The 'I'll be there' thread. Travelling fans - plans, experiences and tips

So, is there anyone on the forum who has tickets and is going to see games in Poland or Ukraine? Are you planning to stay for a couple of games or just coming to see one match?

Tickets can still be acquired officially, even for 'big' nation games, though generally there are more available for Ukraine than for Poland. So if anyone hesitates: don't listen to Sol Campbell, listen to me: come to Poland and support your team!

I can offer some general advice on Poland if needed and much more specific info on Wroclaw. I wouldn't expect many users to come to my city though, as Greece, Russia and Czech Republic aren't represented on the forums in numbers.

I managed to get tickets for Czech - Greece match, really looking forward to supporting Czechs, a revenge for 2004 semifinal defeat that hurts me until now. I am still trying to get tickets for Poland - Czech Rep. match.

I'm coming with a mate of mine to England v Sweden in Kiev, then we have "conditional" tickets for the QF, SF and final if England get through. Basically we have official UEFA vouchers which can be exchanged for a real ticket on matchday if England qualify. For the group game we have a two-night trip arranged, for the potential knockout games we haven't planned anything and will just end up booking supporters club trips at the last minute. These will be chartered planes that fly in and out for the games without staying overnight. So all told, we will spend a lot of time travelling and not much time seeing any of Ukraine. And if we do manage to see any knockout games we will probably be on the point of exhaustion on account of having had to get to Luton airport for 5am.

Really would have liked to have come for all of it but we decided we couldn't be bothered with the hassle of getting between Kiev and Donetsk and finding somewhere in Donetsk to stay. Especially when Donetsk is by all accounts an industrial shithole, miles from anything that would appeal to tourists with a few days to kill. And especially when the Ukrainian authorities have needed until this week(!) to confirm how many trains are running between each city and to be able to start accepting advance bookings. And when UEFA had block booked most of the hotel accommodation and left fans to either take their chances on campsites or wait until the last minute in the hope of booking something when UEFA started to release a few of the rooms they didn't actually need. (Have also heard of several people that had booked hotel rooms in both Donetsk and Kiev, paid for them, then had their bookings cancelled and refunded because the hotels had realised they could resell the rooms at a higher rate, or simply been forced to release more space for UEFA/sponsors/media and kick the fans out.)

I'm sure Poland is fine, but Ukraine has been an absolute shambles in terms of organisation. We have only sold 2,000 tickets for Donetsk and 3,000 for Kiev out of a 9,000 allocation. In recent years, we have taken more fans to qualifiers in Israel, Belarus, and God knows where else, and yet we have sent over two-thirds of our tournament tickets back. Absolutely unprecedented. And it's nothing to do with racism/security, nothing to do with money or the cost; it's because it's been near impossible to organise travel/accommodation within Ukraine with any degree of certainty until right at the last minute, and fans are at last starting to get sick of being made fools of. You think the 4,000 people paying £9 a pint in Oslo last weekend are worried about the recession? They're not.

Really disappointed that our games didn't end up in Poland, otherwise I would have chucked a tent in the car and come for the full three weeks.

Even with a massive vested interest in making it sound bearable, the FA's Euro 2012 handbook for fans can only recommend two things to do in Donetsk:

1. Look at a second stadium elsewhere in the city, because it has a statue of pole vaulter Sergiy Bubka outside it.

2. Go to the Lenin Komsomol Park, which apparently has "socialist sculptures and excellent views of the slag heaps".

Don't you just want to spend ten days there?

My opinion from the start was that it was a crazy idea to organize the tournament in this cooperation. Geographically, it is like co hosting it by Portugal, Spain, France and Belgium. It would be so much better to organize it with the Czechs or Czechs and Slovaks. The thing is, without Surkis we wouldn't have got it in the first place. That's how UEFA and FIFA operate, rational arguments do not matter.

