be or could maybe share some useful links about this? This is likely initial excited rubbish talk, and we'll all end up on a plane, but thought I'd ask the oracles of wisdom here to test the water.

was in Poland last year on two occasions. Many of the roads are poor at best and some drivers are loonies. Single lane roads are the norm but i think they are in the process of building dual carriageways etc. I hear Ukraines roads are worse than Poland. driving would be a chore in my opinion although it depends on our draw and the distances we will have to travel obviously.

Once in Poland I traveled by rail mostly on both occasions and while a lot of the trains are quite old and journeys longish I actually really enjoyed getting around this way. Found myself standing in the main Warsaw rail station visualising what it would look like with the green army on the move! Be warned that some trains get absolutely mobbed at times but upgrading to first class is inexpensive and if you have your wits about you will almost guarantee a seat.

if I got a euro everytime my group of mates planned aborted road trips for tournament finals id be able to afford a private jet for Euro 2012!

[SwanVsDalton]

if I got a euro everytime my group of mates planned aborted road trips for tournament finals id be able to afford a private jet for Euro 2012!

Haha was thinking that myself! Cheers for the advice. Is train travel fairly inexpensive? It sounds like the way to go to me, the guys in the group are keen to maybe see a bit of extra Europe so we could probably get some kind of railpass and travel through a few countries.

[jbyrne]

Haha was thinking that myself! Cheers for the advice. Is train travel fairly inexpensive? It sounds like the way to go to me, the guys in the group are keen to maybe see a bit of extra Europe so we could probably get some kind of railpass and travel through a few countries.

from memory a 3 hr journey was about €20 one way with about another €3 for first class. best €3 you will ever spend! hotels are not that cheap in my experience but everything else was very good value also.

train details here. no bullet trains but decent enough service I found...
http://www.polrail.com/

[BonnieShels]

Haha was thinking that myself! Cheers for the advice. Is train travel fairly inexpensive? It sounds like the way to go to me, the guys in the group are keen to maybe see a bit of extra Europe so we could probably get some kind of railpass and travel through a few countries.

This is exactly my plan. I have June off work next year for this whether we qualified or not.

[AidoP]

You have to check with the company that you want to rent the bus from as regards driving to Poland or Ukraine because I know here in Germany that some car rental companies won't let you take a vehicle if you intend to travel to some countries in Eastern Europe. My mates are talking about renting a camper van from here as well but I don't think it'll happen but let's see.

[Silly Billy G]

How can i get match tickets for the Irish games ?
Will my club be able to get their hands on them

[Dodge]

I did this journey last year
Googe map directions from Rzeszow Airport to Lviv (http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Rzesz%C3%B3w,+Rzesz%C3%B3w+County,+Subc arpathian+Voivodeship,+Poland&daddr=Lviv,+L'vivs'ka,+Ukraine&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=49.919399,23.016357&spn=1.846271,3.12561&sll=50.371744,22.920227&sspn=0.872391,1.562805&geocode=FXOQ-wIdsa5PASlJ1BTM4_o8RzHtsj6zMQ0k0g%3BFUN--AIdFapuASlXmhAJfN06RzHieCMBF8UjQg&vpsrc=0&mra=ls&t=m&z=8)

While its only 160 KMs, it still took nearly 5 hours due to customs/immigrationa nd the worst roads I've ever seen (on both sides of the border) on a privately hired Ukrainian bus. In fairness the journey back in daylight was only 4 hours or so, and they were doing roadworks on the main roads between the big cities. We paid €650 for a 15 seater that collected us at airport on Wednesday and dropped us back on the Friday.

It took other Pats fans 7 hours to drive from Kiev to Lviv (including two stops to bribe police).

More fans flew into Krakow and made their way using public transport. Their are no trains that cross the border as both countries use different types of tracks. train journeys advertised as Cross border involved getting off, walking a mile, going through customs and immigration on foot, then getting back on train. Pats fans missed last train, so got a bus from border to Lviv (cost about €10 a head)

I stayed in the Grand Hotel in Lviv, which is perfectly located in the city centre, and would recommend it to anyone

Oh and mypost is wrong above. Poland is +1 hour, Ukraine is +2 hours (so crossing the border jumps time too...)

[Piltownpossy]

Ok, so at the ripe old age of 42 I'm looking at making the jump to a major finals at last.

Too young to travel to Stuttgart, working abroad during Italia 90 and USA 94 and with small kids for 2002 Im finally ready to hit Poland please God. Been going to see Ireland since me dad took me to see Argentina play us after the 78 WC.

