Euro 2012 - general info

**pineapple stu** · 15/11/2011, 10:02 PM

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** · 16/11/2011, 12:11 AM

Currencies:
Poland: Zloty
Ukraine: Hryvnia

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

Accessibility:
No visas required

**bennocelt** · 16/11/2011, 12:24 PM

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

**SwanVsDalton** · 16/11/2011, 3:41 PM

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** · 16/11/2011, 3:52 PM

Originally Posted by 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.

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** · 16/11/2011, 4:05 PM

Originally Posted by jbyrne

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** · 16/11/2011, 4:14 PM

Originally Posted by SwanVsDalton

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** · 17/11/2011, 1:03 AM

Originally Posted by SwanVsDalton

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** · 17/11/2011, 6:30 AM

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** · 17/11/2011, 11:41 AM

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

**Dodge** · 17/11/2011, 11:55 AM

I did this journey last year
Googe map directions from Rzeszow Airport to Lviv

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** · 17/11/2011, 7:25 PM

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** · 17/11/2011, 8:34 PM

Originally Posted by Dodge

I did this journey last year
Googe map directions from Rzeszow Airport to Lviv

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** · 17/11/2011, 9:36 PM

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

**Junior** · 17/11/2011, 9:42 PM

Originally Posted by 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

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** · 17/11/2011, 9:46 PM

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** · 17/11/2011, 10:23 PM

Originally Posted by 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.

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** · 18/11/2011, 1:03 AM

Originally Posted by tommy_c12000

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** · 18/11/2011, 9:48 AM

Originally Posted by cfdh_edmundo

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** · 18/11/2011, 11:15 AM

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