I have limited knowledge about situation in Ukraine and I am not going to make up my mind based on one opinion, but your post is worrying. It sounds rational that the reasons for the poor ticket sales are not economy nor the racism/violence worries (some people will alwyas ignore it no matter what). I had just checked the ticket portal and I wasn't able to buy any ticket for games in Poland, but I had no problems adding Germany - Denmark to the basket, just as I was able to to it with France - England match. C'mon, it is France - England at a major tournament, it is unreal to be able to just oreder tickets online at first try a week before the whole thing starts!

Oh, and as for your second post: my sister and her boyfirend are going to Gdansk for Noel Gallagher concert and IIRC there is a match there on the same/next/previous day so they hope they can get tickets to make the trip even more interesting. Beats seeing a Lenin Park, but only just

Really interested to compare the number of English in Kiev with the number of Swedes. Both traditionally travel to tournaments in big numbers, but where England fans have got to faff about getting between Kiev and Donetsk and finding different places to stay, Sweden play all three games in Kiev.

My suspicion is that there will be a lot more Swedes there - if so, this can only be because of easier travel/logistics, not because of any difference in terms of cost / fear of violence.

I'm going to Lviv and Kharkiv with a few friends. Bit of a summer road trip planned and if we manage to get through the groups, that'll be even better as we'll drive up to Poland as well. Although, I'm not exactly sure of the distances involved, but I imagine driving from A to B will possibly take a full day sometimes. It's not bad for the group games in Ukraine as we'll have a few spare days to party in Kharkiv, but we're also going to stop off in Kiev on the way back from Lviv. Nonetheless, it's better than having all the hassle and expense of flying, imo. This is going to be amazing, I cannot wait. I had to miss the Champions League final to save up for this (and I'm glad I did now, considering...)

Probably just going to buy tickets on match day, but we do have tickets for the Germany - Netherlands game (can't miss that!). Not that bothered about seeing Denmark, but I would definitely like tickets for the Portugal game. They always give us a good game. As for the organisation in Ukraine, we're generally quite concerned as it seems to have been pretty poor, but I do feel a bit better knowing that if the worst comes to the worst, we can always sleep in the car.

Very disappointed in those not heeding the warning of Sol Campbell

I'm going to Lviv and Kharkiv with a few friends. Bit of a summer road trip planned and if we manage to get through the groups, that'll be even better as we'll drive up to Poland as well. Although, I'm not exactly sure of the distances involved, but I imagine driving from A to B will possibly take a full day sometimes. It's not bad for the group games in Ukraine as we'll have a few spare days to party in Kharkiv, but we're also going to stop off in Kiev on the way back from Lviv. Nonetheless, it's better than having all the hassle and expense of flying, imo. This is going to be amazing, I cannot wait. I had to miss the Champions League final to save up for this (and I'm glad I did now, considering...)

Probably just going to buy tickets on match day, but we do have tickets for the Germany - Netherlands game (can't miss that!). Not that bothered about seeing Denmark, but I would definitely like tickets for the Portugal game. They always give us a good game. As for the organisation in Ukraine, we're generally quite concerned as it seems to have been pretty poor, but I do feel a bit better knowing that if the worst comes to the worst, we can always sleep in the car.

Wouldn't have thought you will have too many problems if you've got your own transport and are prepared to put the miles in. I know a couple of guys driving over from UK, but it was a total nonstarter for me - would take at least 4-5 days each way I reckon

Not sure about accommodation in Kharkiv and Lviv, but both much more geared up for visitors than Donetsk as I understand it.

no thanks, I'd rather not come home in a coffin.

My opinion from the start was that it was a crazy idea to organize the tournament in this cooperation. Geographically, it is like co hosting it by Portugal, Spain, France and Belgium. It would be so much better to organize it with the Czechs or Czechs and Slovaks. The thing is, without Surkis we wouldn't have got it in the first place. That's how UEFA and FIFA operate, rational arguments do not matter.