Im a ST holder and just wondering am I likely to be entitled to tickets from the FAI? Is that how tickets are normally sold for finals - through the association?

Cheers for any help

[Closed Account 2]

I did this journey last year
Googe map directions from Rzeszow Airport to Lviv (http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Rzesz%C3%B3w,+Rzesz%C3%B3w+County,+Subc arpathian+Voivodeship,+Poland&daddr=Lviv,+L'vivs'ka,+Ukraine&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=49.919399,23.016357&spn=1.846271,3.12561&sll=50.371744,22.920227&sspn=0.872391,1.562805&geocode=FXOQ-wIdsa5PASlJ1BTM4_o8RzHtsj6zMQ0k0g%3BFUN--AIdFapuASlXmhAJfN06RzHieCMBF8UjQg&vpsrc=0&mra=ls&t=m&z=8)

While its only 160 KMs, it still took nearly 5 hours due to customs/immigrationa nd the worst roads I've ever seen (on both sides of the border) on a privately hired Ukrainian bus. In fairness the journey back in daylight was only 4 hours or so, and they were doing roadworks on the main roads between the big cities. We paid €650 for a 15 seater that collected us at airport on Wednesday and dropped us back on the Friday.

It took other Pats fans 7 hours to drive from Kiev to Lviv (including two stops to bribe police).

More fans flew into Krakow and made their way using public transport. Their are no trains that cross the border as both countries use different types of tracks. train journeys advertised as Cross border involved getting off, walking a mile, going through customs and immigration on foot, then getting back on train. Pats fans missed last train, so got a bus from border to Lviv (cost about €10 a head)

I stayed in the Grand Hotel in Lviv, which is perfectly located in the city centre, and would recommend it to anyone

Oh and mypost is wrong above. Poland is +1 hour, Ukraine is +2 hours (so crossing the border jumps time too...)

I think there might be a night train that goes from Krakow to Lvov, there was in 2009 and it was sold out, so I took the train to the border and then bus over and on to Lvov. They turf you out of the train for about an hour while they go through passports, a train to Przemysl is the best option, then if there it's 20km to the border and Lvov is 80km the other side of the border. Ukraine is a great country, some of the roads are good (e.g. Kiev to Odessa) but some of them are a little slow. The big advantage is the price, beers are massive and costs hardly anything, champagne (Odessan) is about 4-5 EUR.

[Kingdom]

I think Edmundo could be very useful as next year wears on.

[Junior]

Ok, so at the ripe old age of 42 I'm looking at making the jump to a major finals at last.

Too young to travel to Stuttgart, working abroad during Italia 90 and USA 94 and with small kids for 2002 Im finally ready to hit Poland please God. Been going to see Ireland since me dad took me to see Argentina play us after the 78 WC.

Im a ST holder and just wondering am I likely to be entitled to tickets from the FAI? Is that how tickets are normally sold for finals - through the association?

Cheers for any help

I think it is something like 8% of stadium capacity will be allocated to each competing association for the game concerned. so depending on which stadiums we are playing in that is probably somewhere between 3k -5k tickets per game.

God knows what the FAI's plan will be for allocating these tickets but I think its fair to say they will probably look at applications based on attendance at away games in the qualifying campaign, plus the season ticket holders but not sure how they will rank the priority.

UEFA still have tickets available for the group in Ukraine I believe but this would be a risk as we dont know whether we will be based there or not (check out uefa.com). All other tickets are sold out. Its not uncommon for tickets to become available again via UEFA (I've seen this in the past) because of returns, non payment, release of witheld blocks of tickets, non sale of travel agent allocations etc.. so I would keep a close check on the uefa site for updates on ticket availability.

Good luck with it anyway!

[paul_oshea]

Do they reward people who lose their passport and still show the organisation and skill to apply for emergency passports within 2 hours and get home?

Purely, for dedication to the cause I mean.

[tommy_c12000]

In typical bandwagon fashion a bunch of my mates are talking about hiring a bus and driving it. Does anyone have any advice on how logistically difficult this would be or could maybe share some useful links about this? This is likely initial excited rubbish talk, and we'll all end up on a plane, but thought I'd ask the oracles of wisdom here to test the water.

