As the results of this week’s Champions League final ticket ballot are announced, we have some advice and a warning for fans travelling to Madrid.
Getting to a European Cup final isn’t easy for anyone. The Liverpool players did their part, producing that incredible comeback against Barcelona to provide Anfield with possibly its greatest ever performance.
And while some supporters had already hedged their bets well before the semi-final and booked flights or accommodation for Madrid, after the emotional rollercoaster of the Barca match, it’s now the nervous wait on ticket ballot results – which are announced on Thursday.
There’s just 16,626 tickets allocated to the Reds by UEFA, meaning approximately a 1 in 3.7 chance of being successful in the ballot.
If that isn’t enough, there’s then the logistics of getting there and finding somewhere to stay in the Spanish capital.
Flight and hotel prices skyrocketed even further when it was Tottenham who scraped past Ajax in their semi-final to make it an all-English final.
Plenty are instead, wisely, opting for alternative methods of travel, with Trainline reporting that bookings for train tickets to Madrid have increased by a whopping 1137% in the last week.
https://twitter.com/leemaggs1/status/1126444434772692992
The cost of travel, accommodation and tickets has been well documented in recent weeks, with Jurgen Klopp himself calling on UEFA to be more “responsible” when hosting European finals.
For many supporters, ourselves included, creative ways have been found for getting to Madrid, involving planes, trains and automobiles.
Direct flights from England to Madrid on the day of the game are now sold out, while some estimate that 150,000 fans from England – between Liverpool and Tottenham supporters – are expected in Madrid.
Some charter airlines are therefore recommending bypassing Madrid’s Barajas Airport, which usually handles between 2,000 and 3,000 passengers per hour, but is expected to see an increase to 6,000 per hour, meaning lengthy delays at passport control.
Therefore, thousands are set to be flying to Spain then getting a train or coach to Madrid.
Some of the options are listed below:
However, a word of warning, we’ve noticed that the train from certain destinations on the Saturday morning are now either sold out in regular class, or very close to being sold out.
If you are planning on making part of your journey by train or coach in Spain, you need to book ASAP.
You can book and compare easily with Trainline, dubbed Europe’s leading train and coach app.
In addition, Trainline have been great at providing fans with alternative, cheaper and creative ways to make it to Madrid. They’ve provided the following tips for us below:
QUIT THE HASSLE – Compare options for trains and coach across Spain (and cross-border travel into Spain) and book tickets all in one place with the Trainline app.
BEAT THE QUEUES – Select mobile tickets when available to allow you to store all tickets safely on your phone – and avoid ticket queues at the station. Mobile tickets are widely accepted throughout Spain.
So, if you got lucky in the ticket ballot and don’t have your journey sorted, there’s still opportunity to get to Madrid without re-mortgaging the house.
* For more information and to book your journey to Madrid, download the Trainline App from the App Store or Play Store. You can travel by rail and coach in 45 countries with Trainline, so this is handy for other away matches too, so get it downloaded!