I have limited knowledge about situation in Ukraine and I am not going to make up my mind based on one opinion, but your post is worrying. It sounds rational that the reasons for the poor ticket sales are not economy nor the racism/violence worries (some people will alwyas ignore it no matter what). I had just checked the ticket portal and I wasn't able to buy any ticket for games in Poland, but I had no problems adding Germany - Denmark to the basket, just as I was able to to it with France - England match. C'mon, it is France - England at a major tournament, it is unreal to be able to just oreder tickets online at first try a week before the whole thing starts!

Oh, and as for your second post: my sister and her boyfirend are going to Gdansk for Noel Gallagher concert and IIRC there is a match there on the same/next/previous day so they hope they can get tickets to make the trip even more interesting. Beats seeing a Lenin Park, but only just

I agree with this completely. Even the Polish government made mistakes on which cities should host the tournament games in my opinion. I don't mean that the host cities are not capable of hosting games. What I mean is that there are other cities that are far more accessible to people in the Ukraine or travelling from the Ukraine by bus/train that are equally capable of hosting games. Gdansk in particular is a strange pick because Polish trains/buses/roads are very slow and it is so far from the Ukrainian borders. On public transport to get even to the Western part of Ukraine (near Lvov) would take a whole day. When inside the Ukraine things are even slower. I'd also question Poznan because of travel times. Silesian Stadium in Chorzow/Katowice could've been used instead as it's being re-built and is as good if not better than the current choices. It was however rejected by the government because there aren't enough suitable hotels in Chorzow, even though the metropolitan area is the largest in Poland and has a population of nearly 3m. They intentionally ignored the other cities in the cournibation because they didn't want it to host for political reasons. Krakow was also rejected for political reasons even though it's probably Poland's most famous tourist city. Krakow is the nearest major Polish city to the border and the Upper Silesian Metro area is second.

Even worse is that the Ukrainian venues are all in the Eastern part of the country apart from Lvov (West) and Kiev (Central). Travel times across the Ukraine are around one day, if not more. I just searched the official railways website and Lvov to Donetsk is 18-22 hours depending on which train you take. Instead Poland should either have hosted the event alone, which I believe is possible. Katowice/Chorzow and Krakow could easily have hosted as I mentioned earlier. On top of this Szczecin has great transport links and is a major city with a well supported club. Lodz is also a massive city that doesn't have a new stadium. Towns like Bialystok and Bydgoszcz are in regions without great stadium and would benefit from new stadia. Otherwise as Chris wrote the Czech Republic would have beem a great choice. Ostrava badly needs a new stadium for Banik to play in. It looks as though the city may build one anyway at some point at Svinov. With a competition like the Euros that process could be sped up. The city has hosted Golden League Athletics, World Ice Hockey Champions games, the Davis Cup Tennis and the World Floorball Championships recently and definitely could step up to this type of event. Prague is obviously another option that has amazing infrastructure. If they had to they could build a new stadium in Brno too, which is a city of half a million.

I guess the main problem with hosting with CZ or SK would be that transport links between the nations suck because the border regions are mountainous. The Eastern CZ/PL border is the only one with a high speed international train connection. I still think that these options are far better than the Ukraine, which appears to have failed to improve its infrastructure on time and has far more questions with regards to social problems than Poland or other nearby nations.

If I could get hold of a ticket on the day was thinking of going from here to Kiev for one of the games, maybe with a tent but I doubt I will ultimately bother with it as not thought massively seriously about it although my friend has been a bit more

I wish I was there.

Good luck getting the **** kicked out of you

Good luck getting the **** kicked out of you

I'm white, mate? I'm not worried at all.

Nonetheless, thanks for the concern.

I'm white, mate?

Won't help you. We hate everyone, especially Germans.

Won't help you. We hate everyone, especially Germans.

I guess it's a good job that we only have one game in Poland then.

Not at all. The Ukrainians eat foreigners after cooking them in a huge pot hung above a gigantic fireplace. There's one in every town. Don't ever wander away from your group.

I'm white, mate? I'm not worried at all.

Nonetheless, thanks for the concern.

That wont make any diffference. A hooligan is a hooligan!

White or black, it dont matter. your still going to get smashed, mate?