My mates bought a camper van and did it up for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. They got ferry over to Britain from Rosslare. Drove through the Channel Tunnel and proceeded across to Germany. They had an absolute ball. Took turns driving and said it was no hassle. They used to just park up outside the clubs at night and roll into bed after the club was over. When they got it back they sold it for a profit of E2000, helped pay for the trip. Poland is obviously a small bit further east than Germany but I see it as well feasible if you want to drive from Ireland. Where there is a will there is a way, no matter what anyone else says

[SwanVsDalton]

My mates bought a camper van and did it up for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. They got ferry over to Britain from Rosslare. Drove through the Channel Tunnel and proceeded across to Germany. They had an absolute ball. Took turns driving and said it was no hassle. They used to just park up outside the clubs at night and roll into bed after the club was over. When they got it back they sold it for a profit of E2000, helped pay for the trip. Poland is obviously a small bit further east than Germany but I see it as well feasible if you want to drive from Ireland. Where there is a will there is a way, no matter what anyone else says

Fair play man. It's certainly attractive because, for sheer craic and freedom, the option can't be beat. And your guys certainly seemed to have the process down pat. My main concern with our group is a) there may be too many for a camper and b) nearly all of them are clean useless and can't drive meaning it'll be only two drivers (including me). Not sure if I could be bothered with all the hassle being one of only two designated would be (particularly if we end up in Ukraine), but the craic is tempting. I'm looking into all options for now anyway, cheers for the words.

[Dodge]

I think there might be a night train that goes from Krakow to Lvov, there was in 2009 and it was sold out, so I took the train to the border and then bus over and on to Lvov.
Even that train, you have to disembark, make your way to border, cross on foot, and then get on a different train

[francesco_1]

Keep an eye out for swidnik airport opening in lublin, Poland. My other half is from there and they are trying to have it open in time for the euro's. Its 2-3 hours from Warsaw and 3 from Lviv.

Also regarding the trains, the ones i used over there were 8 seater dorm type ones. If the 8 of you got and empty one then ye could shut ther door and relax in saftey. Or ye might end up be shacked up with some eastern european hotties :)

[Paddy the Dog]

God knows what the FAI's plan will be for allocating these tickets but I think its fair to say they will probably look at applications based on attendance at away games in the qualifying campaign, plus the season ticket holders but not sure how they will rank the priority.
!

Ticket details have been announced on FAI website. Away match attendees, current Season Ticket holders, active Block Bookers, and, errr... Vantage club members, will be prioritised and there are over 6,500 fans within this group, according to the website.It looks like there is no prioritising within this group. Clubs will be contacted separately. FAI expect an allocation of between 6,000 and 10,000 tickets depending on the venue. Max 2 tickets per application.

I'm delighted the FAI didn't go with a free-for-all open draw for the tickets. Looks like you'll have a reasonably good chance of ticket application success if you fall into one of the four categories given not everyone will want to travel.

[mypost]

With the ticket portal open for almost 3 months, there is no need for anyone to charge at it the minute it opens, and crash the system. You are entitled to your ticket application 2 minutes after it opens as 2 minutes before it closes, and neither option absolutely guarantees you a ticket. UEFA will draw out the FAI allocation after the window closes, and you'll get a "Thank You" or "PFO" a couple of weeks later.

From using it last year for the UEFA Cup Final, it's a very slick system. I made my application for tickets in the Ireland allocation with just minutes remaining of the window, and got my ticket. Others crashed the system as soon as it opened, and weren't successful. Serves them right. :rolleyes:

[BonnieShels]

I'm still at a loss even to where to begin here. All the lads are waiting til Friday to see... I'm getting antsy. Registered on UEFA as well. And hopefully Shels will come to the rescue for me! :)

[elroy]

http://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/Publications/competitions/Publications/01/54/34/12/1543412_DOWNLOAD.pdf

Schedule and locations nicely summarised in the attached.

Like many of ye, I have several friends who are jumping on the bandwagon and talking about going. However, when the talking is over and it comes to organising etc doubt if half will make the trip. Good to see FAI somewhat rewarding those of us who are regulars!! I say everyone who was at the Carling Nations games should get tickets!!!! :)
Funny how things change, wasnt very long ago at all that the Irish soccer team was very unglamourous (if thats even a word). Now there is interest from all ends.

Judging by distance between venues and ease to get to etc. Would prefer to be in Group A, C or D in that order. Dont want B and defintitely dont want to be in position B3 - that would mean first game is in Lviv on the Sat followed by second game on the Wed in Kharkiv following by third game back in Lviv on Sunday. Kharkiv to Lviv is 545 miles apart.

Attached is usual for working out distances etc

http://www.sportmapworld.com/venues/euro-2012-stadiums/

JESUS getting excited for Friday now, anyone know what time the actual draw starts. As opposed to all the spiel beforehand - think its 6pm?

[mypost]

Dont want B and defintitely dont want to be in position B3 - that would mean first game is in Lviv on the Sat followed by second game on the Wed in Kharkiv following by third game back in Lviv on Sunday. Kharkiv to Lviv is 545 miles apart.

There's 4 days between each game, Lviv to Kharkov is no more than a half a days travel. Plenty of time to get there and back.

Personally I'm looking for a Ukraine group, and preferably Group D. Bigger stadiums, more tickets, less people travelling/demand for them, and cheaper cost of living. The opposition for Ukraine in their first game, get to play all their group games in Kiev, and if they win the group, they stay in Kiev for the quarter-finals. But if it's Group B, then it's Group B. Poland is less than 2 hours from Lviv. Slovakia and Hungary is close by too.

There's going to be plenty of travelling involved in this tournament. I'd rather that, than be in Estonia or Slovakia's position next summer. If we do get to the final, you'll have to get to Ukraine anyway.

[punkrocket]

I'm intending to take the old VW campervan myself. Hope it's Poland, much closer and much better served as regards campsites, I know it sounds great to just pull up anywhere and sleep, which we'll be doing a fair bit of but the odd shower keeps you kinda human. Security is better too. There seem to to campgounds all over Poland but much less in Ukraine. It's a hell of a lot further to drive to The Ukraine just to get there then all the driving within especially if you end up playing on the far side of the country. I am interested in the bribes your mates had to pay Dodge, I had to do it a few times in the past myself, but they never amounted to much, just a bit freaky the first time. Do you know what they got stung for?

[pineapple stu]

I am interested in the bribes your mates had to pay Dodge
I'll let Dodge answer for himself (and his mates) obviously, but in '94, we went on a family holiday around Europe in a camper van. In Prague, my dad was pulled over by the police and fined a few quid for driving on a road with a weight limit (or it could have been a no-camper-van zone). He was fairly sure there'd been no such sign, but after arguing a little bit (not much use with no common language), he just paid the couple of quid and went on his way.

[Dodge]

Think it was about €20 euros one time. €40 another

[BonnieShels]

Has anyone taken a punt on flights? In too minds either to just hit Poland and take it from there.

[BonnieShels]

*two

Can't edit in mobile skin.

[finbarrk]

Has anyone taken a punt on flights? In too minds either to just hit Poland and take it from there.
Yeah. Have Stansted - Lodz on the Thursday, £50. Also got Cork - Kiev with KLM, Friday, on a €10 fee to hold the flight for a few days. €320 return if I decide to take it by midnight Sat. KLM do this 'hold the flight thing', it's handy for the likes of this.

[AidoP]

I had a look on the Ryanair website for flights into a couple of the Polish cities where the games will be played around the beginning of the Euros and the prices are over 300 euro return. I think Ryanair have just upped the prices as they are expecting the Irish fans to fly into Poland and then make their way to Ukraine if the case may be (unless of course we are in Donetsk which wouldn't make sense flying to Poland then). I will be travelling from Munich and the flights into some of the Polish cities and even Kiev are reasonable at less than 200 euro using the skyscanner website.

[BonnieShels]

The only thing is though which weekend to pick?

[punkrocket]

Think it was about €20 euros one time. €40 another

That could mount up quickly enough, the morrocans were a lot easier to pay (no sniggering). as I said before hope we get Poland.

[Dodge]

I think Ryanair have just upped the prices .

They only up their prices when their system tells them peopel are booking flights, and searching for flights on those specific days. There's nobody decided to up prices, its all built in, based on popularity

I know dosens who have booked flights, so of course the prices will increase

[BonnieShels]

Just heard that Spain and Netherlands are to be drawn first and then Pot 4.

[mypost]

Just heard that Spain and Netherlands are to be drawn first and then Pot 4.

Correct. Spain and Holland won't have their group position drawn either, but will be automatically assigned to position 1 in their group. The second seeds will be drawn last, and everyone will know their group position when they're called, but it will still be drawn out anyway.


They only up their prices when their system tells them peopel are booking flights, and searching for flights on those specific days. There's nobody decided to up prices, its all built in, based on popularity

I know dosens who have booked flights, so of course the prices will increase

They don't increase their scheduled flight fares, but when they are booked out, they'll lay on specials at 200-300 quid a go. That's before people start booking. It's tougher for us than all other fans at the championship, as whether they use it or not, they all have the option of land transport to the venues available to them. We have to fly, and so it's more expensive for ours.