I think your a bit silly going but like i said good luck

From the start I have never understood why the competition was being held in these countries.

I mean the trouble that is just waiting for fans is well known and begs belief why anyone would travel there.

My personal point would be that I have a young son and when he is a bit older I would love to take him to these competitions(I may even take the wife )

But during the down time of the matches I would like to take them to see the sites and do something other than football....Poland>Ukraine...I just don't see it.

If it was Spain/Italy/England/just about any other place I could double the football as a nice vacation and get the wife on board.

A bad choice and I really fear something/s really bad will happen during this competition.

I'm with you, daylight. It is beyond belief.

If only they could organize it in one of places like this, with let's say one of the largest central squares in Europe:

So you could organize a fanzone in a place where people can gather in the centre of the city in thousands and have fun safe and in civilized manner:

I'm with you, daylight. It is beyond belief.

If only they could organize it in one of places like this, with let's say one of the largest central squares in Europe:

So you could organize a fanzone in a place where people can gather in the centre of the city in thousands and have fun safe and in civilized manner:

Yeah I could take a couple of nice pictures of the old bombed out Beirut and make it look good...does not make it so.

Just to add I have been to Poland twice for work so I am not just talking this from what the newspapers are printing,we have a lot of Polish workers here in Holland and they are for the most part great people but I do not see Poland as a country that should be holding this competition.

How many times have you visited Poland or Ukraine or at least spoken to people who have?

How many times have you visited Poland or Ukraine or at least spoken to people who have?

I have updated my post before you even asked,I have worked with many polish people as there are many that come to Holland to work,I have found most to be very friendly and they are very good workers,that does not change my stance on the fact the competition should not be in Poland and the Ukraine ...and I will add the Polish people I have spoke too have said the same.

Just to add I have been to Poland twice for work so I am not just talking this from what the newspapers are printing

So what exactly did you see or experience that makes you think it shouldn't be held here or in Ukraine? Which cities did you visit?

And I don't know anything about Beirut so can't comment about it being bombed but just FYI none of these pictures do justice to our town square or Cathedral Island. Just because you don't know a country or it is being pictured as wilderness in The Sun doesn't mean it makes sense to say it is not a place to 'see the sites and do something other than football'. As i said, these were just first google pics of just my city, if you put a minimum effort in googling any of the host cities you will find that what you posted was completely not true.

Ofc it is your opinion, so you have every right to say what you want.

So what exactly did you see or experience that makes you think it shouldn't be held here or in Ukraine? Which cities did you visit?

And I don't know anything about Beirut so can't comment about it being bombed but just FYI none of these pictures do justice to our town square or Cathedral Island. Just because you don't know a country or it is being pictured as wilderness in The Sun doesn't mean it makes sense to say it is not a place to 'see the sites and do something other than football'. As i said, these were just first google pics of just my city, if you put a minimum effort in googling any of the host cities you will find that what you posted was completely not true.

Ofc it is your opinion, so you have every right to say what you want.

I just do not see why I would take my family there,which a lot of people do during these competitions.

There are some beautiful places but not close enough to make it a family vacation,there is also the fans racist views which are a real problem(I am white by the way but this problem is really bad,It is much worse than when the English guys got banned from European football for so many years).

Racism - please have a read in the other thread ('Panorama'), I'd prefer to leave it out of this one - I'll just say this is completely not related to EURO, racism is a problem among SOME club ultras and they will not even be present at the games nor around them (if they do something they do it in an organized way and they don't care about the tournament). If you're claiming Poland in general is racist and this can cause problems with visiting fans than you're just misinformed.

Are sites worth visiting 'not close enough' to your place (Holland I assume) or not close to cities that the games will be held in? So you'd like every tournament to be organized in Germany, Holland, Belgium, UK or north France? If you claim there is not enough to do and see in Warsaw, Wroclaw, Poznan or Gdansk or around these cities you are just wrong (the inclusion of Donetsk on the list of Euro host cities has already been discussed).