Some have booked flights already, but most are waiting until the draw is done.

[BonnieShels]

So are you inferring that we are A4, B4, C4 or D4?

[finbarrk]

We could be anything bar A1,B1,C1 or D1. But we will be drawn out of the hat on the next stage after Holland and Spain are drawn as they are doing the 4th seeds before 2nd and 3rd.
I think I'm correct anyway.

[BonnieShels]

Finbarr, your understanding was my understanding until mypost wrote what he did.

Incidentally the draw itself is on at 537 and scheduled to finish at 548.

[Dodge]

That could mount up quickly enough, the morrocans were a lot easier to pay (no sniggering). as I said before hope we get Poland.

Just spotted this now. I should point out it was less than the lads were expecting. 4 of them in a car, paid €60 in 'tolls' for a 7 hour journey. They paid the first guy 40. Then reckoned they'd get away with paying 20. Told the next guy thats all they had. He took it and waved them on

[Nah Nah Nah Nah]

Finbarr, your understanding was my understanding until mypost wrote what he did.

Incidentally the draw itself is on at 537 and scheduled to finish at 548.

This is from the UEFA website

Allocation of positions

The two seeded teams from Pot 1 will be drawn into position 1
in Groups B and C.

In order to determine the positions of the remaining 12 teams in
their respective groups, there are four additional pots (Pots A, B,
C and D), containing three balls each:

Pot A: balls A2, A3 and A4
Pot B: balls B2, B3 and B4
Pot C: balls C2, C3 and C4
Pot D: balls D2, D3 and D4

The group positions determine the order of matches in the
group stage, as shown in the match schedule below:

[francesco_1]

Have any lads on here driven from Cherbourg to Poland/Germany or even on further afield.
The prices of petrol, tolls and return ferry(E450 for car +2ppl Rosslare-Cherbourg) is pretty high.

Any idea on the petrol prices and so on?

How long do most off the posters intend of staying for ?

[AidoP]

I intend to stay from the 9th until 19th of June and then go back again to watch Ireland beat England in the final :-) Accommodation is scarce in Poznan as we have provisionally booked a place 40-50 minutes outside as a back up in case we don't get a place nearer the city. It costs nothing to book and can be cancelled right up until the 8th of June so that's pretty good. As regards the hostels and hotels in Poznan itself. My girlfriend (whos Polish) contacted a number of them yesterday and they said that the prices mentioned on their websites are not valid and will be changed between now and the 2nd of January but they reckon the prices will be no more than 40 or 50 euro but that was only the thought of one of the places contacted. I think it's better to phone the places first before booking a hotel or hostel just in case they try and con you.

[elroy]

A guy from 747 travel this morning said that a 10 day package is likely to be in the region of 1500. Thats all in. Pricey.

[Cabs88]

A guy from 747 travel this morning said that a 10 day package is likely to be in the region of 1500. Thats all in. Pricey.

Will 747 have much access to tickets I wonder?! No updates on their website..

[jbyrne]

Will 747 have much access to tickets I wonder?! No updates on their website..

they claimed on the radio this morning that they would have tickets for anyone travelling with them. when pressed a bit further they said that they did not expect the italians or spanish to take up many tickets and that is where they would get theirs from.

[punkrocket]

I intend to go over to Scotland drive down to Harwich and get over from there to The Hook of Holland, then a nice flat run across northern europe, should save on fuel this way.

[BonnieShels]

I intend to stay from the 9th until 19th of June and then go back again to watch Ireland beat England in the final :-) Accommodation is scarce in Poznan as we have provisionally booked a place 40-50 minutes outside as a back up in case we don't get a place nearer the city. It costs nothing to book and can be cancelled right up until the 8th of June so that's pretty good. As regards the hostels and hotels in Poznan itself. My girlfriend (whos Polish) contacted a number of them yesterday and they said that the prices mentioned on their websites are not valid and will be changed between now and the 2nd of January but they reckon the prices will be no more than 40 or 50 euro but that was only the thought of one of the places contacted. I think it's better to phone the places first before booking a hotel or hostel just in case they try and con you.

Where's that place Aido?

[AidoP]

The hotel is called Słowianin and the address is Modliszewo 8B, 62-200 Gniezno. Like I said its our back-up plan as we're looking for places nearer or in Poznan but it's better to be safe and have something to fall back on just in case.