PS BTW you still haven't told me (and I mean it - I would like to know it) what is it that you didn't like here when visiting or that caused your Polish co-workers think it *should not be held here*. Roads, infrastructure, hotels, people, bad food, **** beer, dirty cities, no ATMs, ugly women, beggars lying around everywhere, crimes committed all the time, people holding guns and shooting them in the air for fun, pickpockets, white bears wandering around the streets at daytime, no fridges, bad weather? Name it for me, please.

It's ironic that the last time there was major hooligan trouble at the Euros it was caused by English fans. And not even a year ago a full-scale, 4 day riot broke out in the capital of England, yet it's Poland that will send you back home in a coffin. Bloody foreigners, eh mate, 'ave a cuppa.

Don't forget the fan that was killed outside Wembley last time England played Wales.

TBH I'd prefer to leave the whole racism/hooliganism issue out of this thread - and especially not go into arguments like 'but your fans are even worse'. Every club, every nation has idiots and bandits supporting it and an accident can happen anywhere.

Even though I disagree with those believing the BBC document fully, everyone has to admit the scenes shown there were real, so the issue is worth discussing. What i cannot believe is someone seriously saying that largest Polish cities are not a good place to have a family vacation or there is nothing to do and see there apart from football.

I can confirm that in Polish cities much worse then those involved 90% of the women are actually supermodels.

Don't forget the fan that was killed outside Wembley last time England played Wales.

Wasn't that a Swansea/Cardiff thing?

Don't forget the fan that was killed outside Wembley last time England played Wales.

Wasn't he killed by another Wales fan?

You think this is bad wait until Panoroma have a go before the Russia World Cup

Don't forget the fan that was killed outside Wembley last time England played Wales.

Wasn't that a Swansea/Cardiff thing?

I think so, yeah. But isn't the Panorama logic: Clashes between rival domestic fans = visitors going to get stabbed and killed?

I suggest a huge wall around Wales then

Decent policy at any time

You think this is bad wait until Panoroma have a go before the Russia World Cup

I'm eagerly anticipating how bad they're gonna make Brazil look.

Imagine how that William Hall will feel about the one regarding Qatar!

To all of you who intend to go to games; Please, please, please get some kind of "Kean Out!" banner. Or "Venky's Out", either is fine. I will love you forever if I see it on TV!!

You got many tickets?

I half wish I'd just sacked England off and applied for all the games in Poland instead.

Yeah I could take a couple of nice pictures of the old bombed out Beirut and make it look good...

Would still quite like to see this, tbh...

I'm going to Gdansk for a week \o/

When did you get the tickets? I've been trying to buy tickets for Poland games both in Wroclaw and Warsaw via the UEFA ticket portal for some time, but to no avail. i wonder if it is easier at night, or maybe people again use some software to aid their chances.

Anyone been murdered yet?

Not yet. Although I'm not setting off until Thursday.

Nope, but some Poles, Croats and Irish have been arrested after a brawl last night.

Not quite sure why it seems to be kicking off so much this summer. Compared to previous tournaments.

Nope, but some Poles, Croats and Irish have been arrested after a brawl last night.

Not quite sure why it seems to be kicking off so much this summer. Compared to previous tournaments.

14 arrested. Apparently Croatians attacked normal Irish and Polish fans who were drinking in the squad.

Here's a link to an article about it. Is in Polish language. Also contains photos.

http://www.fakt.pl/Kibice-pobili-sie-w-Poznaniu-Chorwaccy-kibice-wszczeli-bojke,artykuly,162238,1.html

Nope, but some Poles, Croats and Irish have been arrested after a brawl last night.

Not quite sure why it seems to be kicking off so much this summer. Compared to previous tournaments.

But seriously this tournament it's barely kicked off at all. Only problems so far has been Russians in various places. This is the first non-Russian incident of any consequence and it apparently was only minor and didn't last long.

Quite fired up for my trip now Flying to Kiev via Venice so just realised I will be in Italy on Thursday when they play their second game against Croatia :thup:

Hopefully somewhere at the airport to catch the game